Editing History of computing (section)

==Digital electronic computers==

{{Main|Computer#Modern computers|l1=Modern computers|History of computing hardware|History of computing hardware (1960s–present)}}

{{Blockquote|The "brain" [computer] may one day come down to our level [of the common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this is speculation and there is no sign of it so far.|British newspaper ''The Star'' in a June 1949 news article about the [[EDSAC]] computer, long before the era of the personal computers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~edsac/Software/EdsacTG.pdf |title=Tutorial Guide to the EDSAC Simulator |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref>}}

In an 1886 letter, [[Charles Sanders Peirce]] described how logical operations could be carried out by electrical switching circuits.<ref name=P2M>Peirce, C. S., "Letter, Peirce to [[Allan Marquand|A. Marquand]]", dated 1886, ''[[Charles Sanders Peirce bibliography#W|Writings of Charles S. Peirce]]'', v. 5, 1993, pp. 421–423. See {{cite journal |author-link=Arthur W. Burks |last=Burks |first=Arthur W. |title=Review: Charles S. Peirce, ''The new elements of mathematics'' |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society |volume=84 |issue=5 |date=September 1978 |page=917  |doi=10.1090/S0002-9904-1978-14533-9 |url=https://projecteuclid.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-american-mathematical-society-new-series/volume-84/issue-5/Review-Charles-S-Peirce-The-new-elements-of-mathematics/bams/1183541145.full|doi-access=free }}</ref> During 1880-81 he showed that [[NOR logic|NOR gates alone]] (or [[NAND logic|NAND gates alone]]) can be used to reproduce the functions of all the other [[logic gate]]s, but this work on it was unpublished until 1933.<ref>Peirce, C. S. (manuscript winter of 1880–81), "A Boolian Algebra with One Constant", published 1933 in ''[[Charles Sanders Peirce bibliography#CP|Collected Papers]]'' v. 4, paragraphs 12–20. Reprinted 1989 in ''[[Charles Sanders Peirce bibliography#W|Writings of Charles S. Peirce]]'' v. 4, [https://archive.org/details/writingsofcharle0004peir/page/218 pp. 218–212]. See Roberts, Don D. (2009), ''The Existential Graphs of Charles S. Peirce'', p. 131.</ref> The first published proof was by [[Henry M. Sheffer]] in 1913, so the NAND logical operation is sometimes called [[Sheffer stroke]]; the [[logical NOR]] is sometimes called ''Peirce's arrow''.<ref name="BüningLettmann1999">{{cite book|first1=Hans Kleine|last1=Büning|first2=Theodor|last2=Lettmann|title=Propositional logic: deduction and algorithms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3oJE9yczr3EC&pg=PA2|year=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-63017-7|page=2}}</ref> Consequently, these gates are sometimes called ''universal logic gates''.<ref name="Bird2007">{{cite book|first=John|last=Bird|title=Engineering mathematics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-fBmsEBNUoC&pg=PA532|year=2007|publisher=Newnes|isbn=978-0-7506-8555-9|page=532}}</ref>

Eventually, [[vacuum tube]]s replaced relays for logic operations. [[Lee De Forest]]'s modification, in 1907, of the [[Fleming valve]] can be used as a logic gate. [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] introduced a version of the 16-row [[truth table]] as proposition 5.101 of ''[[Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus]]'' (1921). [[Walther Bothe]], inventor of the [[coincidence circuit]], got part of the 1954 [[Nobel Prize]] in physics, for the first modern electronic AND gate in 1924. [[Konrad Zuse]] designed and built electromechanical logic gates for his computer [[Z1 (computer)|Z1]] (from 1935 to 1938).

