The most important computers in history
The top 3 according to 25 votes from people: Colossus (1943) · Altair 8800 (1975) · Zuse Z3 (1941). (Updated Dec 19, 2024.)
From Konrad Zuse's Z3 to ENIAC and the Apollo Guidance Computer, and on to the Altair 8800, the Apple II and the IBM PC: the machines that changed our world. Which was the most important?
Automatically translated (original in Deutsch). See the original
Top 12
-
1
Colossus (1943)
The British valve computer built to crack the Lorenz cipher.
-
2
Altair 8800 (1975)
The kit that sparked home computing, with Gates and Allen's Altair BASIC.
-
3
Zuse Z3 (1941)
The first working, programmable, fully automatic computer.
-
4
ENIAC (1945)
Often cited as the first electronic general-purpose computer.
-
5
Ferranti Mark 1 (1951)
It came to market a month before UNIVAC.
-
6
PDP-1 (1959)
An icon of hacker culture; Spacewar! ran on it.
-
7
PDP-8 (1965)
The first computer to cost under $20,000.
-
8
Apollo Guidance Computer
One of the first computers with integrated circuits; it flew to the Moon.
-
9
UNIVAC I (1951)
The first commercial computer built in the United States.
-
10
Apple II (1977)
A ready-to-use machine with a case, keyboard and colour graphics.
-
11
Xerox Alto (1973)
A graphical interface and a mouse, long before the Mac.
-
12
IBM PC 5150 (1981)
Its architecture still shapes the PC today.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first!