Information Sources

• "How Big Is The First Computer?" Dimensions Info How Big Is The First Computer Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
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• Bellis, Mary. "Inventors of The Modern Computer - Konrad Zuse." About.com Inventors. About.com, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
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Fourth Generation Computers

In Comes The PC!

The Altair 8800 was the first personal "computer," in 1975, with switches on its front to enter information in the fashion of 1's and 0's (hello, old friend Binary). Buddies Bill Gates and Paul Allen, recent high school graduates, fell in love with it. They created a program that translated user commands into commands the computer could understand.

"The World's First Minicomputer"

In the coming years, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak would create the Apple personal computer, as well as the Apple Computer Company and the successors of their main creation: Apple II and Apple III. Other players began to enter the market of personal computers, such as IBM, Commodore, and the Osbourne Company.

To fast forward and compare: the first computer created was incredibly costly, weighed 27 tons, took up over 600 square feet of space, and consumed vast amounts of electricity. Personal computers of the 21st century are much, MUCH smaller and lighter, as well as faster, cheaper, and publicly known and owned

Nowadays, it has become a part of human life to learn to maneuver around this growing technology. To say one must know something about computers in this day and age would not be an understatement. Although it is expected, being technologically savvy is not something that comes, or has come, easily to the older population.

Third Generation Computers

Reduce Bulk!

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IC - Integrated Circuit

In the late 1950's, an engineer by the name Jack Kilby developed the Integrated Circuit, and that set off the third generation of computers. The IC replaced the transistors used by the previous generation; not only that, but IC's were composed of transistors, resistors, and capacitors. These components allowed.for the removal of MUCH of the bulk the computer's predecessors were known for. On top of being less costly for that reason, IC's also generated less heat, were more reliable, and consumed less electricity.

With the introduction of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits, microcomputers began emerging. These, with their mobile and reliable capabilities, gave birth to what might be referred to as the Personal Computer Revolution.

Second Generation Computers

Transistor Time!

IBM-1401

Switching from vacuum tubes to transistors during the mid-1950's was a big step for manufacturers in the sense that computers would decrease in size. In contrast to the predecessors, second-generation computers were made smaller, faster, more reliable, and more energy efficient by the development of the magnetic core memory system.

Supercomputers were the first to make use of this new technological component. These were built partially for work in laboratories where atomic energy was being researched.

First Generation Computers

Maximum Bulk!

The creation of the computers was spurred during a time of war; more specifically, by the need to predict and communicate ballistics reports. In 1834, Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, had the idea of a general-purpose computing machine coming into existence. Much time passed before something that would come close to that idea was created. In 1930, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led by Vannevar Bush created a "differential analyzer" for the purpose of solving electrical engineering-based problems. This machine was so large that an entire building floor had to be set aside just for it.

Scientists overcame a milestone in computing by using the binary system in electrical devices, which understand the sequences of 1's and 0's as either "on" or "off."

In America, Presper Eckhart and John Mauchly created ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator Analyzer and Computer) during World War Two. Finished in November of 1945, ENIAC was a massive machine that weighed 30 tons.