The first recorded idea of using [[digital electronics]] for computing was the 1931 paper "The Use of Thyratrons for High Speed Automatic Counting of Physical Phenomena" by [[C. E. Wynn-Williams]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Wynn-Williams | first = C. E. | author-link = C. E. Wynn-Williams | title = The Use of Thyratrons for High Speed Automatic Counting of Physical Phenomena | journal = [[Proceedings of the Royal Society A]] | volume = 132 | issue = 819 | pages = 295–310 | date = July 2, 1931 | doi = 10.1098/rspa.1931.0102 |bibcode = 1931RSPSA.132..295W | doi-access = free }}</ref> From 1934 to 1936, [[NEC]] engineer [[Akira Nakashima]], [[Claude Shannon]], and [[Victor Shestakov]] published papers introducing [[switching circuit theory]], using digital electronics for [[Boolean algebra]]ic operations.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ieejfms/124/8/124_8_720/_article |title=History of Research on Switching Theory in Japan |journal=IEEJ Transactions on Fundamentals and Materials |volume=124 |issue=8 |date=2004 |pages=720–726 |publisher=[[Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan]]|doi=10.1541/ieejfms.124.720 |bibcode=2004IJTFM.124..720Y |last1=Yamada |first1=Akihiko |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0002.html |title=Switching Theory/Relay Circuit Network Theory/Theory of Logical Mathematics |website=IPSJ Computer Museum, [[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref><ref name="Stanković-Astola_2008">{{cite book |editor-first1=Radomir S.<!-- Stanislav? --> |editor-last1=Stanković |editor-link1=:de:Radomir S. Stanković |editor-first2=Jaakko Tapio |editor-last2=Astola |editor-link2=:fi:Jaakko Tapio Astola |date=2008 |isbn=978-952-15-1980-2 |issn=1456-2774 |volume=40 |issue=2 |url=http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/reports/reprint-nakashima-rr.pdf |title=Reprints from the Early Days of Information Sciences: TICSP Series On the Contributions of Akira Nakashima to Switching Theory |series=Tampere International Center for Signal Processing (TICSP) Series |location=[[Tampere University of Technology]], Tampere, Finland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308002559/http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/reports/reprint-nakashima-rr.pdf |archive-date=2021-03-08}} (3+207+1 pages) [https://web.archive.org/web/20221026175726/http://ciitlab.elfak.ni.ac.rs/predavanja/09_Nakashima.mp4 10:00 min]</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Radomir S.|last1= Stanković |first2= Jaakko T.|last2= Astola |first3= Mark G.|last3= Karpovsky |title= Some Historical Remarks on Switching Theory|citeseerx= 10.1.1.66.1248|url = http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/images/8/8b/Cr1032.pdf|publisher =Tampere International Center for Signal Processing, [[Tampere University of Technology]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705103440/http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/images/8/8b/Cr1032.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1936 [[Alan Turing]] published his seminal paper [[Turing's proof|On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem]]<ref>* {{Citation |author-last=Turing |author-first=Alan M. |author-link=Alan M. Turing |publication-date=1937 |date=1936 |title=On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem |periodical=Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society |series=2 |volume=42 |pages=230–265 |doi=10.1112/plms/s2-42.1.230|s2cid=73712 }} (and {{Citation |author-last=Turing |author-first=Alan M. |author-link=Alan M. Turing |publication-date=1937 |title=On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem. A correction |periodical=Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society |series=2 |volume=43 |pages=544–546 |doi=10.1112/plms/s2-43.6.544 |date=1938 |issue=6}})</ref> in which he modeled computation in terms of a one-dimensional storage tape, leading to the idea of the [[Universal Turing machine]] and [[Turing-complete]] systems.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The first digital electronic computer was developed in the period April 1936 - June 1939, in the IBM Patent Department, Endicott, New York by Arthur Halsey Dickinson.<ref name="Dickinson">Dickinson, A.H., "Accounting Apparatus", {{US patent|src=uspto|2580740}}, filed Jan. 20, 1940, granted Jan. 1, 1952,</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Building IBM: Shaping an Industry and its Technology|first=Emerson W.|last=Pugh|publisher=[[The MIT Press]]|year=1996}}</ref><ref name="IBM100">{{cite web |work=IBM100 |title=Patents and Inventions |date=7 March 2012 |url=https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/patents/}}</ref> In this computer IBM introduced, a calculating device with a keyboard, processor and electronic output (display). The competitor to IBM was the digital electronic computer NCR3566, developed in NCR, Dayton, Ohio by Joseph Desch and Robert Mumma in the period April 1939 - August 1939.<ref name="Desch">Desch, J.R., "Calculating Machine", {{US patent|src=uspto|2595045}}, filed March 20, 1940, granted Apr. 29, 1952,</ref><ref name="Aspray">{{cite interview |interviewer=William Aspray |title=Interview with Robert E. Mumma |date=19 April 1984 |location=Dayton, OH, Charles Babbage Institute, Center for the History of Information Processing |url=https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/107540}}</ref> The IBM and NCR machines were decimal, executing addition and subtraction in binary position code.

