History of
The Five Generations of Computers
First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes
The first computers
used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often
enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in
addition to using a great deal of electricity, the first computers generated a
lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.
First generation
computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language
understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one
problem at a time, and it could take days or weeks to set-up a new problem.
Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on
printouts.
The UNIVAC and
ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC
was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S.
Census Bureau in 1951.
Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors
Transistors replace
vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor
was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late
1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers
to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable
than their first-generation predecessors.
Though the
transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to
damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation
computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.
Second-generation
computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly,
languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such
as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers
that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic
drum to magnetic core technology.
The first computers
of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.
Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated
Circuits
The development of
the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers.
Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called
semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of
computers.
Instead of punched
cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through
keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed
the device to run many different applications at one time with a central
program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became
accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their
predecessors.
Fourth Generation (1971-Present)
Microprocessors
The microprocessor
brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits
were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an
entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip,
developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer—from the central
processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip.
In 1981 IBM
introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced
the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers
and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use
microprocessors.
As these small
computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation
computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.
Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond)
Artificial Intelligence
Fifth generation
computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being
used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to
make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and
nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come.
The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to
natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.
DeepMind’s new computer can learn from its
own memory
DeepMind, an
artificial intelligence firm that was acquired by Google in 2014 and is now
under the Alphabet umbrella, has developed a computer than can refer to its own
memory to learn facts and use that knowledge to answer questions.
That’s huge,
because it means that future AI could respond to queries from humans without
being taught every possible correct answer.
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DeepMind says its
new AI model, called a differentiable neural computer (DNC), can be fed with
things like a family tree and a map of the London Underground network, and can
answer complex questions about the relationships between items in those data
structures.
For example, you
could get responses to questions like, “Starting at Bond street, and taking the
Central line in a direction one stop, the Circle line in a direction for four
stops, and the Jubilee line in a direction for two stops, at what stop do you
wind up?” DeepMind says its DNC could also help you plan an efficient route
from Moorgate to Piccadilly Circus.
Similarly, it could
understand and answer questions about the relationships between people from a
large family, like, ““Who is Freya’s maternal great uncle?” You can see a
visualization of this below:
This discovery
builds on the concept of neural networks, which mimic the way the human mind
works. They are great for machine learning applications where you want a
computer to learn to do things by recognizing patterns.
It’s these networks
that helped DeepMind’s AlphaGo AI defeat world champions at the complex game of
Go. But AlphaGo had to be trained by feeding it data about 30 million moves
from historical games. By augmenting an AI’s capabilities with the power of
learning from memory, it’ll likely be able to complete far more complex tasks
on its own.
DeepMind hopes that
its DNC, which it describes as “a learning machine that, without prior
programming, can organise information into connected facts and use those facts
to solve problems,” will allow for further breakthroughs in computing. It
published its research findings in the scientific journal Nature, and you can
read the paper here.
What Is Computer?
A computer is a machine (mostly electronic) that is able to
take information (input), do some work on or make changes to the
information (process), to make new information (output).
Computers have existed for much of human history.
Examples of early computers are theastrolabe and the abacus.
There are four main processing steps in a computer, and they are: inputting, outputting, storage and processing.
Modern computers are very different from early computers.
They can do billions of calculations per second. Most people have used apersonal computer in their home or at work. Computers do
many different jobs where automation is useful. Some examples are
controllingtraffic lights, vehicle computers, security systems, washing
machines and digital televisions.
A computer user can control it by a user
interface. Input devices include keyboard, mouse,
buttons, touch screen.
Some very new computers can also be controlled with voice commands or hand
gestures or even brain signals through electrodes implanted in the brain or
along nerves.
Computers can be designed to do almost anything with
information. Computers are used to control large and small machines which in
the past were controlled by humans. They are also in homes, where they are used
for things such as listening to music, reading the news,
and writing.
Modern computers are electronic machines. A computer is
only useful if it has both hardware and software. Hardware is the physical
parts the computer is made of - for example keyboard, mouse, screen, tower, and
the circuits inside it. Software is the computer programs (mathematical
instructions). The software uses the hardware, when the user gives it
instructions, and gives useful output.
