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HISTORY OF COMPUTERS David Juarez 11 W INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS • The term computer was used before for those who made calculations • Computer History can be divided into 5 Generations • One of the most important inventions, besides the computer, was the E-mail. CHARLES BABBAGE • 1822- Charles Babbage invented the Difference Engine, used to make calculations and computing several sets of numbers. • 1837- Charles Babbage proposed the first general mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. The Analytical Engine contained an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), basic flow control, and integrated memory and is the first general-purpose computer concept. Unfortunately, because of funding issues, this computer was also never built while Charles Babbage was alive. FIRST GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1942-1955) • The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. • UNIVAC and ENIVAC are examples of first-generation computers • First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowestlevel 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. • Used a lot of electricity and generated a lot of heat. SECOND GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1955-1964) • Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in early 1950’s, this allowed computers to be smaller, faster, cheaper, and more energy efficient. • Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. • Some computers of this generation were: • IBM 1620 • IBM 7094 • CDC 1604 • CDC 3600 • UNIVAC 1108 • In this generation assembly language and high-level programming languages like FORTRAN, COBOL were used • They generated less heat and were less prone to failure. THIRD GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1964-1975) • 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. • Punched cards and printouts were replaced by keyboards • Users interfaced with an operating system, allowing multiple applications to be used. • Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors. • High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during this generation. FOURTH GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1971-1980) • The computers of fourth generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. • Fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. • This gave rise to PC revolution • In this generation time sharing, real time, networks, distributed operating system were used. • All the high-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc., were used in this generation. • 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. FIFTH GENERATION OF COMPUTERS(1980-PRESENT) • In the fifth generation, the VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. • This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software • Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates • More user friendly interfaces with multimedia features • some applications, such as voice recognition, are being used today • The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and selforganization. E-MAIL • Early email was just a small advance on what we know these days as a file directory - it just put a message in another user's directory in a spot where they could see it when they logged in • Probably the first email system of this type was MAILBOX, used at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1965. Another early program to send messages on the same computer was called SNDMSG. • Ray Tomlinson is credited with inventing email in 1972. He picked the @ symbol from the computer keyboard to denote sending messages from one computer to another. So then, for anyone using Internet standards, it was simply a matter of nominating name-of-the-user@name-of-the-computer • The development of EMAIL, the first email system began in 1978. • This is a very important invention because it makes communication, sharing of media, and information almost instantaneous, saving a lot of time. BIBLIOGRAPHY • "Computer History Museum | Timeline of Computer History : Computers Entries." Computer History Museum | Timeline of Computer History : Computers Entries. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=cmptr>. • "The Five Generations of Computers." - Webopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/FiveGenerati ons.asp>. • "Charles Babbage." Charles Babbage. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/charlesbabbage/>. • "When Was the First Computer Invented?" Computer Hope. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm>. • "Computer Generations." Www.tutorialspoint.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_fundamentals/computer_generatio ns.htm>. • "History of Email." The Inventor of Email. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.inventorofemail.com/history_of_email.asp>.