In December 1939 [[John Vincent Atanasoff|John Atanasoff]] and [[Clifford Berry]] completed their experimental model to prove the concept of the [[Atanasoff–Berry computer|Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC)]] which began development in 1937.<ref name="Larson">Larson E.,  "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order for Judgement",  US District Court, District of Minnesota, Fourth Division, 19 Oct. 1973, ushistory.org/more/eniac/index.htm, ushistory.org/more/eniac/intro.htm</ref> This experimental model is binary, executed addition and subtraction in octal binary code and is the first binary digital [[electronics|electronic]] computing device. The [[Atanasoff–Berry computer]] was intended to solve systems of linear equations, though it was not programmable. The computer was never truly completed due to Atanasoff's departure from [[Iowa State University]] in 1942 to work for the United States Navy.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jva.cs.iastate.edu/operation.php | title=Atanasoff-Berry Computer Operation/Purpose }}</ref><ref name="Tropp">{{cite interview |url=https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0196_atan720511.pdf |interviewer=Tropp H.S |title=interview with John V. Atanasoff |date=May 11, 1972 |publisher=Computer Oral History Collection, 1969-1973, 1979, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation |access-date=January 9, 2022 |archive-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129125408/https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0196_atan720511.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many people credit ABC with many of the ideas used in later developments during the age of early electronic computing. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://jva.cs.iastate.edu/courtcase.php | title=Atanasoff-Berry Computer Court Case }}</ref>

The [[Z3 (computer)|Z3 computer]], built by [[Germany|German]] inventor [[Konrad Zuse]] in 1941, was the first programmable, fully automatic computing machine, but it was not electronic.

During World War II, ballistics computing was done by women, who were hired as "computers." The term computer remained one that referred to mostly women (now seen as "operator") until 1945, after which it took on the modern definition of machinery it presently holds.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Light|first=Jennifer S.|date=July 1999|title=When Computers Were Women|journal=Technology and Culture|volume=40|issue=3|pages=455–483|doi=10.1353/tech.1999.0128|s2cid=108407884}}</ref>

The [[ENIAC]] (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was the first electronic general-purpose computer, announced to the public in 1946. It was Turing-complete,<ref>{{Cite web |last=rudd |title=Early Turing-complete Computers {{!}} Rudd Canaday |url=https://www.ruddcanaday.com/post-ww2-computers/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |language=en-US}}</ref> digital, and capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. Women implemented the programming for machines like the ENIAC, and men created the hardware.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Manchester Baby]] was the first electronic [[stored-program computer]]. It was built at the [[Victoria University of Manchester]] by [[Frederic Calland Williams|Frederic C. Williams]], [[Tom Kilburn]] and [[Geoff Tootill]], and ran its first program on 21 June 1948.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Enticknap |first=Nicholas |title=Computing's Golden Jubilee |journal=Resurrection |issue=20 |publisher=The Computer Conservation Society |date=Summer 1998 |url=http://www.computerconservationsociety.org/resurrection/res20.htm#d |issn=0958-7403}}</ref>

