September 24, 2015

Computer History
Timeline

Miguel Rodas
Computer III

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS
Computer

can be defined as an electronic machine that

can store and work with large amounts of information.

Computers

have become part of our daily lives.

They

have become that because computers make our

lives easier.

They

have gone through many changes since they were

created.

Pre-Computer Age
Charles

Babbage was a mathematician, philosopher,

inventor, and mechanical engineer; Babbage is best
remembered for originating the concept of a
programmable computer.

Babbage

is credited with inventing the first mechanical

computer that eventually led to more complex designs.

1st Generation Computers

The

1st generation computers can

dated in between 1942 1955.

be

UNIVAC

began the commercial

computer age.

It

was developed by two scientists

Mauchly and Echert at the Census
Department of United States in 1947.

The

first commercial computers were based on vacuum

tubes.

The

computers were big, consumed a lot of energy, had heat

problems, and they were slow.

2nd Generation Computers

The

2nd generation computers can

be dated in between 1955 1964.

These
Their

computers used transistors.

size decreased.

These

computers used less energy, and they did not

heat easily.

They

needed a lot of maintenance.

3rd Generation Computers

The

3rd generation computers can

be dated in between 1964 1975.

The

computers in this generation

used integrated circuits.

They

were smaller, faster, and less

expensive.

They

used mouse and keyboard output.

These

computers could be used for general purpose.

4th Generation Computers

The

4th generation computers can

be dated in between 1975 Present.

Computers

in this generation use

microprocessors.

microprocessor has thousands of

integrated circuits in it.

Computers

were smaller, and more reliable than

previous generations.

Cheapest

computers amongst all generations.

5th Generation Computers

The

5th generation computers can

be dated from the Present and
Beyond.

Scientist

are working hard on AI.

AI

stand for artificial intelligence,

and it basically means that a
programmed piece of technology
reason by itself like a human.

Scientist

can

are also working on increasing the processing power of

computers.

They

are also trying to create a computer with real IQ that can

even outsmart Harvard students.

BILL GATES
Bill

Gates inspired the era of the home computer by creating the

program Altair 8800

He

also was one of the first to commercialize the operating system by

founding Microsoft in 1976.

Bill

Gates created the world renowned program Windows (you can

find this program in about 90% of the worlds computers).

He

became such a pioneer of computers that all his inventions

created a big fortune for him and at the age of 39 he became the
richest man on the planet.

He

created the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and he donated over
half of his money to it.

His

life is the most significant advancement in computer history.

Bibliography
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/computer
http://

www.allsands.com/history/objects/history/objects/bab
bagecomputer_yy_gn.htm

http://byte-notes.com/five-generations-computers
http://

www.techradar.com/news/computing/in-focus-bill-gatesfive-greatest-achievements-409392

THE END