generations of computers

First Generation

(1945 - 1956)

> Harvard Mark 1

> Vacuum tubes

>Very large

> unreliable processing

> Machine code- binary

> Slow and not very versatile

>ENIAC- First computer to use electrical signals for calculations

>UNIVAC and IBM 700

Second Generation

(1956 - 1963)

> Main electrical component- Transistors (1947)

> Smaller and faster computers

> More reliable

> Energy efficient

> Assembly Language- less cryptic

> IBM 1400, UNIVAC 3 and NCR 300

Third Generation

( 1964 - 1970)

> Main electrical components- IC

> Language- high level

> use of Base 10 number system to program 

> Languages closer to English-like-words

> IBM system 3 and 7 

> UNIVAC 9000

Fourth Generation 

(1971 - present)

> Microprocessors

> Use LSI, VLSI and ULSI technologies

> Smaller, cheaper, faster and more reliable

> increased processing power

> IBM 3090, RISC 6000, HP 9000 CRAY 2 XMP

> Chip sizes reduced to 14nm ( IBM z14)

> Improved security and efficiency

Fifth Generation

(present - future)

> AI

> voice recognition

> Emerging technology: Quantum Computers

> Use qbits instead of bits