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A Brief History of Computer Hardware
A short generational overview of computer hardware, from relays and vacuum tubes to transistors, integrated circuits and the microprocessor.
Machines and Interfaces
Hardware and Systems
From vacuum tubes to chips: the machines and the system software that ran them.
The Development of the First Laptop: A Computing Breakthrough
Which machine was the first laptop? A look at early portable computers of the 1970s and 1980s, and why historians disagree about the answer.
The Development of the First Supercomputer: A Computing Breakthrough
What makes a computer a supercomputer, which 1960s machines are often given the title, and why the label keeps shifting as technology advances.
The Evolution of the Microchip: A Brief History
How chip manufacturing progressed from the earliest integrated circuits to today's extremely dense designs, and what drove each step forward.
The History of the Computer Chip: A Computing Milestone
How separate teams developed the integrated circuit in the late 1950s, and how that invention led to the microprocessor in the early 1970s.
The History of the Computer Hardware: A Computing Milestone
A look at the earliest electronic computing hardware: relays and vacuum tubes, how they worked, their weaknesses, and why transistors replaced them.
The History of the Computer Operating System: A Computing Milestone
Why computers needed software to manage themselves, and how batch systems, time-sharing and later operating systems developed from the 1950s onward.
Related topics
More in machines and interfaces
Interfaces and Input How people came to talk to computers through keyboards, mice and screens. Early Machines ENIAC, early electronic and commercial computers, and the mainframe era. Personal Computers How microprocessors and hobby kits led to computers at home. Mobile Computing Laptops, phones and handheld devices. Storage and Displays The media that held data and the screens that showed it, from cards to flash.