What was the predecessor to the computer.?

Question

and what did you use before computers came into existence?

the abacus was for math problems

fingers were for adding.

before the computer (as I know it) was the word processor, the Selectric, the IBM executive, the manual typewriter, handwriting. Besides math there was the USPS/mailing. But seems to me the computer is a combination of several activities, one of which is the ability to search, and originally the computer was called "the information highway", so the computer provided "information".

Answer 1

Brains. Paper and pencils.

Answer 2

Computers for everyone changed the world much like radio and TV changed the world. I remember as a teen ,my best friends father had a computer. This was in 1977.He had a TRS-80 by radioshack.Back then radioshack was the epitome' of geekdom.(my friends father was an engineer).I also remember in high school being taught how to use a slide rule.A very simple calculator back then cost 0ver $100.big money back then. The TRS-80 was about $800 if I remember correctly. His father would let us play "asteriods" (yes, that asteroids) on it . Hi-tech back then , lol
Computers have evolved just as their applications have evolved.

Answer 3

People were called computers, (at one point), because they would computer numbers. There would tens to hundreds of them. In some cases they would use beans to keep count of the amounts... hence the name "bean counters" for accountants. The first mechanical computer used vacuum tubes, and glass containers with mercury. If the mercury was touching the electrode at the top of the glass, it was on. if it wasn't it was off... creating the mechanical binary computer. These computes created a lot of heat, and a lot of light attracting bugs, (like moths). The moths would get sucked into the tubes, and this would cause that "switch", (the glass container), to be stuck in the off position... causing a glitch in the system. People would have to clean out the tubes so there would be suction. That is how we came to the term "debugging a computer".
CyberNara

Answer 4

first, books and files.
next, computer generations from 1st to 7th (7th generations is the current i guess)

anyway, the step before now a days computers (micro computers) was the mini computer which is too slow, generate lot of heat, consume lot of power, and the storedge capacity sucks, that is too big in physical size and too small in storedge capacity.

the main difference between the current generation and the previous one, is the current generation uses transistor then integrated circuits which kept developing without a break. while the previous generation didn't used the transistor, they use something else looks like a bulb, i know it but i just forgot the english word for it. any way you understand what i mean right? which explain the power consumption, heat and low speed.

i hope it helped.

read more in wikipedia.org

Answer 5

The abacus

Answer 6

Key punch, I think. My older sister worked at a hospital with this HUGE processor - it took up the entire room! She fed key punch cards in and saved the info to a monstrously large disc - it was wild!

Answer 7

knitting machines were the first things programmed.
people used their brains, and things like typewriters.

Answer 8

The slide rule. My hand.

Answer 9

Computer games...atari and stuff...so that means our TV

Answer 10

abacus