[[William Shockley]], [[John Bardeen]] and [[Walter Brattain]] at [[Bell Labs]] invented the first working [[transistor]], the [[point-contact transistor]], in 1947, followed by the [[bipolar junction transistor]] in 1948.<ref name="Lee">{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Thomas H. |title=The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits |date=2003 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9781139643771 |url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/archive/ee/ee214/ee214.1032/Handouts/HO2.pdf |access-date=2019-09-16 |archive-date=2019-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209032130/https://web.stanford.edu/class/archive/ee/ee214/ee214.1032/Handouts/HO2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Puers">{{cite book |last1=Puers |first1=Robert |last2=Baldi |first2=Livio |last3=Voorde |first3=Marcel Van de |last4=Nooten |first4=Sebastiaan E. van |title=Nanoelectronics: Materials, Devices, Applications, 2 Volumes |date=2017 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=9783527340538 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOqVDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14}}</ref> At the [[University of Manchester]] in 1953, a team under the leadership of [[Tom Kilburn]] designed and built the first [[transistorized computer]], called the [[Manchester computers|Transistor Computer]], a machine using the newly developed transistors instead of valves.<ref>{{Citation|last=Lavington|first=Simon|title=A History of Manchester Computers|year=1998|edition=2|publisher=The British Computer Society|location=Swindon|pages=34–35}}</ref> The first stored-program transistor computer was the ETL Mark III, developed by Japan's Electrotechnical Laboratory<ref>{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/index.html |title=Early Computers |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref><ref name="etl3">{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0011.html |title=Electrotechnical Laboratory ETL Mark III Transistor-Based Computer |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/history.html |title=Early Computers: Brief History |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref> from 1954<ref name="fransman">{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Fransman |date=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6DMnS1Y12cC&pg=PA19 |title=The Market and Beyond: Cooperation and Competition in Information Technology |page=19 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=9780521435253 }}</ref> to 1956.<ref name="etl3"/> However, early junction transistors were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a [[mass-production]] basis, which limited them to a number of specialized applications.<ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Sanford L. |title=Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st century |date=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=9780470508923 |pages=165–167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2STRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165}}</ref>

In 1954, 95% of computers in service were being used for engineering and scientific purposes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ensmenger|first=Nathan|year=2010|title=The Computer Boys Take Over|isbn=978-0-262-05093-7|page=58|publisher=MIT Press }}</ref>

===Personal computers===
The [[MOSFET|metal–oxide–silicon field-effect transistor]] (MOSFET), also known as the MOS transistor, was invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960,<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2802760A|title=Oxidation of semiconductive surfaces for controlled diffusion|gdate=1957-08-13|invent1=Lincoln|invent2=Frosch|inventor1-first=Derick|inventor2-first=Carl J.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2802760A}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Huff |first1=Howard |last2=Riordan |first2=Michael |date=2007-09-01 |title=Frosch and Derick: Fifty Years Later (Foreword) |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.F02073IF |journal=The Electrochemical Society Interface |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=29 |doi=10.1149/2.F02073IF |issn=1064-8208}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=KAHNG |first=D. |date=1961 |title=Silicon-Silicon Dioxide Surface Device |url=https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |journal=Technical Memorandum of Bell Laboratories |pages=583–596 |doi=10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |isbn=978-981-02-0209-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lojek |first=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-540-34258-8 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |page=321}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ligenza |first1=J.R. |last2=Spitzer |first2=W.G. |date=1960 |title=The mechanisms for silicon oxidation in steam and oxygen |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0022369760902195 |journal=Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids |language=en |volume=14 |pages=131–136 |bibcode=1960JPCS...14..131L |doi=10.1016/0022-3697(60)90219-5}}</ref><ref name="Lojek1202">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref> It was the first truly compact transistor that could be [[MOSFET scaling|miniaturised]] and [[Moore's law|mass-produced]] for a wide range of uses.<ref name="Moskowitz"/> The MOSFET made it possible to build [[very large-scale integration|high-density]] [[integrated circuit]] chips.<ref name="computerhistory-transistor">{{cite web |title=Who Invented the Transistor? |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/who-invented-the-transistor/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Hittinger">{{cite journal |last1=Hittinger |first1=William C. |title=Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Technology |journal=Scientific American |date=1973 |volume=229 |issue=2 |pages=48–59 |issn=0036-8733|jstor=24923169 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0873-48 |bibcode=1973SciAm.229b..48H }}</ref> The MOSFET is the most widely used transistor in computers,<ref name="kahng">{{cite web |title=Dawon Kahng |url=https://www.invent.org/inductees/dawon-kahng |website=[[National Inventors Hall of Fame]] |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="atalla">{{cite web|title=Martin Atalla in Inventors Hall of Fame, 2009|url=https://www.invent.org/inductees/martin-john-m-atalla|access-date=21 June 2013}}</ref> and is the fundamental building block of [[digital electronics]].<ref name="triumph">{{cite web |title=Triumph of the MOS Transistor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6fBEjf9WPw  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/q6fBEjf9WPw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=21 July 2019 |date=6 August 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The [[silicon-gate]] MOS integrated circuit was developed by [[Federico Faggin]] at [[Fairchild Semiconductor]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |title=1968: Silicon Gate Technology Developed for ICs |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/silicon-gate-technology-developed-for-ics/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> This led to the development of the first single-chip [[microprocessor]], the [[Intel 4004]].<ref name="computerhistory1971">{{cite web|title=1971: Microprocessor Integrates CPU Function onto a Single Chip|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/microprocessor-integrates-cpu-function-onto-a-single-chip/|access-date=22 July 2019|website=[[Computer History Museum]]}}</ref> The Intel 4004 was developed as a single-chip microprocessor from 1969 to 1970, led by Intel's Federico Faggin, [[Marcian Hoff]], and [[Stanley Mazor]], and Busicom's Masatoshi Shima.<ref name="ieee">{{cite journal |first=Federico |last=Faggin |author-link=Federico Faggin |title=The Making of the First Microprocessor |journal=IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine |date=Winter 2009 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=8–21 |doi=10.1109/MSSC.2008.930938 |s2cid=46218043|doi-access= }}</ref> The chip was mainly designed and realized by Faggin, with his silicon-gate MOS technology.<ref name="computerhistory1971"/> The microprocessor led to the microcomputer revolution, with the development of the [[microcomputer]], which would later be called the [[personal computer]] (PC).

