Learn about the history of computers
Computers are present in any device with which you interact on a daily basis. Its evolution has been by leaps and bounds, with remarkable characters who, over time, perfected an invention that marked a before and after in the history of mankind.
The history of computing and the computer go hand in hand, since they cover a series of stages over time, in which more and more curious minds became interested in these new and promising machines.
In this sense, the evolution of computers can be divided into generations and, below, we will review them one by one from the origin of computing, to know details about who invented the computer, who created the internet and many more details:
First generation of computers (from 1940 to 1958)
To answer the question of when the computer was invented, you must first know a little about the most important elements in the development of these technologies: transistors, chips and circuits.
At this time we find the invention of the transistor, which is accompanied by the creation of what would be considered one of the first digital computers in the world, the Atanasoff-Berry or ABC Computer. It was created in 1942 and its CPU used vacuum tubes at 60 Hz. It weighed up to 320 kilograms and was very bulky, but for many it was the starting point.
However, determining who was the inventor of the computer is a somewhat difficult task, since many people contributed to the development of all the elements that make up the machine.
On the other hand, there is another piece of equipment that for some would be the world’s first computer: Harvard Mark I, a machine developed by the new company International Business Machines, better known as IBM. However, this model was released in 1944, two years after ABC Computer.
Second generation of computers (from 1958 to 1964)
The second generation of computers is determined with the appearance of the integrated circuit in the year 1958; an invention of Texas Instruments employee Jack S. Kilby, who trademarked his ideas in the same year. This component, which was soon known as a “chip”, would be essential for the development of new technologies and would award him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.
From then on, the existing companies in the computer market began systems development projects, allowing users to offer computers such as the Commodore Pet, Apple I and II, IBM 5100, Mark-8, among others.
These new computers allowed much more to be done with them, and the creation of the chip gave developers the freedom to realize their ideas of what they wanted in a computer and its interface.
Third generation of computers (from 1965 to 1971)
After the invention of the chip, the microprocessor would arrive and with it, developers wrote languages for machines with integrated circuits, considerably improving the performance of computers that were launched on the market along with a new way of coding for programmers.
Within this generation, machines with good capacity that were not excessively expensive were offered on the market, such as the PDP-8 and PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and the creation of the Internet in 1960 by the United States is also credited. USA during the Cold War, while seeking to create a communication network.
Fourth generation of computers (from 1971 to 1983)
In the fourth generation of computers is when these machines begin to appear in the homes of the average consumer. This is mainly thanks to IBM, who made available the operation of a computer for home consumption. To this Microsoft was also added with the MS-DOS OS for programmers, being easy, intuitive and user-friendly.
However, there is an Apple computer that would mark a before and after in the handling of text-based programs: the Apple Lisa project. This equipment was in force in 1983 and was the first computer to implement an operating system with an interactive graphical interface.
Fifth generation of computers (from 1983 to 1999)
The year is 1983 when the Fifth Generation of Computers is considered to have started based on the advances found and created in the last generation, highlighting the improvement of graphical interfaces.
At the end of this decade, Japan would try to lead the market with the FGCS project, Fifth Generation Computer Systems, where the development of machines that would use artificial intelligence in the physical and virtual aspects of the computer was planned. Therefore, and as you can see, the dominance of AI in the world of computers is something that has been going on for several decades.
On the other hand, the 5th Generation stood out for being when the first laptops or laptops were developed by the giant that is now IBM.
The first portable computer was called “IBM PC Convertible” and its weight was 5.8 kilograms. It used a 256 KiB RAM memory and an Intel 80C88 microprocessor with a speed of 4.77 MHz. This IBM computer completely revolutionized the spectrum of computing and allowed a more constant connection between the user and the virtual world.
The period ends in 1999, when the so-called “pocket computers” or PDAs begin to appear on the market.
computers today
Starting with the release of pocket PDAs, technology accelerated the pace of development, providing consumer products such as smartphones capable of doing everything a computer does, watches that integrate into your daily activities, mirrors capable of indicating the climate or virtual assistants to adjust the best pellet boiler without having to touch it.
With details like these, it is easy to conclude that the path of computers has made life possible as it is today and without this type of system, many things would not be as we know them.
But not everything is bittersweet news, since the development of technology and computers has also influenced the creation of equipment for the areas of surveillance, health, medicine, environmental protection and more.
