Beginning of Essay
The electronic computer has now been used commercially for less than 25 years. It grew out of a search lasting centuries for a more accurate, faster way to perform calculations. Primitive and ancient man used his fingers, shells, beads, sticks, and other objects ....

Middle of Essay
.... suspended within a rectangular frame. A common form has a piece of wood dividing the beads, with five beads on one side, and two on the other side of the wood on each wire. Calculating Machines and their Inventors: Through the centuries, several mathematical geniuses invented machinesto aid them in their calculations. The machines were never widely used and generally had no direct path to the later development of electronic computers. Example: Pascal: Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) a French matematician, invented the first mechanical adding machine at age 19 in 1642. He became tired of adding long columns of figures while helping his father, wh ....