Most early microprocessors, such as the [[Intel 8008]] and [[Intel 8080]], were [[8-bit]]. Texas Instruments released the first fully [[16-bit]] microprocessor, the [[Texas Instruments TMS9900|TMS9900]] processor, in June 1976.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuartconner.me.uk/tm990/tm990.htm|title=Stuart's TM 990 Series 16-bit Microcomputer Modules|last=Conner|first=Stuart|website=www.stuartconner.me.uk|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref> They used the microprocessor in the TI-99/4 and [[TI-99/4A]] computers.

The 1980s brought about significant advances with microprocessors that greatly impacted the fields of engineering and other sciences. The [[Motorola 68000]] microprocessor had a processing speed that was far superior to the other microprocessors being used at the time. Because of this, having a newer, faster microprocessor allowed for the newer [[microcomputer]]s that came along after to be more efficient in the amount of computing they were able to do. This was evident in the 1983 release of the [[Apple Lisa]]. The Lisa was one of the first personal computers with a [[Graphical user interface|graphical user interface (GUI)]] that was sold commercially. It ran on the Motorola 68000 CPU and used both dual floppy disk drives and a 5 MB hard drive for storage. The machine also had 1MB of [[Random-access memory|RAM]] used for running software from disk without rereading the disk persistently.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb3572083fb7|title=Computers {{!}} Timeline of Computer History {{!}} Computer History Museum|website=www.computerhistory.org|language=en|access-date=2022-12-26}}</ref> After the failure of the Lisa in terms of sales, Apple released its [[Macintosh 128K|first Macintosh]] computer, still running on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, but with only 128KB of RAM, one floppy drive, and no hard drive to lower the price.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, computers became more useful for personal and work purposes, such as [[word processing]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A brave new world: the 1980s home computer boom |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/a-brave-new-world-the-1980s-home-computer-boom/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=HistoryExtra |language=en}}</ref> In 1989, Apple released the [[Macintosh Portable]], it weighed {{cvt|7.3|kg|lb}} and was extremely expensive, costing US$7,300. At launch, it was one of the most powerful laptops available, but due to the price and weight, it was not met with great success and was discontinued only two years later.  That same year Intel introduced the Touchstone Delta [[supercomputer]], which had 512 microprocessors. This technological advancement was very significant, as it was used as a model for some of the fastest multi-processor systems in the world. It was even used as a prototype for Caltech researchers, who used the model for projects like real-time processing of satellite images and simulating molecular models for various fields of research.

