The first generation computers occupied the space of an entire room, but the present day ones can fit into the palm. There are mainly five generation of computers.
First Generation Computers
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In the first generation computers vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory were used. These computers were very large and generated a lot of heat; also very expensive to afford. They could solve only one problem at a time. Their work is based on the cryptic binary language to perform the operations. Input was based on punched card and output on printouts.
Second Generation Computers
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In second generation computers transistors replaced the vacuum tubes making the computers smaller, faster and cheaper than their predecessors. They could understand the symbolic language and specific instructions given by the programmers in words. At this time high level programming languages were developed.
Third Generation Computers
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Integrated circuit was a drastic change in the third generation computers. Miniaturized transistors were kept on silicon chips which enhanced their efficiency and speed. They became smaller and cheaper because of which many people could afford. These computers have keyboard and monitor for input and output and these could perform many applications at a time.
Fourth Generation Computers
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These are present day computers. In the fourth generation computers, the integrated circuits were built into a single chip due to which they became more efficient and smaller. Other devices like mouse, GUI and handled devices also made the usage of computers easy.
Fifth Generation Computers
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Image sourceFifth generation computers are mainly future computers. Of course some modern computers also belong to this generation. The aim of these computers is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization. In these computers massive numbers of CPUs are used for more efficient performance. Voice recognition is a special feature in these computers. By using superconductors and parallel processing computer geeks are trying to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computing, molecular and nanotechnology will change the face of computers in the coming years.
This is the evolution of computers. This has not happened in a year or two. From first generation to fifth generation there are many milestones and some remarkable models of computers that brought the revolution. Let us know about eighteen such remarkable developments of computers.
Difference Engine
British Engineer Charles Babbage planned to find a new method that could be used to make it mechanically possible to resolve the high error rate in the calculation of math tables. He discussed the main principles of a calculating engine in a letter he wrote to Sir H. Davy in the early 1822. He made a model of that engine. Though it had not worked, it helped a lot to know about the required parts for the construction of computers.
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Later he made the Analytical Engine which consisted of two parts, the mill (similar to the modern computer's CPU) and the store (memory). It was the world's first general-purpose computer.
ENIAC
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Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was the world's first electronic digital computer and developed by Army Ordnance to compute World War II ballistic firing tables in 1946. The cost of this computer was almost $ 500,000. This could perform 357 calculations per second. The weight of this machine was 30 tonnes.
IBM 360
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IBM 360 was released in 1964 and it was the first computer to make a clear distinction between architecture and implantation. IBM designed computers from small to large, low to high performance all running the same command set and would be able to migrate upward if their needs grew. It also made the first commercial use of microcode technology to accomplish this compatibility, employing it in all but the largest models.
IBM 370-145
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IBM 370 was first released in 1970. In 1971 IBM 370-145 was introduced with floppy disk for loading microcodes into the controller of the disk pack file. The first floppies were 8 inches in diameter and could hold 80 kilobytes of data.
Intel 4004
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Intel 4004 was the first single chip micro processor designed by Intel engineers in 1971. This was new development in the history of computers by placing all the parts like CPU, memory, input and output controls on one small chip.
Xerox Alto
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Xerox Alto was developed at Xerox PARC in 1973. It was the first computer to use the desktop metaphor and graphical user interface. It was not a commercial product but several thousand units were built and used at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and at several universities. Ethernet facility available at the Center and the usage of mouse began.
