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For better or worse, computers have filtered every aspect of our society. Today computers do much more than simply compute. has come a long way. To fully understand and appreciate the impact computers have on our lives and promises they hold for the future, it i ....

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.... and so on. The drawback to the Pascaline, of course, was its limitation to addition. In 1694, a German mathematician named Gottfried Wilhem von Leibniz, improved the Pascaline by creating a machine that could also multiply. Leibniz's mechanical multiplier worked by a system of gears and dials. By studying Pascal's original notes and drawings, Leibniz was able to refine his machine. It wasn't until 1820 that mechanical calculators gained widespread use. Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar, a Frenchman, invented a machine that could perform the four basic arithmetic functions. Colmar's mechanical calculator, the arithometer, presented a more practical ....