Many modern computers do billions of calculations each
second. They do mathematical arithmetic very quickly but computers do not
really "think". They only follow the instructions in their software
programs.
Computer programs are designed or written by computer programmers.
A few programmers write programs in the computer's own language called machine code.
Most programs are written using a programming language like C++, Java, and Python. These programming languages are
more like the language you talk and write with every day.
Five Computer We Use Everyday
Microsoft Windows
While not strictly a computer program (it’s what is known as an operating system), Windows is likely to be the face that greets you every day as you turn on your PC. Without it, many wouldn’t be able to access all of the programs that we need – so it is worthy of a place on our list.
While not strictly a computer program (it’s what is known as an operating system), Windows is likely to be the face that greets you every day as you turn on your PC. Without it, many wouldn’t be able to access all of the programs that we need – so it is worthy of a place on our list.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
When we talking about computer programs we use every day, your instant thoughts may have been of Facebook, Twitter or Google. However, these are all examples of websites and without a web browser, you wouldn’t be able to see them. While Firefox and Google Chrome have gained popularity over the years, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still the market leader.
When we talking about computer programs we use every day, your instant thoughts may have been of Facebook, Twitter or Google. However, these are all examples of websites and without a web browser, you wouldn’t be able to see them. While Firefox and Google Chrome have gained popularity over the years, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still the market leader.
Microsoft Office and Outlook
Word, Excel, PowerPoint and even Publisher; how would we get anything done without them? Add Outlook on top of that and you have the complete Microsoft Office Suite. While you may not produce many documents or spreadsheets at home, in education and especially in the workplace, these programs are ubiquitous.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint and even Publisher; how would we get anything done without them? Add Outlook on top of that and you have the complete Microsoft Office Suite. While you may not produce many documents or spreadsheets at home, in education and especially in the workplace, these programs are ubiquitous.
McAfee Antivirus
To keep your computer safe from rogue viruses that abound on the internet, you need an antivirus on your PC. One of the most popular is the McAfee Antivirus program which operates in the background – so you use it every day without even knowing it. It appears on our list over other antivirus software due to their recent link up with many NHS trusts.
To keep your computer safe from rogue viruses that abound on the internet, you need an antivirus on your PC. One of the most popular is the McAfee Antivirus program which operates in the background – so you use it every day without even knowing it. It appears on our list over other antivirus software due to their recent link up with many NHS trusts.
Adobe PDF
The PDF is the one thing that can bring all of these programs together. Adobe’s PDF is viewable on all computers. PDFs are also easily distributed across the internet. Since 2007 it has been possible to create PDFs from Microsoft Office. The PDF remains the most popular way to distribute files via email and Adobe has recently announced two security updates which make PDFs the friend of the virus checker.
The PDF is the one thing that can bring all of these programs together. Adobe’s PDF is viewable on all computers. PDFs are also easily distributed across the internet. Since 2007 it has been possible to create PDFs from Microsoft Office. The PDF remains the most popular way to distribute files via email and Adobe has recently announced two security updates which make PDFs the friend of the virus checker.
Future Of Computer
1. How would computers help us in the future? I think that in the
future, computers will eventually take over TVs. Instead of having channels for
a station, people will get large computer screens and watch programs on the
internet.
2. How will computers change in the future? They would be Smaller,
lighter, stronger, faster, and more storage capacity. They will be water
resistant and totally portable. All computers will have a solar panel
spreadable sheet so you will never be in trouble. They hill have Internet
towers like cell towers today.
3. what will computers look like in the future? As computers become more powerful they will
grow more intelligent There seems no reason why machines should not become more
intelligent than people in the future. Computers will start to design and build
other computers. There will then be two forms of life and many thousands of
years from now in the future there might be competition for power between
computers and life and would probaly become large robots.
4. How Will Computers Be Used in the Future?
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In the future rush to get to work, the day's tasks
will be checked using a personal robotic butler,
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the misplaced car keys will be located by entering the
word keys.
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The children will be monitored by sensors that detect
their every movement.
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At work, the office map uses the same kind of sensors
to track down staff members for a meeting.
The computers would look like robotic safety police in the future.
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