Pink Fire Pointer A Brief History of Computers and Memory

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A Brief History of Computers and Memory

In the beginning, computer memory was created. It was simple in its architecture and very rough compared to the computer memory of today. The time was the 1940s and 1950s. As sock hops entertained the children of that generation, the birth of computers and computer memory emerged for the use of businesses and large companies. Virtual memory was still a dream that hadn't had a chance to be dreamt and the speeds at which the memory had to be accessed hadn't reached above a turtle's crawl compared to today's standards.

Logic and simplified algorithms were the hot items of the day and technologies brightest star. All large programs, which when compared to today's programs would still have been tiny, had to have them in order to process and manage two level storage-primary storage and secondary storage.

Then, the next stage of technology spurred from the depths of those meager beginnings and virtual memory was born. The technology that created virtual memory didn't have the intent of extending primary memory, but rather of making such an extension possible and relatively easy for programmers to use since the first computers were outgrown quickly by the working world. It didn't take long to figure out that increasing what a computer could do would increase the ability of business to make a profit and become a household name.

The number of jobs that the computer could do was seen in the beginning as limited. With technological advancement, that view quickly moved to limitless. This shift in the possibilities of computer memory and in computers themselves led to a technological explosion as every aspect of every conceivable probability and possibility found their way into the think tanks of programmers and developers intent on growing the functionality of the computer.

The 1960s saw even more development, with particular strides in virtual memory. The B5000 hit the market with the new technology and was designed for business use, not personal use. Personal use of computers waited in the wings, although it had not been the original intent when the development of computers began.

In 1969, virtual memory finally graduated from a buggy concept with multiple difficulties with a heavy price tag attached. IBM researched and proved its advantageous capabilities, moving virtual memory from infancy to toddlerhood without any further delays.

The 1970s saw the development of the minicomputers. These, of course, were not the minicomputers of today, but rather large in comparison. Still, they were the smallest computers of their day. The NORD1 didn't do badly at all on the market. The birth of the idea of a personal computer became the focus of the decade.

Since the 70s, there have been so many changes with the way computers were used, how they store and hold memory, and the purpose of computers. The late 70s and early 80s saw the computer begin the personal trek as it showed up in homes. No longer just for business, these computers were very limited in their ability. The first personal computers ran just a few computer applications and didn't have much functionality for producing the volume of work needed for home offices. By the 90s, this flaw would be rectified as the personal computer became a common and ordinary addition to homes.

By the 2000s, the home computer produced just as much revenue from business, created a new method of shopping and balancing finances as their business counterparts. Many businesses are now individuals on a home computer working with the same amount of competitive edge as companies who began the technological race for computerized functions years ago. As each milestone in technology has advanced, so has computer memory. Today, home computers use and have the capacity to store large amounts of information. The popularity of computers will only increase as the possibilities in computer memory and other technology continually increases the value and functionality of the computer.