Question

1) Which of the following best describes why Charles Babbage is sometimes called the "Father of Computing"?

a. Although Babbage's machines did not have all the characteristics of modern computers, their design included a number of key characteristics of modern computers; this was a major conceptual step in clarifying what a computer should be.

b. Even though they primarily consisted of mechanical parts, Babbage's machine was the first to include at least some electronic components.

c. There was a gradual but definite progression of computational machines from his machines to the first modern computers. That is, soon after his machines were publicized, others built better machines based on them, and then others built still better machines based on those machines, until eventually the first modern computers were created.

d. Although Babbage's machines did not have many of the characteristics of a modern computer, he nonetheless was able to use them to do a number of scientific calculations mechanically, and with great speed and reliability.

2) Which one of the following best describes the most important contributions of Ada Lovelace?

a. She was a co-designer of Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine. That is, she and Babbage worked closely together and made roughly equal contributions to the design of these machines.

b. She designed and ran programs that ran on Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine. Some of these programs did numeric computations, but others did various computations involving text.

c. She designed and ran programs that ran on Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine. These programs did numeric computations.

d. She wrote works about Babbage's machines, and these works contained many important ideas such as algorithms for certain computations.

3) The SABRE airline reservation system, although conceived in 1953, took over 10 years to become fully operational. Which one of the following was not a major reason for this long amount of time?

a. The early computer industry did not have productivity tools such as a large number of high-level languages.

b. It took IBM and American Airlines a few years to commit to the project.

c. SABRE was a large, real-time (or near real-time) system, and such systems take time to complete.

d. SABRE was the first large system IBM worked on, and so the system development took longer than expected.

4) Which one of the following questions is true about Remington-Rand?

a. It went bankrupt and disappeared in the 1970s.

b. After some mergers it eventually became part of Unisys.

c. It merged with Burroughs, retained its name, and still is around today as Remington-Rand (but is a much smaller and less important company).

d. It was bought by IBM in the 1970s.

5) Which one of the following is a reason the IBM System/360 made it difficult for other computer companies to compete with IBM?

a. The System/360 had advanced time-sharing capabilities.

b. The System/360's operating system was delivered on time and under budget.

c. The System/360 was significantly more technically advanced compared to other companies' computers.

d. The System/360 was a family of compatible computers, not just a single computer.

6) Which one of the following best describes the strategies DEC and Control Data used to compete with IBM?

a. Both tried to compete on the low end of the computer range, i.e., with minicomputers.

b. DEC tried to compete on the low end of the computer range, with minicomputers, and Control Data tried to compete on the high end, with supercomputers.

c. Control Data tried to compete on the low end of the computer range, with minicomputers, and DEC tried to compete on the high end, with supercomputers.

d. Both tried to compete on the high end of the computer range, i.e., with supercomputers.

7) Which one of the following best describes the eventual fate of minicomputer companies such as DEC and Data General?

a. These companies are still around, although they are nowhere near as large or successful as they about 50 years ago.

b. These companies are no longer around (they were bought by other companies) because the minicomputer market became less profitable with the eventual rise of personal computers.

c. These companies are still around, and still reasonably successful, today.

d. These companies are no longer around (they were bought by other companies) because IBM managed to become dominant in the minicomputer market.

8) Which of the following are true about "pre-computer" history? Zero, one, or more than one may be true.

a. IBM, Burroughs, DEC, Control Data, and NCR were all companies that existed before the modern computer era, and that made office machinery the.

b. One reason the Jacquard loom is important to computing is it could follow a set of previously created instructions, rather than being entirely manual.

c. In the 19th century, a "computer" was a human who was employed to do arithmetic calculations.

d. Babbage complete his Difference Engine, but not his Analytical Engine.

9) Which of the following are true about the ENIAC? Zero, one, or more than one may be correct.

a. The ENIAC had many, although not all, characteristics of a modern computer.

b. Almost all computer historians consider the ENIAC the "first true computer."

c. The ENIAC was the first machine to use transistor technology.

d. Mauchly and Eckert, in addition to being the main designers of the ENIAC, also did the majority of the programming.

10) Which of the following were created or significantly developed at Xerox PARC? zero, one or more than one may be the correct answers

a. Ethernet

b. The UNIX operating system.

c. The CICS software.

d. The graphical user interface.

11) Which of the following are true about the Charles Babbage Institute collection? Zero, one, or more than one might be true.

a. The Babbage collection contains a number of oral histories.

b. The Babbage collection contains a number of photographs and films.

c. The Babbage collection contains some physical artifacts such as certain old computer components.

d. The Babbage collection contains resources from or about a number of companies, including Burroughs and Control Data Corporation.

Answer 1

1. Option C

There was a gradual but definite progression of computational machines from his machines to the first modern computers. That is, soon after his machines were publicized, others built better machines based on them, and then others built still better machines based on those machines until eventually the first modern computers were created.

2.Option D

She wrote works about Babbage's machines, and these works contained many important ideas such as algorithms for certain computations.

3. Option D

SABRE was the first large system IBM worked on, and so the system development took longer than expected is false because IBM was working on the American Air Force SAGE project.

4. Option B

After some mergers, it eventually became part of Unisys in 1955.

5. Option C

The System/360 was significantly more technically advanced compared to other companies' computers many features added by IBM byte-addressable memory, 32-bit words, and floating architecture.

6. Option B

DEC tried to compete on the low end of the computer range, with minicomputers, and Control Data tried to compete on the high end, with supercomputers.

7. Option C

These companies are no longer around (they were bought by other companies) because IBM managed to become dominant in the minicomputer market.

Data general is taken over by DELL and DEC is taken over by Compaq.

8.Option B

One reason the Jacquard loom is important to computing is it could follow a set of previously created instructions, rather than being entirely manual.

9. Option A:-The ENIAC had many, although not all, characteristics of a modern computer

Option D:-Mauchly and Eckert, in addition to being the main designers of the ENIAC, also did the majority of the programming

10. Option A (Ethernet)

  Option D (The graphical user interface)

11. ALL options follow.