October 9, 2013 by gabriellaor76

Fourth Generation of Computers

Integrated circuits were made for a single specific purpose, but with the release of the Intel 4004 in 1971 by the Intel Corporation, the fourth generation of computing began. (Without the developments and innovations of this generation we would not have the fifth generation devices we now use.)

Courtesy of es.wikipedia.org

The Intel 4004 was the first commercially available microprocessor. Integrated circuits were reduced in size and many more components were added to each chip. Large scale integration (LSI) allowed hundreds of components to fit on to one chip. Very large scale integration (VLSI) allowed hundreds of thousands of components on to a single chip, and Ultra-large scale integration (ULSI) could fit millions of components on to a chip. The Intel 4004, for the first time, allowed all of the components of a computer; the central processing unit (CPU), input and output controls, and memory to be placed on one microprocessor. Microprocessors could be programmed for a variety purposes, rather than the old system of creating each IC for a purpose. These innovations allowed computers to become smaller in physical size, more powerful, efficient and cheaper. This was the beginning of personal computing.

The first consumer mini computers available to the non-technical public (like me) were word processors, spreadsheet programs, and the best original video gaming system ever Atari***.

Courtesy http://atariace.com/atari/

Courtesy of http://technical.ly/philly/2011/10/07/original-apple-ii-developed-by-steve-jobs-used-norristown-made-microprocessor/

The Apple II, the first personal computer, built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 in a California garage. It was introduced to the public in 1977 at the West Coast Computer Faire. The cost was about $1,300 (about $5,000 today)

Courtesy of http://www.extremetech.com/computing/92640-ibm-personal-computer-its-30-year-legacy-slideshow

In 1981 IBM released its new line of personal computers at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The cost was $3,000 (about $8,000 today).

Courtesy of http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html

In 1982 TIME magazine’s “Man of the Year” cover went to the computer.

Courtesy of www.maximumpc.com

The first Macintosh computer with Graphic User Interface. (Ok, so technically it’s the Fifth Generation of computers.)

Glossary

Microprocessor – an integrated circuit (chip) that contains all of the components that a computer needs to function.

*** Disclaimer – this is purely my opinion about Atari. I am not a very technically savvy person, I am sure newer systems are “better”. However, Atari was my first system and will always hold a special place in my heart.

October 9, 2013 by gabriellaor76

Third Generation of Computers

Jack Kilby’s development of the integrated circuit (IC) in 1958 ushered in the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on a small silicone disk, called semiconductors, made of quartz. This innovation further reduced the problem created by the heat, vacuum tubes and transistors, generated that damaged the sensitive interiors’ of computers. The development of the IC also increased the speed and efficiency of computers and further reduced their sizes.

Courtesy of http://ds.haverford.edu/bitbybit/bit-by-bit-contents/chapter-eight/8-5-kilbys-integrated-circuit/

One of the major innovations of third generation computers was the development of an operating system. This allowed these computers to run many different programs that were coordinated and monitored by the computer’s memory. In 1969 UNIX was developed by Kenneth Thomspon and Dennis Ritchie for AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Users could interact with third generation computers using keyboards and monitors instead of the old methods of punch cards and printouts.

Courtesy of www.pdp8.net

One of the first commercially successful minicomputers was the DPD-8 introduced in 1965. It was one of the first computers to successfully use integrated circuits and was smaller and cheaper then other computers. In 1965 it was selling for $20,000. The price decreased to $3,000 within 5 years.

Towards the end of the third generation era the Xerox Corporation developed Graphical User Interface, GUI, (pronounced gooey) which introduced what we now know as icons. Users could now click on these icons to access folders, calculators, and other accessible programs.

First computer to use GUI

Courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Glossary

Semiconductors – a material, like silicone, that has the properties of an insulator and a conductor.

October 9, 2013 by gabriellaor76

Second Generation Computers

With the invention of transistors and their eventual application second generation of computers came into existence. Transistors were invented in 1947 and put into use in 1956. Some of the first computers to have this transistor technology were supercomputers like Stretch by IBM and LARC by Sperry-Rand*. This generation of computers was developed for the atomic energy industry. They could process an enormous amount of data which was one of the draws to the atomic energy industry. These machines were very expensive and too powerful for the regular business sector’s needs.

Courtesy of http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/06/ibm-stretch-nsa/

Although the Stretch by IBM was considered a failure at the time because it failed to live up to its estimated performance, it was still the world’s fastest computer from 1961 until 1964.

Using transistors instead of vacuum tubes and magnetic drums allowed computers to be physically smaller, faster, and cheaper. They generated less heat which led to less failure, and they used less energy. Instruction could now be stored within the computer’s memory.

With second generation computers programing also leapt ahead. Programmers moved away from binary machine language to develop assembly language that allowed instructions to be given by words rather than long and hard binary codes. Two of those high-level languages are COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) and FORTRAN (Formula Translator) that versions of are still used today. With these generation of computers new careers also opened up and the software industry began with this generation of computers.

Glossary

Courtesy of rbtechtalk.blogspot.com – 1293 × 987

Transistor – a semiconductors that device that is used to amplify and switch electronic signals and electronic power.

* John Presper Eckert and John W Mauchly had started their own company, Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation after they left the University of Pennsylvania over a patent dispute. They became a division of Remington Rand and then various successors including Sperry-Rand.

October 9, 2013 by gabriellaor76

First Generation of Computers

What is a computer?

The most basic answer is a machine that computes data. Its four major functions are;

Input – we input data we want processed.

Process – the computer organizes the data we input.

Output – displays the organized information.

Storage – stores the organized information.

Below is an overview of the first four generations of computers.

First Generation of Computers

First Generation computers used vacuum tubes and magnetic drums for data storage. They were very large, each machine could only do the task it was manufactured for, their failure rates were high and their reliability was low. Vacuum tubes created a large amount of heat that sometimes caused these computers to break down.

Courtesy of the-eniac.com

ENIAC – Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was designed by John Presper Eckert and John W Mauchly in a joint project between the University of Pennsylvania and the US Government. It was a general purpose computer made up of 18,000 vacuum tubes, 7,000 resistor, cost half a million dollars (nearly 6 million dollars by today’s calculations) and consumed so much power (150-160 kW) that it was rumored to dim the lights of Philadelphia when it was turned on. It was unveiled in 1946 and its purpose was to calculate artillery firing tables for the Unites States Army’s Ballistic Research Laboratories.

Courtesy of ftp.arl.army.mil

EDVAC – Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer – designed by John von Neumann as a part of a team from the University Pennsylvania that included the designers of ENIAC. This computer operated on a binary language, could store programs as well as data and unlike the ENIAC it allowed for all of the computers functions to come from a single source.

Courtesy of blog.computedby.com

UNIVAC – Universal Automatic Computer – was designed for business and administrative purposes. UNIVAC was also designed by Eckert and Mauchly and in 1951 was sold to the US Census Bureau. The fifth UNIVAC built helped CBS predict the 1952 presidential election.

Glossary