Welcome To Kristin's Webpage!
| Move your cursor over the following egg to see a larger version. |
| Click here to visit my Ukrainian Egg Pages. |
| Click here to see the artwork I completed at UCC. |
The picture above of a Hummingbird plate, is one that I found in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine. I love birds, so I wanted to display the plate on my page. I've had three budgies in the past, and my most recent one is shown below. |
This is my budgie "Spring". I named him Spring because I got him during Spring Break a few years ago. He is the best bird I've had since he doesn't bite or squawk. |
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| The first block of text below, contains information that I researched concerning Computer History. |
Past-Present: Computer History
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In the age of digital cameras, CD-Burners, MP3 players, and the like, we often take for granted what an important role computers play in our lives. Many of us don't realize it, but the world as we know it would come to a grinding halt if all the computers, embedded or individual, concurrently ceased to function. Whether it's your beloved laptop, the thermostat in your house, the microwave, subway, elevators, electrical hospital equipment, or any digital device that has been incorporated into everyday items, simple daily tasks would be altered dramatically. But how did computers so quickly manage to invade almost every aspect in our lives whether we liked it or not? How did it all start and what is in store for us? Surprisingly, computers have been evolving for well over a century. At the time, there was an increasing need for a machine that could calculate large amounts of mathematical information, so that the immensely boring, repetitive task would not be put solely on the shoulders of some unfortunate person. Once it was thought that such a machine could be actualized, the beginnings of what we know today as the computer were under way, and the unstoppable train of progress was on its way to blaze a course into the future. Approximately five thousand years ago, a device made of a series of beads and rods was used to tally and do simple math calculations. This device, the abacus is the first recorded machine of its type and in a sense, was a step in the direction for the computer. Much later, in the 1600's, multiplication and division could be done on what was called the slide rule. One would line up numbers to complete calculations. Half way through the 1600's, Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline, made from wheels and cogs. This device could "carry", allowing one to compute numbers larger than ten (Evans 16-27). Although these inventions aided in basic calculations, they were nothing like the computers of today. 
The first mention of a computer that, more or less, resembles the machines of today dates back to 1833 when a man by the name of Charles Babbage busily tried to construct a machine capable of calculating numbers. After what Babbage thought seemed like a failed attempt at a previous mathematical machine, the Difference Engine, "his mind began to consider an even more ambitious scheme: the construction of . . . an Analytical Engine. And at that moment the concept of the computer was born" (Evans 36). The accepted definition of a computer consisted of three components: it had to have memory capabilities, a decision-making unit (central processor in today's terms), and it had to be programmable (Evans 34). The Analytical Engine was the first to fit the accepted definition of a computer; it actually had a memory and with the installation of punched cards, invented by Joseph-Marie Jacquard for an automated weaving loom machine, it was now capable of being programmed. The physical input of cards allowed the computer to do different calculations without anyone having to seriously rebuild any components. It could do one calculation per second. By 1855, the first computer was ready for sale and was displayed at an exhibition. At this time, the computer was mainly sought out for government censuses, since the task was becoming an overwhelming burden for data handlers. It would also have some application in the field of accounting and in mathematical institutions for highly repetitive calculations that could be done more efficiently with a machine. (Evans 34-45)In 1890, the Census Bureau held a contest for the creation of a calculating machine after the government realized that censuses were becoming too time consuming and, consequently, were obsolete before their date of completion. The contest winner, Herman Hollerith, designed a tabulating machine that could deal with the astronomical numbers in a short period of time. His machine, appropriately labeled the Hollerith System, was employed in the next government census. In the time since Babbage created his computer, the Industrial Revolution had occurred and brought forth new advances in technology and people who had developed more skills with machinery. 
Around the same time, electricity had been discovered; it was an ideal source of power for these new computers. It eliminated the need for human involvement in running the machines proving that "the days of interlocking cogs and gears were numbered" (Evans 47-53). Hollerith's company later merged with a number of other tabulating companies in the 1930's and was eventually know as IBM (International Business Machine Corporation) (Evans 55).That same decade, a man by the name of Vannevar Bush built what he called a Differential Analyzer that could "cope with more or less any problem" (Evans 63). In 1936, Konrad Zuse, a European engineer, built a system called the Z1 and shortly after, constructed the Z2. These computers worked on the binary system, were capable of storing information in their memory, and had a "central processor-like device." For input in the Z1, Zuse used a keyboard, but when he built the Z2 he replaced his keyboard with 35mm film that had punched holes so that the information could be processed faster. In addition to the advancement of input, Zuse substituted the memory switches with electro-magnetic relays, the first recorded use of relays in this application. As time went on, electrical improvements were made and the Z3 and Z4 were built. Four years later, another mathematician, George Stibitz, paved the way for remote computer access with the aid of the telephone line. By hooking up the line to his computer, he was able to access it without actually being anywhere near his computer. He demonstrated this marvelous feat when he displayed a paper he had written on the binary system as a starting point for electronic calculators (Evans 65-71). This exciting technological jump was just a taste of what was to come; we are highly aware of the notorious Internet that today links over two million users worldwide. Nobody at the time could have predicted what was in store for the computer, so concentration continued to be spent on making the computers faster and more reliable. 
