-
Nintendo
Invented by Fusajiro Yamauchi -
Apple Inc.
Invented by Steve Jobs -
Antanasoff-Berry-Computer (ABC)
invented by John Vincent Atanasoff -
E-Books
invented by Thomas Aquinas and Roberto Busa -
Period: to
First eneration-Vacuum Tubes
These early computers used vacuum tubes as circuitry and magnetic drums for memory. they were enormous, literally taking up entire rooms and costing a fortune to run. These were inefficient materials which generated a lot of heat, sucked huge electricity and subsequently generated a lot of heat which caused ongoing breakdowns.These computers were limited to solving one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape. Output came out on print-outs. The two notable machines of -
Personal computer
Invented by Konrad Zuse -
Game consoles
Invented by Ralph H. Baer -
Period: to
Second Generation-Transistors
Transistors were a big improvement over the vacuum tube, despite still subjecting computers to damaging levels of heat. However they were hugely superior to the vacuum tubes, making computers smaller, faster, cheaper and less heavy on electricity use. Transistor-driven machines were the first computers to store instructions into their memories – moving from magnetic drum to magnetic core ‘technology’. The early versions of these machines were developed for the atomic energy industry. -
Minicomputers
Invented Hewlett- Poakard -
Period: to
Third Generation-Integrated Circuits
transistors were now being miniaturised and put on silicon chips (called semiconductors). This led to a massive increase in speed and efficiency of these machines. These were the first computers where users interacted using keyboards and monitors which interfaced with an operating system, a significant leap up from the punch cards and printouts.This enabled these machines to run several applications at once using a central program which functioned to monitor memory. -
Microcomputer
Invented by Hewlett- Poakard -
Laptop
Invented by Alan Kay -
Period: to
Fourth Generation- Microprocessors
Intel. The chip-maker developed the Intel 4004 chip in 1971, which positioned all computer components (CPU, memory, input/output controls) onto a single chip.The increased power of these small computers meant they could be linked, creating networks. Which ultimately led to the development, birth and rapid evolution of the Internet. -
Kodak DCS (Digital Camera System 100)
Invented by Steven Sasson -
Digital camera
Steven Sasson -
IBM PC
Invented by Bill Gates -
Web cam
Invented by Cambridge University of Computer Science Dept. -
Period: to
DEC PDP-8 (Digital Equipment Corporation)
-
DEC PDP-8 (Digital Equipment Corporation)
Invented by Ken Olson -
Smartphones
Invented by Hewlett Poakard -
Period: to
Fith Generation-Artificial Intelligence
Computer devices with artificial intelligence are still in development, but some of these technologies are beginning to emerge and be used such as voice recognition. AI is a reality made possible by using parallel processing and superconductors. Leaning to the future, computers will be radically transformed again by quantum computation, molecular and nano technology.