Generations of Computer for bank exams

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• Practice Questions

Which was the first general purpose computer, designed to handle both numeric and textual information?

• Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) (1951) 

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes: 

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. In first generation of computer, this operating system allowed only one program to run at a time and a number of input jobs are grouped for processing. It is known as Batch Processing. 

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors: 

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. 

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits: 

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers. 

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors: 

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices 

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence: 

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. 

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh.