# Computer History
Status: public
Confidence: medium (0.625) (verified)
Last verified: 2026-05-24
Generation: ai_structured

## TL;DR

Computing history: Ada Lovelace (first algorithm, 1843) → Turing (theoretical foundation, 1936) → ENIAC (first electronic general-purpose computer, 1945) → transistors (1947) → integrated circuits (1958) → microprocessors (Intel 4004, 1971) → personal computers (Altair 1975, Apple II 1977, IBM PC 1981) → Internet → smartphones.

## Core Explanation

Turing (1936): Turing Machine theoretical model, Bombe broke Enigma in WWII. Von Neumann architecture: stored-program concept (1945), basis of all modern computers. Moore's Law (Gordon Moore, 1965): transistors per chip double ~2 years — held for 50 years. GUI: Xerox PARC (1973) → Apple Macintosh (1984) → Windows (1985). Internet: ARPANET (1969) → WWW (Berners-Lee, 1989) → broadband → mobile. Steve Jobs + Steve Wozniak: Apple in a garage (1976).

## Further Reading

- [The Innovators (Walter Isaacson)](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Innovators/Walter-Isaacson/9781476708706)

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