Early Computers | 1930s - 1980s AD

What is an abacus?
Simple device used to make simple calculations.

In 1936, Zuse invented this type of computer?
First freely programmable computer.

Post a photo of the 1944 Mark Computer.

In 1944, Aiken and Hopper designed the Mark Series of computers to be used for what?
US Navy gunnery and ballistics calculations.

Post a photo of the UNIVAC Computer.

In 1951, Eckert and Mauchly designed the first commercial computer for whom?
The census bureau.

What does UNIVAC stand for?
Universal Automatic Computer.

In 1953, IBM enters the scene. What does IBM stand for?
International Business Machines.

What is FORTRAN?
First successful high level programming language.

Post a photo of the first mouse.

In 1964, how did Engelbart change the way computers worked?
He invented the computer mouse.

What is the significance of ARPnet?
The first Internet. (Awesome)

In 1971, Intel introduced this? Post a photo of it.
The first microprocessor.

In the same year, IBM introduced this? Post a photo of one.
First memory disk (floppy disk)

In 1973, Metcalf and Xerox created this?
First Ethernet computer network.

During the next several years, the first consumer computers were marketed. Post photos of the Altair, Apple I, Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore PET. Label each.

Altair

Apple I

Apple II

TRS-80

Commodore PET

In 1981, Bill Gates and Microsoft introduced this package?
MS-DOS Operating System.

Post a photo of the Lisa computer.

In 1983, who introduced the Lisa computer?
Apple.

What is GUI?
Graphical user interface.

Post a photo of the computer mentioned below.
In 1984, a more affordable home computer was introduced. Name the computer and the company that marketed it?

The commercial only ran one time. When?
Super Bowl 1984.

In response to the Apple GUI, Gates and Microsoft introduced this?
Windows.

Two men are known for their development of the Apple I computer. Who are they?
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

When was the internet that we know, world wide web, developed and introduced?
1991.

Over the years, Apple has included "easter eggs" within their software. What is an "easter egg"?
A hidden reference to something else, usually cleverly hidden.

Search for easter eggs in Photoshop and Illustrator. List a few in this post ... and try to find them in the applications.
Secret burps, credits, and messages.

Where do you think computers will take us in the next 10 years?
Into space.

Photography | 1839 - 1960s AD

Until the 1880s, how were news stories illustrated?
from wood engravings.

What is a camera obscura?
It was a way to observe light.
Post an example of a camera obscura.

How did scholars and artists utilize the camera obscure?
It was used for the safe observation of solar eclipses and phases of the moon. Artists used this to trace outside scenes.

From where did the photographic camera develop?
The portable camera obscura.

Who first used the term "photography"? Where was is derived from?
Sir John Hershel. Greeek words for light and writing.
Post an the first photograph. 

Who is credited with making the first successful photograph?
Joseph Niepce.
Post an example of a Daguerreotype image.

Who invented the Daguerreotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Dagurre. It was expensive, and the image could not be duplicated. It only took 30 minutes to develop, though.

Post an example of a Calotype image.

Who invented the Calotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
William Fox Tabot.
Post an example of a Wet Collodion Process image.

Who invented the Wet Collodion process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Frederick Scott Archer.
Post an example of a Dry Plate Process image.

Who invented the Dry Plate process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Richard maddox.

Who is George Eastman? What company did he establish? 
He made photography accessable to all. Kodak.
Post an example of The Kodak Camera from 2888.

In 2888, he produced a camera that use his flexible roll film. How did he make this camera/photography accessible to the public?
He allowed them to take the pictures, and they developed it.

What is Edwin Land best known for? What company did he establish?
Patenting polarized light filters and instant photography. Polaroid.
Post a photo of the first Polaroid camera.

How long did the first Polaroid camera take to produce a photo?
60 seconds.

What was Eadweard Muybridge known for?
Zoopraxiscope

Post a photo of the Zoopraxiscope.

What is the Zoopraxiscope?
First movie projector.
Post a photo of Muybridge's horse in motion.

How did Muybridge settle the debate and photograph a horse in motion?
He photographed the horse in motion
In 1880s, the development of the motion picture camera allowed this?
It allowed inddividual images to be captured and stored on a single reel.
Post a photo of a motion picture projector.

What is a motion picture projector?
It allowed the moving lictures to be seen by an audience.

The Linotype Machine | 1886 AD

Who is credited with the invention of the typewriter? 
Christopher Sholes

What is a "stenographer"?
Court writer, or someone who writes shorthand.
Post an example of Shole's typewriter.

Why did Sholes send a prototype of his typewriter to Clephane?
He knew that Clephane would be able to use it the most.

After the typewriter began production, why did Clephane pursue another machine?
It only solved part of his problem.

Who spent a year redesigning Clephane's typesetting machine?
Mergenthaler.

What is meant by "typesetting"?
the composition of text by means of types

Post an example of Linotype Machine.

How does the Linotype Machine differ from the typewriter?
It allowed type to be set mechanically, rather by hand.

How did this machine change the newspaper industry?
It allowed a small number of operators to set type for more pages on a daily basis.
Post an example of a Linotype keyboard.

