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First Generation
These early computers used vacuum tubes as circuitry and magnetic drums for memory. As a result they were enormous, literally taking up entire rooms and costing a fortune to run. -
Second Generation
The replacement of vacuum tubes by transistors saw the advent of the second generation of computing. -
Third Generation
By this phase, transistors were now being miniaturised and put on silicon chips. 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. -
Fourth Generation
The chip-maker developed the Intel 4004 chip in 1971, which positioned all computer components (CPU, memory, input/output controls) onto a single chip. What filled a room in the 1940s now fit in the palm of the hand. -
Fifth Generation
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.