=== Supercomputers ===
In terms of supercomputing, the first widely acknowledged supercomputer was the [[Control Data Corporation]] (CDC) [[CDC 6600|6600]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/a-super-fast-history-of-supercomputers-from-the-cdc-6600-to-the-sunway-taihulight-1711.html|title=A super-fast history of supercomputers: From the CDC 6600 to the Sunway TaihuLight|first=Steven|last=Vaughan-Nichols|date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> built in 1964 by [[Seymour Cray]]. Its maximum speed was 40&nbsp; MHz or 3 million floating point operations per second ([[FLOPS]]). The CDC 6600 was replaced by the [[CDC 7600]] in 1969;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gordonbell.azurewebsites.net/craytalk/tsld052.htm|title=CDC 7600}}</ref> although its normal clock speed was not faster than the 6600, the 7600 was still faster due to its peak clock speed, which was approximately 30 times faster than that of the 6600. Although CDC was a leader in supercomputers, their relationship with Seymour Cray (which had already been deteriorating) completely collapsed. In 1972, Cray left CDC and began his own company, [[Cray Research|Cray Research Inc]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Seymour-R-Cray|title=Seymour R. Cray|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> With support from investors in Wall Street, an industry fueled by the Cold War, and without the restrictions he had within CDC, he created the [[Cray-1]] supercomputer. With a clock speed of 80&nbsp; MHz or 136 megaFLOPS, Cray developed a name for himself in the computing world. By 1982, Cray Research produced the [[Cray X-MP]] equipped with multiprocessing and in 1985 released the [[Cray-2]], which continued with the trend of multiprocessing and clocked at 1.9 gigaFLOPS. Cray Research developed the [[Cray Y-MP]] in 1988, however afterward struggled to continue to produce supercomputers. This was largely because the Cold War had ended, and the demand for cutting-edge computing by colleges and the government declined drastically and the demand for microprocessing units increased.

In 1998, [[David A. Bader|David Bader]] developed the first [[Linux]] supercomputer using commodity parts.<ref name=fernbach>{{cite web| url= https://www.computer.org/press-room/2021-news/david-bader-to-receive-2021-ieee-cs-sidney-fernbach-award | title=David Bader Selected to Receive the 2021 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award|publisher=IEEE Computer Society|date=September 22, 2021 |accessdate= 2023-10-12}}</ref> While at the University of New Mexico, Bader sought to build a supercomputer running Linux using consumer off-the-shelf parts and a high-speed low-latency interconnection network. The prototype utilized an Alta Technologies "AltaCluster" of eight dual, 333&nbsp; MHz, Intel Pentium II computers running a modified Linux kernel. Bader ported a significant amount of software to provide Linux support for necessary components as well as code from members of the National Computational Science Alliance (NCSA) to ensure interoperability, as none of it had been run on Linux previously.<ref name=IEEEhistory>{{cite journal|last=Bader|first=David A.|journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing|title=Linux and Supercomputing: How My Passion for Building COTS Systems Led to an HPC Revolution|date=2021|volume=43|issue=3|pages=73–80|doi=10.1109/MAHC.2021.3101415|s2cid=237318907 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Using the successful prototype design, he led the development of "RoadRunner," the first Linux supercomputer for open use by the national science and engineering community via the National Science Foundation's National Technology Grid. RoadRunner was put into production use in April 1999. At the time of its deployment, it was considered one of the 100 fastest supercomputers in the world.<ref name=IEEEhistory/><ref name="AJRoadRunner">{{cite news|last=Fleck|first=John|title=UNM to crank up $400,000 supercomputer today|newspaper=[[Albuquerque Journal]]|date=April 8, 1999|page=D1}}</ref>  Though Linux-based clusters using consumer-grade parts, such as [[Beowulf cluster|Beowulf]], existed before the development of Bader's prototype and RoadRunner, they lacked the scalability, bandwidth, and [[parallel computing]] capabilities to be considered "true" supercomputers.<ref name=IEEEhistory/>

Today, supercomputers are still used by the governments of the world and educational institutions for computations such as simulations of natural disasters, genetic variant searches within a population relating to disease, and more. {{As of|2024|November}}, the fastest supercomputer is [[El Capitan (supercomputer)|El Capitan]].