A working laptop or computer is an electronic machine that has the capability to accept input, store, recall and process information to provide an output in a readable format. But in earlier times, a working laptop or computer meant a person carrying out mechanical calculations under the supervision of a mathematician.

In order to appreciate the future, we have to examine the past. The history of computers can be traced back in Babylonia where the abacus was born about 200 centuries ago. The abacus can be described as wooden frame holding two parallel rods wherein the beads are strung. It had been used like a calculating tool by the ancient society. During the year 1642, Blaise Pascal built the very first digital computer. He created his calculator to assist his father who was a tax collector at the time. Numbers were entered using dials and it was able to produce an answer as precisely as when calculated by using mathematics. Today, the basic theory of Pascal's computer remains being used in various applications including odometers and water gauges.

In 1822, an English mathematician going by the name of Charles Babbage was able to design the very first programmable computer. He had a theory that arithmetic tables could possibly be computed and programmed mechanically. He built a computing machine and called it the difference engine. Babbage's difference engines were among the very first in its category of mechanical computers. Although his machine was unwieldy, its construction was analogous to an up to date computer. It could follow instructions; there was a separate data and program storage, and it had a detached input and output unit. However, Babbage's machine was not really finished because of monetary problems and some other issues. You'll find a recently constructed version of the difference engine in the Science Museum in London.

The evolution of punched cards provided a fantastic leap towards computing automation. In 1890, Herman Hollerith and James Powers used these cards with computers. They had made improvements on devices which could interpret the data contained inside the cards with little intervention from humans. As a result, work efficiency increased and reading mistakes were greatly reduced. Additionally, these punched cards could be utilized like a storage memory of nearly infinite range.

World War II created a requirement for greater computer power which was to become utilised in military applications. John Eckert and his colleagues in Pennsylvania built an increased capacity electronic computer to serve this purpose. This computer was called the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator or ENIAC. It was an all-purpose computer but of nonflexible construction.

Of course, Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, Max Newman and Tommy Flowers were key individuals in the development of the computer at Bletchley Park. Colossus was designed for code breaking but greatly progressed the advancement of the modern computer as we know it in the present day.

Computer designs in the 50's were mostly valve-driven (vacuum tube). They were much better in performance than their earlier predecessors but they were bulky and expensive to produce. Transistor-driven computers were developed during the 60's which effectively replaced the valve-driven computers. These transistorized computers were faster, smaller in size and more importantly, less expensive.

During the 1970's, the integrated circuit became popular and was widely used as the first electronic component for computers. It paved the way for mass production of computers, thus making them affordable not only for businesses but for personal individuals as well. This led to the birth of personal computers. Since then computer technology has developed exponentially to the point where we have powerful computers in the palm of our hands. The smart phone, obviously! But they still break down, when that happens we call on an expert IT support service. They might not be able to repair Colossus though...