Computer Engineering A Computer - 1340 Words

Josh Piersma Mrs. Linn Advanced Writing November 18, 2014 Computer Engineering INTRODUCTION Looking through the various topics of which to write a paper on, I came across computer engineering. For as long as I can remember I have had a fascination with computers. When I was seven years old, I came across a cube shaped object at my grandparent’s house. The object was called a computer, specifically an Apple Emac. My grandpa told me about all the interesting things this computer could preform. From then on, I was fixated on using the computer. Every time I went to my grandparent’s house, I asked if I could play on the computer. From then on, my fascination for computers only grew exponentially. Beginning my research, I already knew the†¦show more content†¦They used a variety of people to try to create the first known digital computer. The computer was calle ABC, which stands for Atanasoff-Berry Computer (â€Å"History of Computing†). John Vincent Atanasoff was a former professor around the time he created his this computer, but he was physics a nd mathematics professor. He needed to find someone that could connect all the wires and to make sure he did not electrocute himself while building the computer (â€Å"History of Computing†). He then met a professor while walking along campus one day. This professor was a electrical engineering professor named Harold W. Anderson. Talking with him Atanasoff told Anderson about this computer the wanted to build, and what type of student he would need and Anderson replied, â€Å" I have your man: Cliff Berry †( â€Å"History of Computing†). This then began the process of making the worlds first digital computer. The machine they built would not be recognizable compared to todays computers. The ABC looked nothing like today’s computers: It was the size of a big desk, weighed 750 pounds, and featured rotating drums for memory, glowing vacuum tubes, and a read/write system that recorded numbers by scorching marks on cards (â€Å"History of Computing†). The term computer soon took off, and engineers all over the world took to designing their own digital computer. The next big step that engineers had to figure out how to make computers talk. To get a computer to communicate with another