Computers and Technology

Earlier Generations of Computing

The first generation of computing is generally thought of as the "vacuum tube era." These computers used large vacuum tubes as their circuits, and large metal drums as their memory. They generated a tremendous amount of heat and, as any computer professional can tell attest, this led to a large number of failures and crashes in the early years of computing. This first generation of computer lasted for sixteen years, between 1940 and 1956, and was characterized by massive computers that could fill an entire room. The most notable of these large, and yet quite basic, computers, were the UNIVAC and ENIAC models.

Second-generation computing was characterized by a switch from vacuum tubes to transistors, and saw a significant decrease in the size of computing devices. Invented in 1947, the transistor came to computers in 1956. Its popularity and utility in computing machines lasted until 1963, when integrated circuits supplanted them. However, transistors remain an important part of modern computing. Even modern-day Intel chips contain tens of millions of transistors - although microscopic in size, and not nearly as power-draining as their much earlier predecessors.

Between 1964 and 1971, computing began to take baby steps toward the modern era. During this third generation of computing, the semiconductor increased the speed and efficiency of computers by leaps and bounds, while simultaneously shrinking them even further in size. These semiconductors used miniaturized transistors which were much smaller than the traditional transistor found in earlier computers, and put them on a silicon chip. This is still the basis for modern processors, though on a much, much smaller scale.

In 1971, computing hit the big time: microprocessing. Microprocessors can be found in every single computing device today, from desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones. They contain thousands of integrated circuits that are housed on a single chip. Their parts are microscopic, allowing one small processor to handle many simultaneous tasks at the same time with very little loss of processing speed or capacity.

Because of their extremely small size and large processing capacity, microprocessors enabled the home computing industry to flourish. IBM introduced the very first personal computer in 1981; three years later, Apple followed with its wildly successful Apple line of computers that revolutionized the industry and made the microprocessor industry a mainstay in the American economy.

Chip manufacturers like AMD and Intel sprouted up and flourished in Silicon Valley alongside established brands like IBM. Their mutual innovation and competitive spirit led to the most rapid advancement of computer processing speed and power in the history of computing; and enabled a marketplace that is today dominated by handheld devices which are infinitely more powerful than the room-sized computers of just a half-century ago.

Fifth Generation of Computing

Technology never stops evolving and improving, however. While the microprocessor has revolutionized the computing industry, the fifth generation of computer looks to turn the whole industry on its head once again. The fifth generation of computing is called "artificial intelligence," and it is the goal of computer scientists and developers to eventually create computers than outsmart, outwit, and maybe even outlast their human inventors.

The fifth generation of computer has already beaten humans in a number of games - most notably a 1997 game of chess against the man who was then the game's world champion. But where it can beat humans in very methodical gameplay, fifth generation computing lacks the ability to understand natural human speech and affectation. Artificial intelligence is not yet as intelligent as it needs to be in order to interact with its human counterparts and - more importantly - truly understand them.

But strides have been made. Many computers and smartphones on the market contain a rudimentary voice recognition feature that can translate human speech into text. However, they still require slow, very punctual dictation - otherwise words become jumbled or erroneous. And they're still not receptive to human affectation which might indicate the needs for capital letters, question marks, or things such as bold and italicized type.

As microprocessors continue to increase their power by leaps and bounds, it will becoming possible for these hallmarks of artificial intelligence to become easier to develop and implement. It's easy to underestimate the complexity of human language and patterns of communication, but the simple fact is that translating those things into raw computing power and ability requires a great deal of time and resources - in some cases, resources that have yet to be fully developed and put into a computer chip.

Technology advancements are often quantified and identified by the terminology "generation." Each year, the product development process improves, this is deemed a generation. With each new generation of computer, the motherboard and silicon footprint decreases and the speed, power and memory power increases.

Progression of Computers

Computers have come a long way since the first generation vacuum tubes for circuitry and memory magnetic drums. The first generation computer utilized assembly language programming or high level programming languages to execute instructions for the user. These early computers required a lot of electricity to operate and also generated a lot of heat that was difficult to displace.

The second generation replaced the vacuum tubes with transistors, which were a primary component of microprocessors today. Transistors were invented in 1947 in Bell Laboratories. These devices were preferable to vacuum tubes that emitted a significant amount of heat and slowed processing times.

Transistors opened the door to faster processing. The latest microprocessors contain tens of millions of microscopic transistors. Without the transistor, we would not have the same level of computing power that we have today.

The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 50s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube. This allowed computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors.

The third generation computer involved integrated circuits. These circuits are often referred to as semiconductors, because of the substrate used to design the circuit. Semiconductors dramatically increased the speed and efficiency of the computer. Semiconductors also decreased the overall footprint of the computer. As the semiconductor packages become smaller, designers produced smaller laptops and desktop computers. Minimalist designers and chiropractors rejoiced with the weight and size reduction.

The fourth generation marked the production of computers as we know them today. Microprocessors were introduced in this generation of computers. The computer processing speeds increased exponentially, as the "brain" of the computer mastered complex computations. This generation of computer allowed manufacturers to lower the price to make computers available to the common household. Computers, however, were still not as cost effective as they are today.

The fifth generation of computer added artificial intelligence to the computer to improve the speed and efficiency of advanced computations and graphic displays. Game playing, expert systems, natural language, neural networks and robotics were all capabilities of the fifth generation computer.

Neural networks were particularly important in this generation of computer. The computer could mimic actual neuron synapses in the human body. These complex mathematical models were handled with ease through the fifth generation computer. However, scientists still needed more computing power to accomplish advanced robotics and other language computations.

The Sixth Generation of Computer

Not only does the technology improve, but the price decreases as the technology improves. The sixth generation of computer provided consumers with the opportunity to have more power on a smaller footprint. The sixth generation also introduced voice recognition. Improved technology allows the computer to take dictation and recognize words. Computers have the ability to learn via a variety of advanced algorithms.

The use of nanotechnology is a characteristic of sixth generation computers. This significantly increases the processing time of the computer and help consumers. Computers with multiple CPUs can perform sophisticated calculations and multitask. When a single CPU can perform multiple tasks at once, this is considered multi-tasking.

When qubits or quantum bits process calculations, it is typically faster than conventional computers. This technology works in conjunction with the computer's processor and memory. Complex languages such as English, Chinese, French and Spanish are easily processed with the use of qubits or quantum bits. Computers can now understand and interpret numerous languages with the new advanced technology available.

This new advancement will allow students and the disabled to speak commands into the computer without touching the physical device. Voice recognition is also helpful in laboratory clean rooms, surgical operating rooms or even use in customer service. Voice recognition will significantly enhance the scientist's ability to create new technology.

Voice controlled games and typing applications are easy with sixth generation applications. Avid gamers will view video games in incredible detail with life-like motion. Parallel processing enables faster speeds for video games. As the semiconductor footprint becomes smaller through the use of nanotechnology, the user has more flexibility in the use of the computer.

Conclusion

Sixth generation took advanced computing to a new level with voice recognition. Consumers can only imagine what the seventh generation of computer will bring. Consumers will look forward to these new advancements as they develop.