Software in History: From Punch Cards to Modern Computer Programs

Software in History: From Punch Cards to Modern Computer Programs

Software in History: From Punch Cards to Modern Computer Programs

When you think about software, you likely try to visualize something that is highly intangible, such as the information stored on your “cloud” or a program saved on your hard drive that you can’t see. And if we are considering only software from 2012, you are correct. Software has indeed been so far removed from “hardware” that it might more accurately be deemed “noware.”

But software wasn’t always this way. As you’re about to see, technology has come a long way. The earliest manifestations of software used for information storage would probably be considered “hardware” today. By older standards, however, software did indeed start out as hardware that was simply “softer.” Let’s take a look at how this was the case.

 Software in Ancient Babylon?

If your idea of “software” could loosely be defined as “computing,” then there have been devices like that for a long, long time. Case in point: the abacus. The world’s first-known calculator, the abacus was essentially a counting frame that allowed you to perform calculations by sliding beans up and down a stick. Many historians believe this invention was probably developed by the ancient Babylonians. Later, the Chinese abacus (also known as the “suanpan”) would become the most widely-used form of calculation in the world before the calculator itself.

If you tend to think of those devices as early examples of computing hardware and not software, then the story changes drastically. Modern computing relies on a number of concepts that were developed over millennia. For example, the use of zero as a number in mathematics was first pioneered in ancient India – that led us to the present state of software. But we can look at software as a function of hardware if you want the real story of its development throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Was the First Software Actually Paper?

Our concept of software still relies somewhat on the hardware that delivers it; throughout the 1990s, for example, you’d be hard-pressed to find software that wasn’t available on a floppy disk that could be inserted into the computer. Software started out as a similar concept to punch-cards – printed on paper or card stock – and would be used to input certain information into a computer. The computer could read which variables were punched out on the cards and then record the information. The idea of “punching out” at work is really quite similar.

ventually, the interface of the computers themselves grew more sophisticated, allowing software engineers to develop software on and in the computer themselves. Throughout the 1970s and surrounding years, software engineering was actually considered a troubled concept because of the many problems software would face. For example, poor software for radiotherapy machines could endanger peoples’ lives.

Over time software became a much more predictable process, and its consistency increased. The arrival of the Internet also heralded a new era for easily-shareable software that has led us to the wide-ranging world of software applications that we use today. Learn more about current technologies, web news & social media news update here Geeky Edge .

Software in History: From Punch Cards to Modern Computer Programs

When you think about software, you likely try to visualize something that is highly intangible, such as the information stored on your “cloud” or a program saved on your hard drive that you can’t see. And if we are considering only software from 2012, you are correct. Software has indeed been so far removed from “hardware” that it might more accurately be deemed “noware.”

But software wasn’t always this way. As you’re about to see, technology has come a long way. The earliest manifestations of software used for information storage would probably be considered “hardware” today. By older standards, however, software did indeed start out as hardware that was simply “softer.” Let’s take a look at how this was the case.

 Software in Ancient Babylon?

If your idea of “software” could loosely be defined as “computing,” then there have been devices like that for a long, long time. Case in point: the abacus. The world’s first-known calculator, the abacus was essentially a counting frame that allowed you to perform calculations by sliding beans up and down a stick. Many historians believe this invention was probably developed by the ancient Babylonians. Later, the Chinese abacus (also known as the “suanpan”) would become the most widely-used form of calculation in the world before the calculator itself.

If you tend to think of those devices as early examples of computing hardware and not software, then the story changes drastically. Modern computing relies on a number of concepts that were developed over millennia. For example, the use of zero as a number in mathematics was first pioneered in ancient India – that led us to the present state of software. But we can look at software as a function of hardware if you want the real story of its development throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Was the First Software Actually Paper?

Our concept of software still relies somewhat on the hardware that delivers it; throughout the 1990s, for example, you’d be hard-pressed to find software that wasn’t available on a floppy disk that could be inserted into the computer. Software started out as a similar concept to punch-cards – printed on paper or card stock – and would be used to input certain information into a computer. The computer could read which variables were punched out on the cards and then record the information. The idea of “punching out” at work is really quite similar.

ventually, the interface of the computers themselves grew more sophisticated, allowing software engineers to develop software on and in the computer themselves. Throughout the 1970s and surrounding years, software engineering was actually considered a troubled concept because of the many problems software would face. For example, poor software for radiotherapy machines could endanger peoples’ lives.

Over time software became a much more predictable process, and its consistency increased. The arrival of the Internet also heralded a new era for easily-shareable software that has led us to the wide-ranging world of software applications that we use today. Learn more about current technologies, web news & social media news update here Geeky Edge .

History of Gadgets

History of Gadgets

The history of gadgets spans as far back as humanity itself - since hominids began creating tools to make their lives easier. Humans have always created devices and appliances with specific practical purposes that were initially thought of as novelties, due to unfamiliarity with and initial unwillingness to accept the technology. Today, industry has augmented the creation of new gadgets, while certain retailers, including Brookstone and Richard Thalheimer's RichardSolo.com, specialize in popularizing them.

What famous inventors Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Leonardo da Vinci, among others, had in common was foresight. They understood that a lifetime spent playing with what others viewed as toys and senseless gadgets would eventually result in indispensable technology. From just that small group, the groundwork for electricity, communications, film, and flight was laid because of their gadgets, which obviously possessed more value than novelty.