How did the keyboard of the Linotype Machine differ from keyboards that we use today?
No shift key. Uppercase letters were separate from lowercase letters.

Post an example of a Linotype slug.

What is a slug?
As single assembled line of type.

Post an example of a person operating a Linotype Machine.

Why is the Linotype Machine the greatest advanced in printing since movable type?
It allowed print to be made faster, easier, and cheaper.

The Gutenberg Press | 1450 AD

What is Johannes Gutenberg credited with?
Inventing the technology of printing with movable type.
Post a photo of the Gutenberg Press.

How did the printing press work?
Ink was rolled over the surface of movable hand-set block letters held within a wooden form.

What motivated Gutenberg to find a better way of creating books?
Watching goldsmiths and jewelers performing their craft, and a love for reading.

Why did Gutenberg experiment with metal type versus wood type?
metal type could be reproduced more quickly once a single mold could be made.
Post an example of movable type in a type case.

What is moveable type?
the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document.

What is a matrix?
an object upon which a design has been formed and which is then used to make an impression on a piece of paper, thus creating a print.

What ink did Gutenberg develop that he used specifically for the printing press?
oil based ink.

What is paper made from? Where did paper originate?
Wood pulp. Created in 105AD by Tsai Lun.

What is a "substrate"?
the base material onto which e.g. images will be printed and to be laminated as per the packing specification required for the product.

Who did Gutenberg seek to help with the invention of the press? Close to the end of the 5 years, what happened?
John Fust and Peter Schoffer. At teh end of the 5 years, Fust sued Gutenberg and he lost the press, tools, and all 180 bibles.
What was the first book he printed?
The bible.Post an example of this book.

How did the Gutenberg Press impact communication?
Perfected script and made it easier to read. Books made more rapidly. Current information could be shared locally and around the world.

Who introduced the printing press to England?
William Caxton.

What was the early form of newspapers?
Trade newsletters.

When was the first news weekly published? What was it called?
1704. The Boston Letter.

What kind of press was built in the US in the mid 1800s?
Steam powered rotary press.
Post an example of a 1930s printing press.

By the late 1930s, presses had increased in efficiency and were capable of 2,500 to 3,500 impressions per hour. What is meant by "impression"?
People seeing the product.

Which printing process is the Gutenberg press an example of? Briefly describe the process?
Relief printing. Movable type is placed into the press. Ink is spread onto the type. Paper is placed on top. The press applies the direct pressure needed to transfer the ink to paper.
Post an example of an intaglio press.

What is intaglio printing and how is ink transferred?
Image area is etched into the plate surface to hold the ink. the press applies pressure to transfer the ink to the paper.
Post an example of a screen (porous) printing press.

What is porous printing and how is ink transferred?
basic stencil process. Ink is forced through open mesh areas.
Post an example of a lithography printing press.

What is lithography and how is ink transferred?
Printing from a flat surface. greasy ink/crayon is used to create art. water is applied. the ink accepts the greasy parts and not the watery parts.
Post an example of a offset lithography printing press.

What variation of lithography is used by the commercial printing industry today?
offset lithography.

How do printing presses used today compare to the Gutenberg Press?
The are faster and more complex.

Describe four-color process printing using CMYK?
a subtractive color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself.

The Codex and the Illuminated Manuscript | 1st century AD

Post an example of a scroll.

What were the drawbacks of the scroll?
It only had sequential usage. (It had to be read the way it was written.)
Post an example of a codex.

What is a codex?
a covered and bound collection of hand written pages.

"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?
They were originally bound on blocks of wood.

What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?
Sequential access forces you to process the information in a certain order (a novel).
Random access can be used to find a certain selection at any given time. (Reference book)

What were the advantages of using the codex?
Compactness, sturdiness, and ease of reference.

What helped spread the use of the codex?
The rise of Christianity.

What replaced papyrus? Describe the process used to create it?
Parchment. It is a substrate made from animal skin such as sheep, goats, and cows.

What is vellum?
Finer qualities of parchment made form skins of young calves.

Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex?
Digital e-book readers.

What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration?
The decline of the Roman Empire.
Post an example of an illuminated manuscript.

Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form?
Monks.

What does "illumination" refer to? What was included in this ornamentation?
The pictures and ornamentation added to each page of text. Tgis included initials of chapters or paragraphs, and paintings in margins.

What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts?
Natural quill pens.

Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes?
The work was highly laborious.

What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?
A term used to describe mastery. It is important because of the work used to make the term work.

The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?
Variants of the Greek alphabet.

What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?
A rigid formal script was used for important manuscripts and documents.
A quicker informal style was used for letters and routine writing.

Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?
Contributed serifs, and the baseline.

From where did serifs originate?
Finishing off strokes when chiseling letters on stone.

When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?
Developed later in the 7th century by the Greeks.

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?
Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form.

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?
The Phoenicians regularly traveled to Greece for trade purposes.

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?
It included vowels and had some new letters added.

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?
It has given rise to multiple new languages, like Latin.

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?
No "U" or "J". Most other letters are the same, but with different names. 
Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form.