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Period: to
The First Generation
The Vacuum Tube Years -
ENIAC
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was built by two Americans; John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert. The project started in 1943 and took 3 years to complete. The project was sponsored by the military. The ENIAC contained 17,468 vacuum tubes and 6,000 manual switches. It covered 1800 square feet (167 square meters) of floor space, weighed 30 tons, and consumed 160 kilowatts of electrical power. It performed 5,000 operations per second. -
The First Transistor
The first transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. This was the start of the second generation of computers which used transistors. The transistor replaced the vacuum tubes. The name transistor is a combination of the words transfer and resistor - a transfer resistor - a transistor. A transistor is a semiconductor that can amplify electrical signals as they are transferred through it from input to output terminals. -
UNIVAC
The UNIVAC was an updated version of the ENIAC. UNIVAC I consisted of 5,200 vacuum tubes and weighed 29,000 pounds. The UNIVAC 1, often mistaken as the IBM UNIVAC, could perform about 1,905 operations per second running on a 2.25 MHz clock. It's input and output sources used were unityper, magnetic tape, and printer. The memory size was 1,000 words in 12 digit charcters. The memory type was delay lines and magnetic tape. It took up 943 cubic feet of floor space.
Cost: $750,000 -
The First Integrated Circuit
At Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby, created the first integrated circuit which permitted computers to be smaller and lighter then they currently were in 1958. The circuit was the size of a pencil point and had the capability of holding up to a thousand transistors. -
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The Second Generation
The Era of the Transistor -
IBM 1301 Disk Storage Unit
The IBM 1301 Disk Storagge Unit was used with IBM's 7000-series of mainframe computers. The maximum capacity was 28 million characters and rotated at 1,800 R.P.M. You could lease the 1301 for $2,100 per month or purchase it for $115,500. The drive had one read/write arm for each disk with flying heads, which you can still use in today's disk drives. -
Computer Mouse
The computer mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart in 1963. In 1964, Doug Engelbert patented the computer mouse. There are 3 basic types of computer mice today and they are mechanical, optomechanical, and optical. -
Period: to
The Third Generation
Integrated Circuits - Miniaturizing the Computer -
The First Microprocessor Chip: INTEL 4004
The first microprocessor chip, the INTEL 4004, was developed by Intel engineers Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stan Mazor. This chip had the capability of holding millions of transistors. The microprocessor is the central processing unit of the computer, it has all the parts that make a computer think on one tiny chip. This was the start of the fourth generation of computers. -
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The Fourth Generation
The Microprocessor Chip -
Intel's 8008 microprocessor
An 8 bit work with 256 arrangements of ones and zeros. This microprocessor was the first with the capability of uppercase and lowercase letters, all numerals, and other symbols simultaneously. -
6800 Microprocessor
In 1984 Motorola manufactured the 6800 microprocessor. It had a 16-bit address bus and could address up to 64 KB of memory. -
Altair 8800
Altair 8800 was featured in the January edition of Popular Electronics based on Intel's 8080 microprocessor. It was licensed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen's BASIC software language.
Cost: $297 ($395 with a case). -
Computer Mouse Adapted
The computer mouse was invented in 1963 but not actually adapted until 1980 when Apple put them on the market. The computer mouse started the point and click programs. -
The First Laptop
Adam Osborne invented the first laptop in 1981. It was called 'Osborne 1'. This laptop only had direct power. It did not have a battery. It had a 5-inch screen and two 5 1/4-inch disk drives and 64 kilobytes of memory. The Osbourne 1 also was the first time a computer had so much software. It included basic word processing and a spreadsheet program.
Cost: $1,795 -
Apple Lisa
Apple introduced the first personal computer with a graphical user interface. Lisa cost $10,000, which led to its failure. -
Macintosh
Apple introduced Macintosh, the first successful mouse computer. It also included graphic user interface. It was based on 68000 microprocessor. The Macintosh was much more affordable then the LIsa, and it included alot of Lisa's features.
Cost: $2,500 -
Commodore's Amiga 1000
Commodore's Amiga 1000 sold for $1,295 (without monitor). It had audio and video capabilities. Most other personal computers did not have this. It also had add-on components for easy upgrade. -
The First PDA
In 1993, Apple Computer Inc. released the very first PDA (personal digital assistants). This PDA was called the Apple Newton Message Pad. It included several applications and one of the being Notes in which you can write in your own handwriting personal messages to yourself. It had the capability to interpet your handwriting. It was 4.5 x 7 inches and almost one inch thick.