Perhaps one of the earliest, most well known gadgets created is the wheel, many millennia ago. Take a ride in your car and witness how truly revolutionary such a gadget became and how much we now rely on it for transportation. A more recent gadget, the Apple iPhone, appears to be the beginning stages of yet another gadget-turned-necessity that will reshape communications.

"The iPhone may someday be looked upon as the device that started a second revolution in computing. Desktop computing was the first revolution. Hand-held computing will someday be regarded as the second revolution, and the iPhone is the product that started it." 

-Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com

All gadgets were not created equal. In fact most inventions are built on the newest technology. The world of gadgets is tiered; devices fall into one of four categories: mechanical, electronic, programmable, and application. Mechanical gadgets include the wheel, as well as later developments such as the pulley, the bicycle, the sail boat, the thermometer and the sort. Following the advent of electricity, gadgets were taken to a new level as inventors began to discover different uses for the newly harnessed energy. The television, radio and quartz watch are examples of electronic gadgets. After electricity, inventors toyed around with electronic information via microprocessor, beginning an age of programmable devices such as computers, and later, MP3 players and the iPhone. Application gadgets include iTunes, Microsoft Office and other computer applications that customize our experience with programmable devices.

Richard Thalheimer, the President and founder of online gadget vendor RichardSolo.com, and founder and former CEO of gadget giant The Sharper Image, understands, maybe better than anyone, that there's much more to gadgets than novelty.

"Certainly most people enjoy the novelty of a gadget that introduces new convenience to their lifestyle. What they forget is that solving these everyday problems is not just entertainment, but some of these devices become functional necessities. In my personal life, I rely on my iPhone, my garage door opener, my nose hair trimmer, my electric toothbrush, and other gadgets that were once regarded as novel gadgets. "

- Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com

Both his former brainchild and his current venture sell quirky, useful and fun gadgets of all types, from mechanical to programmable and application. He has seen some devices, such as the Ionic Breeze air purifier, spur sensational and lasting trends based on a realization of utility value, while others collected dust on the shelves after their novelty wore out. Specialty stores like The Sharper Image and Richard Thalheimer's RichardSolo.com serve a greater purpose: spread new ideas, and give credit to the Franklins and Edisons of the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1095125

The history of gadgets spans as far back as humanity itself - since hominids began creating tools to make their lives easier. Humans have always created devices and appliances with specific practical purposes that were initially thought of as novelties, due to unfamiliarity with and initial unwillingness to accept the technology. Today, industry has augmented the creation of new gadgets, while certain retailers, including Brookstone and Richard Thalheimer's RichardSolo.com, specialize in popularizing them.

What famous inventors Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Leonardo da Vinci, among others, had in common was foresight. They understood that a lifetime spent playing with what others viewed as toys and senseless gadgets would eventually result in indispensable technology. From just that small group, the groundwork for electricity, communications, film, and flight was laid because of their gadgets, which obviously possessed more value than novelty.

Perhaps one of the earliest, most well known gadgets created is the wheel, many millennia ago. Take a ride in your car and witness how truly revolutionary such a gadget became and how much we now rely on it for transportation. A more recent gadget, the Apple iPhone, appears to be the beginning stages of yet another gadget-turned-necessity that will reshape communications.

"The iPhone may someday be looked upon as the device that started a second revolution in computing. Desktop computing was the first revolution. Hand-held computing will someday be regarded as the second revolution, and the iPhone is the product that started it." 

-Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com

All gadgets were not created equal. In fact most inventions are built on the newest technology. The world of gadgets is tiered; devices fall into one of four categories: mechanical, electronic, programmable, and application. Mechanical gadgets include the wheel, as well as later developments such as the pulley, the bicycle, the sail boat, the thermometer and the sort. Following the advent of electricity, gadgets were taken to a new level as inventors began to discover different uses for the newly harnessed energy. The television, radio and quartz watch are examples of electronic gadgets. After electricity, inventors toyed around with electronic information via microprocessor, beginning an age of programmable devices such as computers, and later, MP3 players and the iPhone. Application gadgets include iTunes, Microsoft Office and other computer applications that customize our experience with programmable devices.

Richard Thalheimer, the President and founder of online gadget vendor RichardSolo.com, and founder and former CEO of gadget giant The Sharper Image, understands, maybe better than anyone, that there's much more to gadgets than novelty.

"Certainly most people enjoy the novelty of a gadget that introduces new convenience to their lifestyle. What they forget is that solving these everyday problems is not just entertainment, but some of these devices become functional necessities. In my personal life, I rely on my iPhone, my garage door opener, my nose hair trimmer, my electric toothbrush, and other gadgets that were once regarded as novel gadgets. "

- Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com

Both his former brainchild and his current venture sell quirky, useful and fun gadgets of all types, from mechanical to programmable and application. He has seen some devices, such as the Ionic Breeze air purifier, spur sensational and lasting trends based on a realization of utility value, while others collected dust on the shelves after their novelty wore out. Specialty stores like The Sharper Image and Richard Thalheimer's RichardSolo.com serve a greater purpose: spread new ideas, and give credit to the Franklins and Edisons of the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1095125