Workstations

About Workstations

Workstations and Sun Microsystems

A further development of the personal computer are workstations. But this is just no precise definition possible, as it is not possible for home and personal computers to distinguish from one another. The only existing definition is: ‘A workstation is a relatively large, expensive personal computers, which will be used by professionals to work.’But the weaknesses of these single definition are already visible if you are calling into mind that workstations with multi-user operating system UNIX or derivatives thereof be operated, and it is quite normal that in universities and companies working at the same workstation. Some authors do not see Sun at the first workstation manufacturer. In the Xerox Star, the calculator, for the graphical user interface mid-seventies was invented, was called as the first ‘staff worstation. This concept was invented at Xerox. But the star was a bit too early because he sold virtually impossible.

Transistor

About Transistor

The transistor and its consequence

1947 William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain invented the transistor. Initially, it was only used as amplifiers, but soon recognized its suitability as a fast switch. At the beginning of the 50s then the transistor was in mass produced and major customers was the military. Shockley and his colleagues received the 1956 Nobel Prize for inventing the transistor. Shortly before he was founding his company Schockley Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory. It provides eight engineers, mainly from the east coast of America – the so-called Shockley Eight. He settled his company near Palo Alto, because of the climate and proximity to the university and also because his mother came from there and therefore he was a little locals.