Historical Context

Question 1

What was the name of the Persian astrologer that used a device to calculate the conjunction of plants in the 15th century?

Answer 1

Al-Kashi

Question 2

What was the name of the German mathematician that developed a tool to perform simple addition and subtraction in 1600?

Answer 2

Wilhelm Schickhard

Question 3

What was the name of the French mathematician who replicated Schickhard’s work?

Answer 3

Blaise Pascal

Question 4

What was the first machine that Charles Babbage built and what was its purpose? (19th century)

Answer 4

Difference Engine was used to calculate 6th degree polynomials.

Question 5

What was unique about Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine?

Answer 5

It was the first calculating device to use punched cards.

Question 6

In which year did Herman Hollerith develop a computational device using cards to calculate census statistics?

Answer 6

1887

Question 7

In 1914, Thomas J Watson joined which company and built it up to form IBM?

Answer 7

Computer-tabulating-recording company.

Question 8

What does IBM stand for?

Answer 8

International Business Machines Corporation

Question 9

In 1943, ___ developed the ___ to break German encryption techniques. How did this machine operate?

Answer 9

Alan Turing, Colossus
The Colossus accepted input via keyboard and produced output via a teleprinter.

Question 10

In which year did Vannevar Bush publish an article entitled “As we may think” in Atlantic Monthly introducing his ___ system.

Answer 10

1945, Memex

Question 11

In 1946, the ___ machine, the first all-electronic digital computer was produced by ____ and ____ in the United States.

Answer 11

ENIAC
JW Mauchly
JP Eckert

Question 12

In which year did IBM introduce FORTRAN and what was it?

Answer 12

1957, FORTRAN was a high-level programming language

Question 13

In 1963, Ivan Sutherland developed the ____ system at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. It was the first ___.

Answer 13

SketchPad
It was the first sophisticated drawing package.

Question 14

In 1976, Steven Wozniak produced ___, based on the ___ Chip.

Answer 14

Apple I
MOStek 6502

Question 15

In which year did IBM produce their first PC with DOS?

Answer 15

1981

Question 16

In 1982, ____ produced their ____ in which files were represented by icons and were deleted by dragging them over a wastebasket. This marked the advent of ____.

Answer 16

Xerox
STAR user interface
Modern desktop

Question 17

Define World Wide Web.

Answer 17

An extensive browser that hosts search engines, social network sites and a range of other systems.

Question 18

Name and describe one example of a mobile device.

Answer 18

A mobile laptop. It is created using hardware and software components. It is portable and capable of operating, executing and providing services and applications similar to any computing device. Most mobile laptops include a keyboard for input, and displays the output via a digital screen.

Question 19

Define ‘web-based social networks’ and name and describe one example.

Answer 19

Web-based social networks are social structures that connect individuals or organisations, connecting through the internet. An example is Instagram, where users can upload pictures and videos and add descriptions to their uploads called posts. Users can also follow other users to view their posts on a home page. In the last few years, Instagram has been developed to the point where it is commonly used for marketing purposes, and users can pay Instagram to share their advertisements with a wide audience.

Question 20

Define a ubiquitous computing system and name an example of it.

Answer 20

Ubiquitous computing systems are embedded in everyday objects and have unobtrusively become part of the environment. For example, GPS is built into many modern-day cars.

Question 21

Define human-computer interaction.

Answer 21

HCI denotes the field of study concerned with studying and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of computer use, along with cognitive psychology and science and how it influences the way people interact with computers.

Question 22

Define ergonomics.

Answer 22

Ergonomics is the study of work, in the context of HCI, this means the study of how to design user interface systems to be efficient in its relevant work environment.

Question 23

Define usability.

Answer 23

ISO defines usability as the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use. The three components of this is effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.

Question 24

Define ‘user experience’.

Answer 24

User experience refers to how people feel about a product, how satisfied they are when looking at it or handling it.

Question 25

Define interaction design.

Answer 25

Preece et al defines it as designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday lives.

Question 26

Define accessibility.

Answer 26

Accessibility means designing products so that people with disabilities can use them. This means that user interfaces are designed so that people with a diverse range of abilities can perceive, operate and understand it.