History of Computer Memory * In 1932 Gustav Tauschek invents drum memory in Austria. * 1936 Konrad Zuse applies for a patent for his mechanical memory to be used in his computer. This computer memory is based on sliding metal parts. * 1939 Helmut Schreyer invents a prototype memory using neon lamps. * 1942 The Atanasoff-Berry Computer has 60 50-bit words of memory in the form of capacitors mounted on two revolving drums. For secondary memory it uses punch cards. * 1947 Frederick Viehe of Los Angeles, applies for a patent for an invention that uses magnetic core memory. Magnetic drum memory is independently invented by several people. * 1949 Jay Forrester conceives the idea of magnetic core memory as it is to become commonly used, with a grid of wires used to address the cores. The first practical form manifests in 1952-53 and renders obsolete previous types of computer memory. * 1950 Ferranti Ltd. completes the first commercial computer with 256 40-bit words of main memory and 16K words of drum memory. Only eight were sold. * 1951 Jay Forrester files a patent for matrix core memory. * 1952 The EDVAC computer is completed with 1024 44-bit words of ultrasonic memory. A core memory module is added to the ENIAC computer. * 1955 An Wang was issued U.S. patent #2,708,722 with 34 claims for magnetic memory core. * 1966 Hewlett-Packard releases their HP2116A real-time computer with 8K of memory. The newly formed Intel starts sell a semiconductor chip with 2,000 bits of memory. * 1968 USPTO grants patent 3,387,286 to IBM's Robert Dennard for a one-transistor DRAM cell. DRAM stands for Dynamic RAM (Random Access Memory) or Dynamic Random Access Memory. DRAM will become the standard memory chip for personal computers replacing magnetic core memory. * 1969 Intel begin as chip designers and produce a 1 KB RAM chip, the largest memory chip todate. Intel soon switch to being notable designers of computer microprocessors. * 1970 Intel releases the 1103 chip, the first generally available DRAM memory chip. * 1971 Intel releases the 1101 chip, a 256-bit programmable memory, and the 1701 chip, a 256-byte erasable read-only memory (EROM). * 1974 Intel receives a U.S. patent for a "memory system for a multichip digital computer". * 1975 Personal consumer computer Altair released, it uses Intel's 8-bit 8080 processor and includes 1 KB of memory. Later in the same year, Bob Marsh manufacturers the first Processor Technology's 4 kB memory boards for the Altair. * 1984 Apple Computers releases the Macintosh personal compututer. It is the first computer that came with 128KB of memory. The one-megabyte memory chip is developed. Difference between Application Software and System Software Category: Operating System Operating System is the System Software that makes the Computer work. We can say that an Operating System (OS) is Software that acts as an interface between you and the hardware. It not only contains drivers used to speak the hardware's language, but also offers you a very specific graphical user interface (GUI) to control the computer. An OS can also act as an interface (from the hardware) to the other software. A complex OS like Windows or Linux or Mac OS offers the services of an OS, but also has applications built in. Solitaire, Paint, Messenger, etc. are all applications. Application software is the software that you install onto your Operating System. It consists of the programs that actually let you do things with your computer. These Applications are written to run under the various Operating Systems. These include things like your word processing programs, spread sheets, email clients, web browser, games, etc. Many programs, such as most of the Microsoft Office suite of programs, are written in both Mac and Windows versions, but you still have to have the right version for your OS. For example - Tally for Accounting, MS-Word for Word Processing etc. So, the Operating system of a Computer is the Software that allows the Computer work. It provides the framework under which the Applications run. An operating system is the type of Computer system you have such as Window XP or Window 95, 98, Mac, etc. The Applications are the Software that actually allows the user to do something with the Computer. Without the applications, all you can do is change settings and navigate among the folders. You can purchase its CD from a software company or download from a software company’s web site. Examples of System Software are - Operating Systems, Language Translators etc. DBMS: DBMS A database management system is the software system that allows users to define, create and maintain a database and provides controlled access to the data. A Database Management System (DBMS) is basically a collection of programs that enables users to store, modify, and extract information from a database as per the requirements. DBMS is an intermediate layer between programs and the data. Programs access the DBMS, which then accesses the data. There are different types of DBMS ranging from small systems that run on personal computers to huge systems that run on mainframes. The following are main examples of database applications: • Computerized library systems • Automated teller machines • Flight reservation systems • Computerized parts inventory systems A database management system is a piece of software that provides services for accessing a database, while maintaining all the required features of the data. Commercially available Database management systems in the market are dbase, FoxPro, IMS and Oracle, MySQL, SQL Servers and DB2 etc. These systems allow users to create update, and extract information from their databases. Compared to a manual filing system, the biggest advantages to a computerized database system are speed, accuracy, and' accessibility. .