The Five Generations Of Computers
Five Different Models
In the past and present we have developed five generations of computer. Each of the five generations are categorized by the major change that differentiated the way computers work. The history of computers is often referred to the different generations of computer. Each of the generations have a different monumental technical development, resulting in smaller and cheaper PCs.
First Generation
1940 - 1956, this first generation was vacuum based. These computers were often enormous and took up whole rooms. They were very expensive and used up a lot of electricity to run them. They also generated loads of heat which was the source of most malfunctions. First Generation computers often relied on machine language, the lowest language programming that's understood by computers and they could only perform one task at a time.
Second Generation
1956 - 1963, the second generation replaced vacuum tubes with transistors. Transistors were invented in 1947 but was not widely used in computers till the late 1950s. They allowed computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy efficient and more reliable than the first generation computers before them.
Third Generation
1964 - 1971, the third generation replaced transistors with IC. They were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors, they were also faster and more reliable. Higher level language was developed and they were able to reduce computational time and had low maintenance cost.
Fourth Generation
1971 - present, the latest update enabled them to fit the entire processor into a single chip. Also, core memories were now replaced by semi conductor memories and high speed vectors. As the computer became more powerful, they could now be linked together to form networks.
Fifth Generation
Present - beyond, this generation of computer is now based on artificial intelligence with some applications, such as voice recognition, being used today. The goal of fifth generation computers is to develop devices that respond to natural language and are capable of learning and self organization.
Generations OF Computers
The Evolution of Computers
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