31 dic 1951 anni - Computer Goes Public

Descrizione:

- In 1951, UNIVAC, the world's first computer available for public purchase was released. Similar to ENIAC, it was general purpose and handled letters and numbers well, however, it was the first to seperate the processes of input and output with the actual computational processes.

- The public attitude towards computers would completely change as well. People didn't expect computers to be much, initially, but when the fifth version fo UNIVAC accurately predicted Eisenhower's win in the 1952 election with only 1% of the voters' data, a widespread "computer fear began". We see this over and over again with new technology, such as AI.

- Additionally, UNIVAC was the first computer to use a magentic tape unit and buffer memory. Buffer memory is still used today in the form of HDD drives, something you probably have in your own computer.