The UNIVAC 1 is an early mainframe computer that revolutionized technology. With many alterations and improvements, we have been able to create the modern-day computer. How do these two different generations of computers compare?
The UNIVAC 1 was developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly (Freiberger & Swaine, n.d.). The UNIVAC 1 (completed by 1951) was short for Universal Automatic Computer, and was needed by the United States Census Bureau to keep up with the growing population of the U.S (Freiberger & Swaine, n.d.). The UNIVAC 1 was a business computer that could be programmed to do different tasks (Freiberger & Swaine, n.d.). It was one of the first American computers to electronically store programs, and not be hardwired to do only one task Freiberger & Swaine, n.d.). It weighed about 29, 000 pounds, was the size of an entire room and used about 5, 200 vacuum tubes (“Computer History”, n.d). This computer system printed results automatically and stored data in compact tape drives (“UNIVAC”, n.d.). The UNIVAC 1 was also able to handle both alphabetic characters and numbers (“UNIVAC”, n.d.). An operator keyboard and a console typewriter were used as input devices to enter data into the machine (Freiberger & Swaine, n.d.). Overall, the UNIVAC 1 was not very successful, as most people didn't fully comprehend its capability. However, on the night of the 1952 American election, the UNIVAC 1 was used to successfully predict that General Eisenhower would win (“UNIVAC”, n.d.). After that day, people better understood the value of computers, but the UNIVAC 1 still did not do well in terms of sales. A small total of 46 UNIVAC 1s were sold (“UNIVAC”, n.d.).
Computers today are very different from early mainframes such as the UNIVAC 1. They are faster, smaller, cheaper and more efficient. Today, almost everyone has access to computers, meaning that their popularity has also drastically increased. Computers are an essential part of everyone's lives, as they are used in libraries, banks, schools, businesses, governments, and many other places. The decrease of their size and simple graphical user interfaces allow them to also be used for personal purposes. With the advance of technology, computers have become more powerful as well. Since the invention of the transistor, and later the integrated circuit, we have been able to create smaller, lighter and more powerful computers than the UNIVAC 1. Statistics show that over 100, 000 computers have been sold so far in 2016 and that there were over 2 billion computers in use as of 2015 (“Computers Sold"”, n.d.). Today, computers are also able to handle a variety of characters, such as numbers, characters from many different alphabets and punctuation marks. Unlike the UNIVAC 1, computers today use mice and keyboards to as input devices. This also helps modern users appreciate the computer more, as it is simpler to work with.
Photo of UNIVAC 1: UNIVAC, https://www.britannica.com/technology/UNIVAC. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
Image of a modern computer: How Do You Select Companies Marketing Computers Nz?, http://drabraham13.hatenadiary.com/. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
Computers Sold in the World this Year - Worldometers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.worldometers.info/computers/
UNIVAC. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.thocp.net/hardware/univac.htm
Freiberger, P. A., & Swaine, M. R. (n.d.). UNIVAC. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from https://www.britannica.com/technology/UNIVAC
First Univac 1 delivered to US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1951/