GENERATIONS

GENERATIONS

**__Generations __**  __**Vacuum Tubes** __ 1937 - John V. Atanasoff designed the first digital electronic computer. 1951 - Remington Rand successfully tested UNIVAC March 30, 1951, and announced to the public its sale to the Census Bureau June 14, 1951, the first commercial computer to feature a magnetic tape storage system, the eight UNISERVO tape drives that stood separate from the CPU and control console on the other side of a garage-size room. Each tape drive was six feet high and three feet wide, used 1/2-inch metal tape of nickel-plated bronze 1200 feet long, recorded data on eight channels at 100 inches per second with a transfer rate of 7,200 characters per second. The complete UNIVAC system weighed 29,000 pounds, included 5200 vacuum tubes, and an offline typewriter-printer UNIPRINTER with an attached metal tape drive. Later, a punched card-to-tape machine was added to read IBM 80-column and Remington Rand 90-column cards. 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, 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. 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. The UNIVAC I was used in November 1952 to calculate the presidential election returns and successfully predict the winner, although it was not trusted by the TV networks who refused to use the prediction.     **UNIVAC 1951, from Smithsonian NMAH **  __**Second Generation – (1956-1963)** __ __**Transistors** __ 1959 - General Electric Corporation delivered its Electronic Recording Machine Accounting (ERMA) computing system to the Bank of America in California; based on a design by SRI, the ERMA system employed Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) as the means to capture data from the checks and introduced automation in banking that continued with ATM machines in 1974 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">. [|Transistors]    <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">replaced 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 50s. 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. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">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. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; text-decoration: none; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;"> __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">**Third Generation – (1964-1979)** __ __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">**Integrated Circuits** __ <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1964 - IBM produced SABRE, the first airline reservation tracking system for American Airlines; IBM announced the System/360 all-purpose computer, using 8-bit character word length (a "byte") that was pioneered in the 7030 of April 1961 that grew out of the AF contract of Oct. 1958 following Sputnik to develop transistor computers for BMEWS. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The development of the <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|integrated circuit] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|silicon] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|chips] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, called <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|semiconductors] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|keyboards] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">and <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|monitors] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">and <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|interfaced] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">with an <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|operating system] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, which allowed the device to run many different <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|applications] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> 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. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">**Fourth Generation – (1979-Present)** __ __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">**Microprocessors** __ <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1979 - Micropro released Wordstar that set the standard for word processing software 1980 - IBM signed a contract with the Microsoft Co. of Bill Gates and Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer to supply an operating system for IBM's new PC model. Microsoft paid $25,000 to Seattle Computer for the rights to QDOS that became Microsoft DOS, and Microsoft began its climb to become the dominant computer company in the world. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|microprocessor] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">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 <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|central processing unit] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> and memory to input/output controls - on a single chip. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> 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. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">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 <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|GUIs] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, the <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|mouse] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">and <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; msoansilanguage: EN-GB;">[|handheld] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> devices. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">**Fifth Generation – (Present TO THE FUTURE)** __ __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">**Artificial Intelligence** __ <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> 1991 - World-Wide Web (WWW) was developed by Tim Berners-Lee and released by CERN. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1993 - The first Web browser called Mosaic was created by student Marc Andreesen and programmer Eric Bina at NCSA in the first 3 months of 1993. The beta version 0.5 of X Mosaic for UNIX was released Jan. 23 1993 and was instant success. The PC and Mac versions of Mosaic followed quickly in 1993. Mosaic was the first software to interpret a new IMG tag, and to display graphics along with text. Berners-Lee objected to the IMG tag, considered it frivolous, but image display became one of the most used features of the Web. The Web grew fast because the infrastructure was already in place: the Internet, desktop PC, home modems connected to online services such as AOL and Compuserve <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1994 - Netscape Navigator 1.0 was released Dec. 1994, and was given away free, soon gaining 75% of world browser market. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1996 - Microsoft failed to recognise the importance of the Web, but finally released the much improved browser Explorer 3.0 in the summer. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">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. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">     <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The highlighted parts are the ones important for this piece of work. The rest is not necessary. You have to get used to writing small pieces as your portfolios will have to be written in only 800 to 1000 words. If you are going to copy the information textually from your source you have to put quotation marks on it, if you don´t do so, it is considered plagiarism. The papers you send in ITGS are run in a software that detects plagiarism (compares the text with other known text, specially with your sources) and this is considered very serious...so be carful with it.
 * __<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">FIRST GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1951 -1958) __**

__<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Bibliography: __ <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">

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