Primitive and ancient man used his fingers, shells, beads, sticks, and other objects to keep track of numbers and sums. The development of paper and writing instrumentsmade it easier to record data, but gave little aid in manipulating it.

A computer is sometimes defined as a system that mechanizes the processing of information. Even a manual device may fall under this definition if they are constructed in such a way that moving them by hand can produce the desired answer. Example:

The abacus is the oldest-known mechanical computing aid. Its origin is uncertain. Many countries claim to have invented it. It was used in China as early as the sixth century B.C. and in the mediterranean areain ancient Greek and Roman times. It is still used in many parts of the world.

The abacus consists of beads strung on rows of wires suspended within a rectangular frame. A common form has a piece of wood dividing the beads, with five beads on one side, and two on the other side of the

Through the centuries, several mathematical geniuses invented machinesto aid them in their calculations. The machines were never widely used and generally had no direct path to the later development of electronic computers. Example:

Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834), a French Weaver, in 1804 developed the first completly automatic loom, controlled by punched cards. Fearing that the machine would produce unemployment, workers attacked and destroyed his machine at Lyon. Aided by Napoleon, Jacquard rebuilt his machine, which os credited with promoting a thriving textile industry in France through the 1800s.

Dr. Atanasoff tried to interest both IBM and Remington Rand in his machine, but they felty it had no commercial value. In 1942, He joined the Naval Ordnance Laboratories in Washington, D.C. He started his Ordnance Engineering Corporation in 1942 and sold his company to AerojetGeneral in 1952.

The work of Atanasoff and Berry remained unknown to the general public until it was disclosedin 1973 in a court case. Sperry Rand, holder of the Eniac patent originally issued to Dr. John Mauchly and Dr. J. Prespert Eckert, filed suit against HoneyWell for Patent infringement. The presiding Judge ruled the patent invalid because it was based to some degree on the work of Atanasoff and Berry.

Some common words found in the essay are:
IBM System/370, Third Generation, Sperry Rand, Computers Introduction, Greek Roman, Bell Laboratories, Blaise Pascal, Electromechanical Computers, Cardenal Richelieu, Unlike Babbage, punched card, third generation, atanasoff berry, dr john mauchly, automatic computer, virtual storage, john mauchly, university pennsylvania, storage access, fourth generation, magnetic core,
Approximate Word count = 1198
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)