LEARNINGS OF THE WEEK (Cantero) 2

Learnings of The Week 2
(by: Cielito M. Cantero IV - Rizal)

For this week, I learned many information about the third and first generation of computers. We also have already tackled a lot of matters regarding the history of computers, development from every generation to another generation and uses from different periods in the history. And after a week, my knowledge about computers already widen.

THE THIRD GENERATION OF COMPUTERS
(1963 - 1974)

In this generation, the individual transistors were replaced by integrated circuits and the punched cards were completely replaced by magnetic tape and disks. Magnetic core internal memories began to gave way to the new form, metal - oxide semiconductor (MOS) memory which like IC' s used silicon - backed chips.

And the third generation computers were built between 1963 - 1964. The integrated circuits are like a single wafer or chip that can hold many transistors and electronic circuits and it was where the third generation computers relied on it as the new technology. The invention of transistors eliminated the need for unreliable hand -wired circuits, and allowed hundred of circuits to be easily connected. The integrated circuits were faster, offered improved memory and reduced the price of the computers.

Integrated Circuits

Magnetic Tapes and Disks

In this generation, Jack Kilby joined the Texas Intruments Inc. in Dallas where he was responsible for the IC development and application. He invented the minolithic integrated circuits which is widely used in electronic systems.
The integrated circuits gave way to an entirely new era which called as The Information Age.
In the same generation, Robert Noyce, one of the inventors of integrated circuits, founded the Intel. ARPANET was just a set - up but later, it became a Internet.

Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie developed the C programming language at the AT&T Bell Labs in this generation. The Unix operating system, also written in Bell Labs, is written using the C programming language. And this later makes Unix as one of the most portable operating system.

THE FOURTH GENERATION OF COMPUTERS
(1979 - Present)

In this generation, microprocessor was developed that was designed the tiny computer on a chip. The computers in this generation mainly rely on microprocessor which made the computers fastest and the most powerful that ever been.
The microprocessor was an integrated circuit built on a tiny piece of silicon and contains thousands or even millions of transistors which are interconnected via superfine traces of aluminum. The transistors work together to store and manipulate data so that microprocessor can perform a wide variety of useful functions. The 4004 was the first Intel microprocessor that was introduced in 1971 that contains 2300 of transistors. and nowadays, the Pentium 4 processor contains 55 million of transistors. One of the most common task of an microprocessor is to serve as the brain of inside the personal computer, but deliver intelligence to the countless other devices as well.

In 1975, the first PC was produced by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems(MITS) and they named the computer kit Altair 8080, after the Star Trek episode, “A Voyage to Altair”. Altair 8080 was special because it made computers available to everyone, however, the kit was designed for computer experts. It also had very little memory, required assembly by the owner and had to be coded by flipping switches by hand. Altair 8080 was the first easily available microcomputer. It had 256 bytes of memory and ran a version of BASIC written by

Bill Gates. And in the same year, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded
the Microsoft.

And in April 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded APPLE COMPUTERS. Their aim was to built a simple yet powerful computer that the average person could unpack, plug in, and begin using immediately. Apple’s widely successful PC was the Apple II personal computer. It is the first personal computer to come in a plastic case and include color graphics.


Apple Computer

In 1970s, many companies sold PC kits, but the kits were confusing to use and hard to assemble.

In 1978, VisiCalc is released that was the first spreadsheet program and it made microcomputers useful to business.

In 1979, the first microcomputer word processor, Word Star, is released.