Computer Generations: From Vacuum Tubes to AI, Slides of Computer Science

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Generation

of computer

Different generation of computer are as follow

 1 st generation  2nd generation  3rd generation  4th generation  5th generation  6th generation  7th generation

Second generation

 (^) Transistors replace vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. 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.

Third generation

 (^) 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.  (^) 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.

Fifth generation

 (^) Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, 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.

Sixth generation

 (^) The sixth generation of computers. ... In a few words, “computer generation” is a term related to the evolution and adaptation of technology and computing. This means that every major breakthrough, such as reducing the size of processors and memory chips, as well as increased capacity and speed, a generation gap occurs.

Component of computer

 (^) Case with hardware inside:  Power Supply - The power supply comes with the case, but this component is mentioned separately since there are various types of power supplies. The one you should get depends on the requirements of your system. This will be discussed in more detail later  (^) Motherboard - This is where the core components of your computer reside which are listed below. Also the support cards for video, sound, networking and more are mounted into this board.  Microprocessor - This is the brain of your computer. It performs commands and instructions and controls the operation of the computer.  (^) Memory- The RAM in your system is mounted on the motherboard. This is memory that must be powered on to retain its contents.  (^) Drive controllers - The drive controllers control the interface of your system to your hard drives. The controllers let your hard drives work by controlling their operation. On most systems, they are included on the motherboard, however you may add additional controllers for faster or other types of drives.

 (^) Hard disk drive(s) - This is where your files are permanently stored on your computer. Also, normally, your operating system is installed here.  (^) CD-ROM drive(s) - This is normally a read only drive where files are permanently stored. There are now read/write CD-ROM drives that use special software to allow users to read from and write to these drives.  (^) Floppy drive(s) - A floppy is a small disk storage device that today typically has about 1. Megabytes of memory capacity.  (^) Other possible file storage devices include DVD devices, Tape backup devices, and some others.  (^) Monitor - This device which operates like a TV set lets the user see how the computer is responding to their commands.  (^) Keyboard - This is where the user enters text commands into the computer.  (^) Mouse - A point and click interface for entering commands which works well in graphical environments.

Super computer

 (^) The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data processing are the Supercomputers. These are specialized and task specific computers used by large organizations. These computers are used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses supercomputers for launching space shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration purpose.

 (^) The supercomputers are very expensive and very large in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms; some super computers can span an entire building.

Mini computer

 (^) Minicomputers are used by small businesses & firms. Minicomputers are also called as “Midrange Computers”. These are small machines and can be accommodated on a disk with not as processing and data storage capabilities as super-computers & Mainframes. These computers are not designed for a single user. Individual departments of a large company or organizations use Mini-computers for specific purposes. For example, a production department can use Mini-computers for monitoring certain production process.

Microcomputer

 (^) Desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablets & smartphones are all types of microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used & the fastest growing computers. These computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers. The Micro-computers are specially designed for general usage like entertainment, education and work purposes. Well known manufacturers of Micro-computer are Dell, Apple, Samsung, Sony & Toshiba.