Computer overview – is the most reliable data processing machine that processes the data with extremely high speed and provides precisely accurate results. It was basically designed to be a precise calculating device. But today, the modern computer has taken many revolutionized forms ranging from desktop computers to laptops.
Even the mini computers in our cell phones have become the essential necessity of each and every household. The Mark I was the first complete computer developed in 1944 which only did calculations and at that time it weighed five tons having multiple wires and stuff intermingled. To take complete computer overview and historical development it went through time is extremely difficult yet I have compiled here the details of multiple generation computers one after the other.
Computer overview and historical development generation after generation
Computer overview and historical development over the time are as follows:
First Generation Computers
These were the most primitive computers used from 1940 to 1956 which least resembles the present generation of computers. From appearance to performance these were far different from present-day computers; they were larger in size and far less in the complexity of usage. Their memory was dependent upon the magnetic drums and there were vacuum tubes which served the purpose of switches and amplifiers. These machines dissipated so much heat that they used huge units of cooling machines. Their language was simply the machine language.
Read Also: Running Xcode on Windows – Complete Guide
Second Generation Computers
These computers ruled from 1956 to 1963 and in place of vacuum tubes, these operated with the help of transistors. These transistors made the second generation computers faster and easier to handle. Their size was smaller and they used core memory along with the magnetic storage.
Third Generation Computers
The third generation of computers was from 1964 to 1971 and these computers had high speed, better circuits in form of semiconductor chips. This was the age of silicon chips which increased the working speed of computers and allowed the manufacturers to make them smaller and least expensive. These third generation computers were using keyboards and monitors to interact and work.
Fourth Generation Computers
1971 to 2010 were the most influential years in terms of development and ease. These were the years when millions of transistors were placed on a single silicon chip and this technology was termed as monolithically integrated circuit technology. It was the time when the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 chip was developed in 1971. The invention of Intel 4004 chip gave away to the fast growth of the personal computer industry. During the ’70s, Altair 8800 was developed that need to be assembled to be used but during the early 80s, Commodore Pet, Apple II, and the first IBM computer were made that were already assembled and ready to use. Networking computers were formulated in the 90s. The computers of the fourth generation also included laptops and smartphone devices. A graphical user interface, or GUI, was invented and the computer storage capacity and speed increased at a rapid pace.
Fifth Generation of Computers
These are the future of computers for now. Present day computers are said to be the fifth generation of computers but there is still a lot to be gained in this regard. Fifth generation computers will make their mark with the developments in the fields of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computation.
