There is no doubt that the advent and availability of low-cost computers on integrated circuits has transformed not only the way neurosurgery is practiced but all of modern society as well. Over time, computing hardware has evolved from mechanical units that required separate manual action to perform each arithmetic operation, to punched card machines, and finally, to stored-program computers. The fascinating history of stored-program computers relates to the creation of computer architecture, and the organization of the isolated gnits to perform input and output, store data, and operate as an integrated mechanism. Simultaneously, there was a history of development of electronic components and mechanical devices that comprise these constructs.
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