Text b bits of history

Humans have always tried to make the basic operations of writing and counting easier. The first successful counting device was the Chinese abacus, which is very fast in the hands of an experienced operator. After the Renaissance in Europe, individuals concentrated on building machines that could perform arithmetic operations. In 1614, John Napier of Scotland invented logarithms and the slide rule. In 1643, Blaise Pascal of France created a machine that could add and subtract. In 1673, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz of Germany developed a calculator that could multiply.

The first attempt at anything that approaches our definition of a computer occurred in 1820 when Englishman Charles Babbage built a machine to make arithmetic computations. His Difference Engine was a special-purpose device for calculating the values of polynomials of the form x² + 3x + 20 to an accuracy of six places. After this success, Babbage tried to develop a more sophisticated device—the Analytical Engine— which would be able to perform any type of arithmetic calculation. The crucial conceptual breakthrough in the Analytical Engine was that it would store the series of operations to be made. Babbage was aided by Lady Ada Lovelace, the daughter of English poet Lord Byron. Lovelace clearly described Babbage's ideas in written form, supplementing notes on his work with ideas of her own. Unfortunately, the technology of the time was not advanced enough for Babbage to build his machine, which used gears and wheels to carry out the necessary logic. A model that was built later from his plans worked as Babbage claimed it would.

Many of the ideas of Babbage and Lovelace were very advanced. In fact, if the technology had been available to build Babbage's Analytical Engine in 1840, the computer might have been developed 100 years earlier than it was. As an example of their farsighted ideas, consider this quote from Lady Lovelace. Her words may also be applied to modern computers:

The Analytical Engine has no pretension whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform. It can follow analysis; but it has no way of anticipating any analytical relations or truths. Its province is to assist us in making available what we are already acquainted with.

For her tireless effort on this "grandfather" of the modem computer, Lady Lovelace has been honored by having a computer language named after her; the language is Ada

Text c hot rod chips

Some of the most important elements in modern automobile engines are smaller than a thumbnail and are seldom, if ever, mentioned in a car advertisement—microprocessor chips. Today, anyone wanting to fine-tune an engine must know something about computers in addition to how to use a wrench, because Detroit auto makers have been installing computer chips in their cars since 1981.

The "engine management" chips were designed to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency. Horsepower, however, suffered until a few computer experts analyzed the chips. They discovered that the chips were engineered with the average driver, who uses low-octane fuel, in mind. By modifying the programming of the processors that control engine timing and gear shifting, they produced a chip that appeals to drivers who prefer more power. The so-called superchips, which replace factory-installed chips, run on high-octane gasoline to increase an engine's horsepower by 10 to 30 percent. There are various types of superchips (some improve gas mileage, whereas others increase horsepower).

The downside is that replacing a factory-installed chip with a superchip negates the car's warranty and may violate the Clean Air Act, which was recently amended to require that high-performance parts meet the emissions standards for the car in which they are used. Superchip manufacturers are striving to redesign their chips to conform with the code.

Source: "Hot-Rod Hackers," Time

KEY TERMS

Analytical Engine аналітична машина – комп’ютер, спроектований Чарльзом Бебіджем в середині 19-го сторіччя

computer competence здатність використовувати комп'ютер для вирішення задач в певній галузі знань

mainframe суперкомп’ютер

computer error помилка в команді для комп’ютера

computer literacy комп'ютерна грамотність

mind tool інша назва комп’ютера

multimedia технології, що дозволяють за допомогою комп’ютера інтегрувати, обробляти та синхронно відтворювати різні типи сигналів

computer terminal термінал обчислювальної машини

network мережа

data дані

personal computer (PC) персональний комп’ютер

data processing обробка даних

desktop computer стаціонарний комп’ютер

digital computer цифровий комп’ютер

electronic funds transfer електронні платежі

(EFT)

smart machines інтелектуальні машини

end user кінцевий користувач

software програмне забезпечення

special-purpose спеціалізований комп’ютер

computer

firmware програмне забезпечення, яке записано в постійний запам’ятовуючий пристрій

general-purpose універсальний (не спеціалізований)

computer комп’ютер

hardware апаратне забезпечення

workstation автоматизоване робоче місце