History of Computers 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 to keep track of numbers and sums. The development of paper and writing instrumentsmade it easier to record data, but gave little aid in manipulating it. Manual Devices: A computer is sometimes defined as a system that mechanizes the processing of information. Even a manual device may fall under this definition if they are constructed in such a way that moving them by hand can produce the desired answ