Here's a brief history of computers, from their primitive number-crunching origins to the powerful modern-day machines that surf the Internet, run games and stream multimedia. 1801: Joseph Marie ...

1980 – Paul Benioff describes the first quantum mechanical model of a computer, showing that quantum computers are theoretically possible. 1985 – David Deutsch develops the idea of a universal ...

The 2,000-transistor chip is made for a Japanese calculator, but a farsighted Intel ad calls it “a microprogrammable computer on a chip.” 1972: Intel announces the 8-bit 8008 processor.

Early PC Magic (1980s) A look at the Computer History Museum’s timeline shows that the personal computer was born in the 1980s, with the first branded “PC” from Microsoft in 1981 ...

A look back at the room-size government computer that began the digital era Steven Levy Philadelphia schoolchildren are drilled on the names of its accomplished citizens. William Penn. Benjamin ...