Computers are a ubiquitous presence in our daily lives, from the smartphones we use to the complex systems that power the internet. Yet despite their widespread use, there are still many facts about computers that remain unknown to the average person. In this blog post, we'll explore the top 10 unknown facts of computers.
The first computer program was written in the 1800s
Most people think of the 1940s and 1950s as the dawn of the computer age, but the first computer program was actually written in the 1800s. Ada Lovelace, a mathematician and writer, wrote a program for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine in 1843. The program was designed to calculate a sequence of numbers known as Bernoulli numbers.
The first computer mouse was made of wood
The first computer mouse was invented in 1964 by Douglas Engelbart, but it was not made of the plastic and metal we're used to today. Instead, the first mouse was made of wood and had only one button.
The first hard drive was as big as a refrigerator
The first hard drive was invented in 1956 by IBM and was as big as a refrigerator. It weighed over a ton and had a storage capacity of only 5MB. Today, a single USB flash drive can hold thousands of times more data than that original hard drive.
The first computer virus was created as a prank
The first computer virus, known as the "Creeper" virus, was created in 1971 as a prank by a programmer named Bob Thomas. The virus displayed the message "I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!" on infected computers.
The first website is still online
The first website was created in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. The site is still online and can be viewed at its original address: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
The first computer-generated music was created in the 1950s
The first computer-generated music was created in the 1950s by a computer named the IBM 704. The music was a 17-second melody created by a program called MUSIC.
The first computer game was created in 1961
The first computer game, Spacewar!, was created in 1961 by a group of MIT students. The game involved two spaceships battling each other in space.
The first computer printer was invented in 1953
The first computer printer was invented in 1953 by Remington-Rand. The printer, called the UNIVAC File Computer Printer, could print up to 120 characters per second.
The first computer modem was invented in 1958
The first computer modem was invented in 1958 by Bell Labs. The modem allowed computers to transmit data over telephone lines, paving the way for the internet as we know it today.
The first computer language was invented in the 1950s
The first computer language, Fortran, was invented in the 1950s by IBM. Fortran is still used today for scientific and engineering applications.
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