Computing quiz: Can you match these 'ancient' devices to their pictures?

A close up of a large white computer with a boxy monitor and keyboard. — Computers have come a long way from their blocky ancestors. (Image credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

While devices like smartphones and laptops are ubiquitous now, these machines weren't always so common. The origins of computing go back well before the advent of electronic machines. From the abacus in ancient times to Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) in 1946, the history of computers is broad, with machines taking on all sorts of shapes and sizes over centuries of development.

In modern times, personal computers have shrunk in size and weight to become sleeker and portable. At the same time, we have larger computing and more powerful systems like supercomputers that boast incredible power, and quantum computers that promise to usher in an entirely new computing paradigm.

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Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Content Manager at Live Science. Formerly, she was the Content Manager at Space.com and before that the Science Communicator at JILA, a physics research institute. Kenna is also a book author, with her upcoming book 'Octopus X' scheduled for release in spring of 2027. Her beats include physics, health, environmental science, technology, AI, animal intelligence, corvids, and cephalopods.

With contributions from

Keumars Afifi-SabetChannel Editor, Technology

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