The 4 generations of computers
The 4 generations explained
Generation one was from 1946 to 1958
Generation two was from 1959 to 1964
Generation three was from 1965 to 1970
Generation four was from 1971 to now.
The computer (Generation one)
14 Feb 1946
ENIAC (The Electronic Numeral Intergrater and Computer) was created by John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert, two Americans. The project began in 1943, taking 3 years to complete. It covered 167 square and was sponsered by the military. It performed 5,000 operations per second.
The transistor (generation one)
16 Dec 1947
Made in Bell labatories the first transistor was made by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. It is a semiconductor that can amplify electrical signals as they are transferred from input to output stations.
The computer mouse (generation two)
29 Jan 1963
Doug Englebert invented the computer mouse, and patented it a year later (1964)
The laptop (generation four)
1 Jan 1981
The first laptop was call Ousborne one and was invented by Adam Ousborne. It cost £1,795 and had a 5 inch screen.