One of the next computers to be built was one that is remembered for its size rather than speed. Financially backed by IBM, Howard Aiken, a Navy lieutenant, produced a massive digital computer. Previous computers and calculators had been analogue, so this was quite a change in initial construction. The main difference between analogue and digital is that the latter represents distinct points rather than the infinite combinations in between that seamlessly merge into one another; for example, the numbers on a digital watch will tell you that the time is 4:33pm and not 4:33.2254118, et cetera. A further example of analogue versus digital could be explained with the help of a desk lamp. A simple lamp has an on/off switch, making it a digital device, but if a dimmer were to be added, there would be many different intensities of light and thus, the lamp would be analogue (Microsoft Encarta). The Harvard Mark I, Aiken's new digital computer named after its place of assembly, was an enormous collection of over one million individual parts. The Mark I could accomplish dozens of calculations per second. The whole assembly was 50 feet long, 8 feet high, and weighed 5 tons. The amazing thing was that in just one year, computers were going to be one thousand times faster than the Mark I. Technology was advancing so fast that by the time the Mark II was completed, it was already obsolete; however, all the publicity around the Harvard series computers facilitated in bringing IBM to the top of computer manufacture (Evans 72-74).As computers evolved, they were being built not only for numerical calculations, but for military use: code cracking and creation, ballistic tables, and projected courses for guns and missiles. Electromagnetic machines were the next step and were capable of scanning characters as fast as two thousand per second. They utilized punched tape for data entry. In 1943, Thomas Flowers built an efficient code-cracking machine, the Colossus (White). It could process over five thousand characters per second, but its use was restricted to code cracking. In 1946, the military's need for missile and gun course projection spawned the construction of the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator). Remarkably, it operated "at the rate of 100,000 calculations per second" (White). The downside to this 30-ton monstrosity was that programming was difficult and it had a high failure rate - approximately one failure every seven minutes - directly related to its 18,000 vacuum tubes (Beekman 5). Fortunately, the problem of programming was already on the way to being solved. 
The next computer advancement came in the form of a computer that could store programs in its memory and switch between them to accomplish a multitude of tasks. The EDSAC, and the later model: EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer), were a step in the right direction as far as eliminating human aid in programming (Evans 86-87). Even though programming was becoming more and more important, speed, size, and memory was still of great concern. By the 1950's, computers were still being manufactured as large calculators. Through the 50's and 60's more came into existence with amazing advances in memory size and processing speeds. Of course, in comparison with today's standards, the speeds were far from what we would expect. For example, in 1950, a computer built on the vacuum tube system had a processing speed of 0.001MHz; this is a fraction of what we have come to accept as the standard, but at that time it was unimaginable (Langa). Fortunately, for prospective computer buyers, the costs were taking a dive and the trend for price reduction was being set. In addition to price drops, there was one other factor that was being calculated into the equation: reliability.Reliability was one of the most important requirements of the increasingly popular computer. Once the military got interested in using computers for attack strategies, the standards for quality were set. Meanwhile, the world was in the midst of the notorious space race between the Russians and Americans. This resulted in the need for a way of backing up (or storing) large quantities of information and compacting the size of computers for easier transport. Commercialism started to take effect too, as small businesses began to take interest. Now, banking, airline, and hotel bookings could be handled with the help of the computer. Despite all the advances in technology, there was still one barrier preventing more user-friendly communication with the computer: language. Since the public was becoming more involved, this presented a problem. To solve this, human programmers converted the letters of the alphabet into the binary system so that the computer could interpret data entry without the person having to decipher binary ones and zeros. After the software was programmed, other languages were entered. This coding was quite simple considering that it was previously done for the numerical symbols 0-9. Every number or letter symbol was represented by a series of ones and zeros. Once it was determined that the computer was fast enough to handle input, a new form of data entry was invented: time-sharing. Access points were created so that many people (multiple users) could use a single computer at the same time. It was proven that the computer performed calculations so fast that it could do user A's task, move on to user B, C, D, etc. and be back to user A before he or she was ready to give the next command. Little did anyone know that the gap between thought and processing speed was about to widen once again. (Evans 91-101) 
