Final answer:
The biggest difference between the UNIVAC and the ENIAC was their purpose and technology; ENIAC was a vast, military-focused machine, while UNIVAC was more reliable, commercially available, and better at handling large amounts of data.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Biggest Difference Between UNIVAC and ENIAC
The biggest difference between the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) and the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) lies in their respective purposes and technological advancements. The ENIAC, developed during World War II, was designed for military use, specifically to calculate artillery firing tables for the U.S. Army. Being the first electronic general-purpose computer, it was vast and filled an entire room, although it performed calculations significantly faster than human computation. The ENIAC represented the beginning of digital computers, although it still employed vacuum tubes, which were prone to failure and required frequent replacement.
The UNIVAC, on the other hand, was designed post-war for both government and business applications, such as conducting the census. It was the first commercially available computer and showcased a shift from military to civilian use of computing technology. Technologically, the UNIVAC utilized the same vacuum tube technology but was more reliable and better suited for handling large amounts of data, thus marking a step forward in the evolution of computing machinery.
Both systems were monumental in advancing the field of computing, with ENIAC's contributions to digital computing technology and UNIVAC's establishment in commercial markets and improvement in data processing capabilities.