Definition
A computer generation is an era or period in the history of computers in which the computer was characterized by a major technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate.
- First Generation (1946-1959): made using Vacuum tubes. These computers were very large, taking up entire rooms, and very expensive to operate. Some examples of first-generation computers are ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator), EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) and UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer I).
- Second Generation (1959-1965): Transistors replaced vacuum tubes. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.
- Third Generation (1965-1971): designed with the use of integrated circuits (ICs). Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.
- Fourth Generation (1971-1980): Microprocessors replaced ICs. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand.
- Fifth Generation (1980-present): Fifth generation computing devices are based on artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence will give computers thinking power and capability to make decisions like human beings. They are still in development though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today.