In 1956, the invention of the transistor changed the size and speed of the computer drastically. Until then, first generation vacuum tube computers were quite unreliable and required enormous amounts of power. The revolutionary new transistor reduced the size, power requirements, and heat output. However, this form of speed increaser was short lived. In the mid-60's, the third generation computer was born. The advent of the integrated circuit with silicon chips could pack in hundreds of transistors worth of speed (Beekman 5-6). By the late 60's, institutions such as schools, hospitals, and small businesses could afford to pay for the use of computer services (Evans 101). Information could also be printed out as a hard copy, now that dot-matrix printers were entering the market, and accessed via the mouse that was designed by Douglas Englebart (White). 1969 marked the year that the first microcomputer came into existence. It was the first "complete computer to be housed on a tiny silicon chip" (Beekman 7). The computer revolution surged on through the 70's as well-know brands Apple, Tandy, and Commodore flooded the market. These were the first to employ RAM (Random Access Memory) storage. For the first time, the average consumer could afford to have his or her own personal computer (PC). By the early 80's, portable PC's, weighing approximately 20 pounds, were becoming available. These evolved into the 10-pound laptops and eventually, the notebook computer that fit in a briefcase with room to spare (Beekman 7-10). 
By analyzing the past trends for computer advancements, we can see that technology is expanding at an unstoppable rate and it is becoming easier to purchase a computer that suits the requirements of today. It is simply mind-boggling when one considers that just fifty years ago, computers were processing basic information at 0.001MHz whereas today, they can breeze through complex applications at speeds up to 1GHz! It is hard to believe that for so many decades, people were content with the computer as a calculating device when most of us today aren't even surprised by all the add-ons and functions it can perform. Presently, one can purchase a variety of hardware to inhance their computing experience: speakers, printers, microphones, scanners, digital cameras, modems, graphics cards and tablets, tape backup, CD-Burners, DVD-Players, mice, trackballs, touchpads, gamepads, and joysticks, to name a few. Even programs have branched out into different areas to facilitate in the many problems of dealing with information: data storage, word processing, graphics manipulation, music composition, Internet browsing, and gaming. Most jobs now require some computer-related skills before anyone is even considered for hiring. The technology is advancing faster than anyone ever imagined and in the near future, we will witness "breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, voice recognition, virtual reality, interactive multimedia, hyper media, wireless communication…" and many other technological marvels many of us can't even conceive of at this point in time (Beekman xxvi). Scientists are already working with subatomic particles in an effort to make smaller, faster computers; they believe that "quantum computers may one day be thousands to millions of times faster than current computers, because they take advantage of the laws that govern the behavior of subatomic particles" (Microsoft Encarta). There seems to be no limit to the avenues that are out there waiting to be explored, but if we are to make any progress, we must keep in mind that technology is only useful if the user can understand how to use it and comprehend how it works.Beekman, George. Computer Currents: Navigating Tomorrow's Technology. Redwood City, California: The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., 1994. Evans, Christopher R. The Making of the Micro: A History of the Computer. Belgium: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1981. Langa, Fred. "CSIRAC: 1st-Generation Computer goes on Display." Byte. 27 Dec. 1999. Online posting. Academic Search Elite. 16 Mar. 2000. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. CD-ROM. Redmond, USA: Microsoft Corporation, 1998. White, Stephen. "A Brief History of Computing." Yahoo. http://ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/timeline.html Click here to visit my Essay Page! Learn about stunt kites and more! |
Creating Ukrainian Eggs is not the only thing I do for a hobby. When I was in grade 8 (5 years ago!) I started making wood projects with various tools, such as the scrollsaw. I progressed to more complex projects including small clocks made on the band saw and larger clocks (schoolhouse clock) that require more advanced (and dangerous) machinery.
Once I got going and learned the basics, including safety, I was producing good quality projects. None of them got less than an A as a grade. Even a lot of the guys were asking me for help! Take a look at the picture of my finished School House Clock that I completed in my grade 10 year. The dragon that is shown above took me quite a long time because I had to change the blade 372 times. Every time I cut a hole, I had to loosen the blade, reposition and lock it into place for the next hole. I made so many projects that I wore out the thumbscrew on my saw!
