US & Saudi Arabia essays

US & Saudi Arabia essays In the late 40s Herbert Feis, a United States State Department analysis, determined that a certain Arab nation in the Middle East has one of the greatest material prizes in world history: oil reserves. The United States government has bargained over $100 billion in military goods, services, and Cold War-era bases, compatible with U.S. needs, in exchange for the largest importation of this Arab oil from any other nation in the world. Since the end of World War II no other middle-eastern country has had more influence, connected more ties, or assimilated more partnerships with the United States than the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has. Though the Saudi Arabian nation has been established on the Arabian Peninsula since the early 18th century, King Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud founded modern Saudi Arabia on September 23, 1932 under the constitution of the Holy Koran. During King Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Sauds reign the nation began a long and prosperous period of economic growth, thanks in part to the discovery of vast oil supplies located throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comprises almost four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula, an area approximately one-third the size of the continental United States, and contains Islamic Holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Today, Saudi Arabia is ruled by King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, who has been a strong political influence over neighboring Arab nations since his reign began. In 1988 he initiated talks to put an end to the Iraq-Iran conflict, and was one of the first members to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Also in 1990 during th e Persian Gulf conflict, he supported U.S. military action in the country in exchange for assistance in protecting the Saudi territory from being taken over by Iraq. King Fahd bin Abdulaziz has also openly showed support and backing for the Palestinian cause during the last decade. Saudi Arabi...

The UNIVAC Computer History and Development

The UNIVAC Computer History and Development The Universal Automatic Computer or UNIVAC was a computer milestone achieved by Dr. Presper Eckert and Dr. John Mauchly, the team that invented the ENIAC computer. John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, after leaving the academic environment of The Moore School of Engineering to start their own computer business, found their first client was the United States Census Bureau. The Bureau needed a new computer to deal with the exploding U.S. population (the beginning of the famous baby boom). In April 1946, a $300,000 deposit was given to Eckert and Mauchly for the research into a new computer called the UNIVAC. UNIVAC Computer The research for the project proceeded badly, and it was not until 1948 that the actual design and contract was finalized. The Census Bureaus ceiling for the project was $400,000. J Presper Eckert and John Mauchly were prepared to absorb any overrun in costs in hopes of recouping from future service contracts, but the economics of the situation brought the inventors to the edge of bankruptcy. In 1950, Eckert and Mauchly were bailed out of financial trouble by Remington Rand Inc. (manufacturers of electric razors), and the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation became the Univac Division of Remington Rand. Remington Rands lawyers unsuccessfully tried to re-negotiate the government contract for additional money. Under threat of legal action, however, Remington Rand had no choice but to complete the UNIVAC at the original price. On March 31, 1951, the Census Bureau accepted delivery of the first UNIVAC computer. The final cost of constructing the first UNIVAC was close to $1 million. Forty-six UNIVAC computers were built for both government and business uses. Remington Rand became the first American manufacturers of a commercial computer system. Their first non-government contract was for General Electrics Appliance Park facility in Louisville, Kentucky, who used the UNIVAC computer for a payroll application. UNIVAC Specs The UNIVAC had an add time of 120 microseconds, multiply time of 1,800 microseconds and a divide time of 3,600 microseconds.Input consisted of magnetic tape with a speed of 12,800 characters per second with a read-in speed of 100 inches per second, records at 20 characters per inch, records at 50 characters per inch, card to tape converter 240 cards per minute, 80 column punched card input 120 characters per inch, and punched paper tape to magnetic tape converter 200 characters a second.Output media/speed was magnetic tape/12,800 characters per second, uniprinter/10-11 characters per second, high-speed printer/600 lines per minute, tape to card converter/120 cards per minute, Rad Lab buffer storage/Hg 3,500 microsecond, or 60 words per minute. Competition with IBM John Presper Eckert and John Mauchlys UNIVAC was a direct competitor with IBMs computing equipment  for the business market. The speed with which UNIVACs magnetic tape could input data was faster than IBMs punch card technology, but it was not until the presidential election of 1952 that the public accepted the UNIVACs abilities. In a publicity stunt, the UNIVAC computer was used to predict the results of the presidential race between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. The computer had correctly predicted that Eisenhower would win, but the news media decided to blackout the computers prediction and declared that the UNIVAC had been stumped. When the truth was revealed, it was considered amazing that a computer could do what political forecasters could not, and the UNIVAC quickly became a household name. The original UNIVAC now sits in the Smithsonian Institution.