History of Computing Science: Blaise Pascal

An in-depth lecture and PowerPoint slideshow on the history of computing can be found here. It gives an overview of the advances in science that made desktop computers possible, starting with the invention of counting, to the...

The Pascaline was the first mechanical adding machine and was developed by Blaise Pascal. This lecture series presents a brief description of the history of the machine and how it worked.

Some say that Ada Lovelace was the first programmer because she wrote instructions for a computing device designed by Charles Babbage. This site presents a brief history of Ada's life and the important role she played in the history of...

The difference engine was never built, but its design was an important step in the history of computing devices. This lecture series presents a brief description of this early mechanical computing device.

This History of Computing lecture series presents a simple and clear description of the World Wide Web.

The transistor and the integrated circuit were two inventions that fueled the technology explosion. This lecture presents a brief discussion of these two inventions.

The Harvard Mark I computer was the first large-scale automatic digital computer in the USA. This lecture provides a brief description of the Harvard Mark I computer.

This video focuses on early computer programming. Since Joseph Marie Jacquard's textile loom in 1801, there has been a demonstrated need to give our machines instructions. We will discuss how programs get into our computer's memory -...

Herman Hollerith holds a prominent place on the timeline of computer history. This lecture series presents a brief description of Hollerith's tabulating machine and the impact it eventually had on the computing world.

The abacus is an ancient calculating tool. This lecture series presents a brief description of the abacus and its use.