The Five Generations Of Computers
By: Yangkii
List of five generations of computers
First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes
Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors
Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits
Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessor
Fifth Generation ( Present-Beyond) Artificial Intelligence
Vacuum Tubes (First Generation)
The first computer used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory. They were big machines and you needed a room to put one computer. They used a lot of electricity and the computer's also became hot very soon. This added to the problem. They were also very slow and could do one problem one at a time.
Transistors (Second Generation)
Transistors were used in place of vacuum tubes. This made the computer smaller, faster, used less electricity and were reliable. They generated a lot of heat which damaged the computer. Punch cards were used for input and printouts for output. Software like COBOL and FORTRAN were started at this time and these computers were developed mainly for the atomic energy industry.
Integrated Circuits (Third Generation)
Integrated circuit was the main feature of these third generation computers. Very small Transistors were placed on silicon chips, called semi-conductors, which made the computers more faster and efficient. Keyboards and monitors were used and the computers could do many function at one time and data could be saved. These were the first computer available to people in general to see.
Microprocessors ( fourth Generation)
The microprocessors made it possible to put all the components of a computer, like the central processing unit, memory, input and output on a single chip. Thousands of circuit were built on this chip. The first chip was developed Intel called the Intel 4004 chip. In 1981, IBM made the first computer for the general public and Apple made Macintosh computer in 1984. Computer, because more powerful and cheaper for the people. Computers began to be used more and more by people and they helped people in their daily lives. Now we cannot think of life without a computer.
Artificial Intelligence (Fifth Generation- Past and Beyond)
Future computers will be able to understand natural language and be able to learn and teach itself. At present, we have computers, which recognize voice. These will be developed to under and recognize you.