-
generation one
This generation spanned the fifties. They used vacuum tubes to process information.
They used punched cards to enter data and programs.
They used magnetic cilynders to store information and internal instrucctions.
They were extremely large, they used a lot of electricity, they generated a lot of heat and they were extremely slow.
It began to use the binary system to represent the data.
They cost approximately 10,000 dollars. -
generation two
In this generation the size and cost of the computer was reduced.
They used transistors to process information.
The transistors were faster, smaller and more reliable than vacuum tubes.
200 transistors could be accommodated in the same amount of space as a vacuum tube.
They emerged minicomputers and remote terminals. -
generation three
The third generation of computers emerged with the development of integrated circuits (silicon wafers) in which thousands of electronic components are placed in a miniature integration. Computers again became smaller, faster, gave off less heat and were more energy efficient. -
generation four
They appear the microprocessors that is a great advance of the microelectronics, they are integrated circuits of high density and with an impressive speed. More circuits are placed inside a "chip".
The memory of magnetic rings is replaced by the memory of silicon "chips".
Sections the microcomputers, that is, personal computers or PC.
The supercomputers are made. -
generation five
In the United States, a development program that pursued similar objectives was active, which can be summarized as follows: Processing in parallel through architectures and special designs.
Handling natural language and artificial intelligence systems.
The Hardware of this generation is characterized by having fiber optic circuits that allow greater speed and independence of processes -
generation six
The computers of this generation have Parallel / Vectorial combined architectures, with hundreds of vector microprocessors working at the same time; computers capable of performing more than one million million floating-point arithmetic operations per second (teraflops) have been created; the networks of world-wide area (Wide Area Network, WAN) will continue growing by using means of communication through optical fibers and satellites.