HISTORY IN THE MAKING (BREAK DOWN)

For many years computers have been with us constantly enhancing getting faster, more smaller and cheaper but were did it all begin?  Well some people think they came from Area 51?, some people Japan! Well here's the truth, its thanks to US inventors that started it all off:-

 

The Fairchild Eight

The first time that computers started to get smaller, was with thanks to The Fairchild Eight, during the 1940s Eight scientists created the first transistors, semi conductors which simplicity means smaller electronic components which were cheaper and more reliable than the predecessors, This gives you idea of how much impact these people gave to us, without them we would not have what we have today.. Television, Mobile Phones, Computers, Washing machines, Alarms anything you would plug-in or connect a battery to, all incorporate components which were invented by The Fairchild Eight, These scientists helped us also bring computers to our desks as well, One of the Fairchild Eight is Gordon E. Moore he is more or less the founder of Silicon Valley and also the CEO/co Founder of the microprocessor giant Intel Corp.  More
 

The first computer program

Konrad Zuse builds Z1 the world's first program-controlled computer, during 1930s Konrad Zuse created the worlds first programmable computer, unlike today the programming the a lot more complex and would not have been programmed by hand instead of a keyboard and a screen each bit code would have been either printed on card or manually coded. More
 

The first ever HOME computer

During the 1970s two friends called Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac created the first ever home made computer called simply APPLE 1, which was made from parts they had and assembled at there home and they took the home made computer as a demonstration to a club they called the home brew club in Berkley, which really was students & people interested in using the bigger computers which were owned by the bigger companies, anyway they sold 50 that night and decided because they felt that there was money to be made they formed a small company running from out of Steve Job's garage called APPLE, well you possibly now what company I mean, they started it all allowing us to buy cheap computers, at the time they needed an operating system so the only people which was doing software at the time were William H Gates & Paul Allen which had office based at the time in Albuquerque, new Mexico there company name was Microsoft.  So as you can see this was starting to take shape.  Apple was also the first to bring GUI to computers ..  Graphical User Interface ..Instead of using a keyboard, use a mouse and click on pictures or commands instead.

 

Left Steve Wozniac (Woz) & Steve Jobs holding the first home computer circuit board. (APPLE1)

Welcome to Apple Computer, its not what you would have expected anyway.

And they sold fifty first time around!

Steve Jobs is still a part of Apple and also the CEO of Pixar the Animation Company responsible for many animation films and special effects.  Steve Wozniac left in 1980s and now funds ballot and teaches children how to use computers.

 

Photo: Microsoft, 1978
 

This photo of what looks like a bunch of long-haired hippies has been circulating through email accompanied by the caption "Microsoft, 1978: Would you have invested?"

Is the photo real? Is this really what the management of Microsoft looked like in 1978? Yes, on both counts.

The photo was taken December 7, 1978 in Albuquerque, New Mexico before the company moved its offices in Washington. The people in the photo are (from left to right, starting at the top) Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, Jim Lane, Bob O' Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin, Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, and Paul Allen.

The photo is posted on Microsoft's website on Bill Gates's biography page.

If you had chosen to invest your money with this bunch of scruffy looking characters back in 1978, you'd be quite rich now. But how rich did the people in the photo become? Here's their estimated wealth, listed in descending order:

Bill Gates: Still with Microsoft as it's chairman and chief software architect. His fortune is somewhere in the range of $50 billion, He is due to leave Microsoft as CEO in 2008 to pursue further interests in The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.  Bill will still play an active part at Microsoft but only as support.

Paul Allen: Left Microsoft in 1983 but remains a senior strategy advisor to the company. Worth around $22 billion.

Bob O'Rear: Left Microsoft in 1983. Is now a cattle rancher and is worth around $100 million.

Bob Greenberg: Left Microsoft in 1981 and then helped launch those Cabbage Patch Dolls that were so popular in the 1980s. Last time anyone checked, he was worth around $20 million.

Jim Lane: Left Microsoft in 1985. Now has his own software company and is worth around $20 million.

Gordon Letwin: Left Microsoft in 1993 and now devotes himself to environmental causes. Is worth around $20 million.

Steve and Marla Wood: They both left Microsoft in 1980 and Marla then sued the company for sexual discrimination. They're worth around $15 million.

Bob Wallace: Left Microsoft in 1983. Worth around $5 million.

Andrea Lewis: Was Microsoft's first technical writer. Left the company in 1983. Worth around $2 million.

Marc McDonald: Was Microsoft's first employee. Left the company in 1984, but recently rejoined the company when Microsoft bought Design Intelligence, the company he was working for. Has the honor of getting to wear badge number 00001. Probably worth at least $1 million.

Microsoft always denied that Windows was simply a cheaper copy  version of Macintosh's OS but we all know what that means - Windows in the early days was the very similar to APPLE but they only difference is that APPLE'S operating systems are far more user friendly and don't crash like Windows did, Windows was always and still is not stable to this day, currently we using XP & Vista until the next version and there is a lot of anger on IT front regarding VISTA and the problems around the new platform OS.

If you are interested in the story there is a film called Pirates of Silicon Valley which tells the story in more depth and would you a good insight into how the computer became what it was thanks to IBM, MICROSOFT and APPLE.

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Old Computers

 

 Related Topics

Konrad Zuse

The Fairchild Eight
 

     

(c) Nick Yates, 1987~2007