The
Dawn of the Age of Information
The real contribution of the ENIAC was it proved you could build a big
computer! The success of Mauchly and Eckert inspired others to build improved
computers. Every year, computers became smaller and less expensive.
ENIAC led to EDVAC, and soon IBM began
making computers. Tubes gave way to transistors,
and in turn led to smaller, faster, cheaper computers. The integrated
circuit paved the way for the microprocessor. By the mid-1970's,
computers were starting to be affordable by average folks.
Networks formed.
IBM eventually produced the PC
in 1981. The World
Wide Web exploded onto the world in the mid-1990's. Wireless
computing is growing fast. New handheld
devices are smaller and more powerful. The march of technology will
never stop.
In 1997, a team of engineering students led by Prof.
Jan Van der Spiegel created a replica of the ENIAC on a single integrated
circuit. More information is available at the ENIAC-on-a-chip
web page.
All thanks to the ENIAC!
We Love Computers
|
Dawn of a New
Age
