(1) A regular computer. The term binary computer may refer to a "classical" computer, meaning "not" a quantum computer. See
quantum computing.
(2) A computer that stores and computes data in binary form, which is every modern computer since the mid-1950s. In the mid-1930s, Konrad Zuse developed the Z1, one of the first binary computers. A few years later, the binary-based ABC computer was constructed in Iowa. See
Z1 and
ABC.
Previously, mechanical computing devices were based on the decimal system. Even the ENIAC in the mid-1940s used decimal registers. See
binary and
historical devices.