Computer engineering is inextricably linked to the computer itself. In order for there to be a profession involving people who build something, there must have been at least the idea of that object. So arguably, the first computer engineer was its first builder. This profession is unique in that to progress in the field you literally need that which you've already built. Engineers have learned that for a computer to be effective, it needs to be electrically based, reprogrammable, use transistors, portable and user-friendlr
The First Computers
- The first computer that used electricity was invented in Germany by Konrad Zuse in 1936. There were prior computers that didn't use electricity, instead using tubes or machinery to store information. However, these designs were too large and bulky, so storing information with these mechanical components proved unfeasible. In the future, there may eventually be computers that are organic and do not use electricity, but the current types in production work with electricity. This became the first rule for computer engineers, use what works, and electricity works.
Reprogrammability
- The next major advance in computer engineering came about through the idea of making a computer programmable. The computer developed by Konrad Zuse is often considered the first real computer because it was reprogrammable. It is easy to make something that stores information once, for example, paper. A computer requires the ability to erase and rewrite information.
Transistors
- Perhaps the greatest contribution made by computer engineers was the invention of the transistor. The transistor allows a computer to store information in a smaller size and is easily reprogrammable. The TX-0 was the first computer to use the transistor; it was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1956. Computers rapidly improved after this innovation and have continued to make leaps and bounds. As of 2010, there are computer hard drives that measure in the terabytes. Terabytes are 1,000 billion bytes, a number that would be impossible to achieve without the invention of the transistor.
Interface
- The invention of the Graphical User Interface, or the GUI, made computers much easier to use. This was invented by a computer software engineer, Douglas Engelbart, who developed the oNLine System (NLS) over the years 1965 through 1986. With the advent of the GUI, computer usage became something that normal people could do and not just highly specialized engineers. Through these layers of graphics, we are able to interact with the computer in a much more sophisticated way. Through ease of use, the computer became much more popular and prevalent.
Portability
- Computer engineers were not satisfied with being tied down. So through advances in battery technology, radio transmission and screens, they were able to develop the portable computer. A man named Adam Osborne developed the first laptop in 1981; it weighed a whopping 24 pounds. This portability became the precursor to all our current conveniences, which include embedded microsystems as well as portable phones. Computer engineering has advanced considerably since this major achievement, and who knows what the next big step will be.
