(4) Generations of Computers

Like any digital device, computers also develop as time passes by. From being very large vacuum tubes they were upgraded into much efficient computers.

The first generation is the vacuum tubes which were very huge in size and could take up a large room. It uses machine language which only uses the numbers 1 and 0. Only people who can understand this language can operate the computers. They compute in milliseconds.

The second generation is the transistors which were smaller than the previous generation but still very big. They used a concept called stored program and uses assemble technology. They compute in microseconds.

The third generation is the integrated circuits which had multiple transistors are place on a silicon chip. In this generation, the keyboard and the monitor were finally used to interact. It used high-level languages. During this time, the computer became available to the mass audience.

The fourth generation is the microprocessors which uses the large scale integration and the very large scale integration and the very large scale integration. This generation are like the computers we are using today.

The fifth generation is the artificial intelligence. It is capable of learning and self-organization just like how humans think. They use SUPER large scale integrator. An example of this computer is Watson which can be as the same level of humans.