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What is a "computer" before the Second World?
In this room full of "computers". You do not see them? And they are i>
Nowadays, many companies are working to develop computers that can perform many tasks better than people. For example, IBM developed a supercomputer Watson, which handles large volumes of data, while the links between individual events or phenomena.
Other companies are working to develop artificial intelligence. In general, people in the world grows and strengthens the view that the computer can run by itself, without human intervention. No problem - and the system does everything independently. But it was not always. For example, before the start of World War II and people to think about this but could not. And the word "computer» ("computer") meant not that now.
Previously, they called the man who performs a specific calculation manually. As explained in the mini-movie from ComputerHistory, long before the advent of digital computing systems, shared mathematics complex problems / issues into smaller pieces, and each was assigned a solution of this problem to a specific person or group. This operating principle is still practiced by astronomers from the mid 18th century.
In the very beginning of "computers / calculators" were mainly women who require less than men pay. In our time, many women worked at the complex ENIAC, and these women are considered to be the pioneers of programming.
Well, now the majority of automated calculation, however, the principle of the separation of large and complex problems into parts will not go away - so many of today's most powerful operating systems and computing systems.
Source: geektimes.ru/post/244482/