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Colossus
This was another machine that was built to help fight World War 2. It was a British machine used to help decode secret enemy messages. -
Vacuum Tubes
Vacuum tubes were used for storage and memory. They were often called a drum. They were very expensive to operate, and also used a lot of electricity, so they got very hot, which was a lot of times the cause of malfunctions. -
Period: to
First Generation
This is the period of time where the first and earliest computers were invented/used. -
EDVAC
Von Nueman designed the electronic descrete variable automatic computer with a memory to hold both a stored program as well as data. -
ENIAC
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was produced by a partnership between University of Pennslyvania and the US government. It consisted of 18,000 vacuum tubes and 7,000 resistors. -
UNIVAC
The Universal Automatic Computer was invented by Remington rand and owned by the US census bureau and General Electric. -
Transistors invented
The transistor was invented in 1947 in Bell Labs by Walter Brattain John Bardeen, William Shockley. A transistor is device composed of semiconductor material that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit. They have allowed computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. -
Period: to
Second Generation
This is the second generation of computers where transistors were the main invention of the generation. -
Introduction of assembly language
When assembly language replaced machine language, abbreviated programming codes to replaced long, difficult binary codes. -
Philco Corporation's Transac S-2000
This was one of the first computing machines based on the tranisistor. They were programmed in languages such as COBOL and FORTRAN. -
IBM 1401
A computer universally that was universally accepted thoughout the industry, and is considered by many to be the Model T of the computer industry. -
Magnetic Disks and Tape
Magnetic disks and tape were often used for data storage for almost all of the second generation computers. -
Integrated Circuit
The invention of this was said to be "the hallmark of the third generation." They allowed computers to process faster and more efficiently. -
Period: to
Third Generation
The third generation of computers where the integrated circuit was the main invention of the generation. -
Parallelism
Parallelism became the trend of the time and there were abundant use of functional units. -
Circuit boards
Integrated circuits are placed on circuit boards, which are thin pieces of bakelite or fiberglass that have electronical connections etched onto them. They're sometimes called "mother boards." -
UNIX Operating System
Invented in 1969 at AT&T Bell Labs. Provided the user with the means to allocate resources on the fly rather than requiring the resources be allocated in the design stages. -
Simplification
Ken Thompson developed simplification of CPL and called it B. -
Intel 4004 Chip
This took the integrated circuit one step further by locating all of the components of a computer on a little chip. -
Period: to
Fourth Generation
This is the fourth generation of computers. It extends from 1971 to the present. So these are the most updated computers and the newest computers. -
Altair 8800 Computer Kit
One of the earliest computers. You could purchase one of these kits and make your own personal computer. -
Atari 2600
Video games started becoming more and more popular. One of the most popular ones of that time was Atari 2600. -
IBM
IBM introduced personal computers for home and office use. -
Switches
Switches are used to represent and control the routing of data in the form of binary digits or sometimes just called bits.
