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Analytical Engine
Designed by Charles Babbage, this machine could be called the first computer. It had all the pieces of modern computers: the calculating unit, storage, and input and output devices. However, it was only planned and not built due to insufficient funding. -
Differential Analyzer
Invented by Vannevar Bush at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was the first modern analog computer. -
The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)
Invented by John Vincent Atanasoff and his graduate assistant Clifford E. Berry, it was the first special-purpose electronic computer. Parts of it were designed and built from 1939 to 1942, but development was discontinued with the onset of World War II. -
The Z1-Z2
Invented by German engineer Konrad Zuse, they are one of the earliest examples of an electromechanical relay computer. -
Period: to
First generation
The first generation of computers were defined as using vacuum tube technology. -
The Z3
Also made by Konrad Zuse, it was the world's first working electromechanical programmable, fully automatic digital computer. -
Colossus
Built under British engineer Tommy Flowers, it was the world's first electronic digital programmable computer. It was developed to aid decryption of German communication. -
EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer)
Almost before its predecessor (ENIAC) was finished, EDVAC was planned and designed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering. It utilized a better and faster system of storage using a tube called a delay line. While ENIAC required one vacuum tube per bit, EDVAC could use a delay line and 10 tubes to store 1,000 bits. However, it did not go into operation until 1951. -
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)
Designed in the US by John Mauchly, J. Presper Eckert Jr., and their colleagues at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. It was the first electronic programmable computer built in the US. It was similar to the Colossus, but it was faster and more flexible. Its first task was doing calculations for the construction of a hydrogen bomb. -
The Manchester Baby (Small Scale Experimental Machine, SSEM)
Also known as the Manchester Baby, it was designed at the University of Manchester by Frederic C. Williams and Tom Kilburn. It tested the Williams tube, the first random-access digital storage device. -
The Manchester Mark I
This was the full-size computer of the SSEM and developed an easier way to read programs. -
The EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator)
It was designed and constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory and was was one of the first usefully operational electronic digital stored-program computer. -
Ferranti Mark I
Built by Ferranti, a UK electrical company, and based of the Manchester Mark I, it was the first commercial computer. -
Whirlwind
Made by Jay Forrester of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jan Aleksander Rajchman of the Radio Corporation of America. They used a new kind of memory based on magnetic cores that enabled Whirlwind to be the first real-time computer, or a computer that can respond seemingly instantly to basic instructions. -
First Transistor Computer
Invented at the University of Manchester by a team under the leadership of Tom Kilburn. -
The Harwell CADET
Built by the electronics division of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell. It was the first completely transistorized computer. It used 324 point-contact transistors and 76 junction transistors. -
Period: to
Second generation
The second generation of computers replaced first generation vacuum tubes with transistors. This made them smaller and faster. -
The hybrid integrated circuit (hybrid IC)
It was invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and was the first working integrated circuit. -
The monolithic integrated circuit (IC) chip
It was invented by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor and was easier to mass-produce than the hybrid IC because it used planar process, a manufacturing process that allows integrated circuits to be laid out using the same principles as those of printed circuits. -
The MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor, or MOS transistor)
It was invented by Mohamed M. Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs. It could replace magnetic cores as a memory cell storage element because it was cheaper and consumed less power. -
The Programmed Data Processor (PDP-1)
It was produced by the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and was one of the first minicomputers, which were computers designed to be simpler and have easy connection input/output devices. -
The Atlas
Created as a joint development between the University of Manchester, Ferranti, and Plessey. It was one of the world's first supercomputers and was considered to be the most powerful computer in the world at that time. -
Period: to
Third generation
The third generation used microchips or integrated circuits, making them smaller, faster, and cheaper. They also used new input devices like the mouse and keyboard. -
PDP-8
Also produced by DEC, it used integrated circuits to be the first true mass-market minicomputer. -
The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC)
It was the first silicon IC computer. It was also smaller and denser than previous computers, due to the lift capacity of the Apollo spacecraft. -
The Intel 4004
It was designed by Ted Hoff, Federico Faggin, Masatoshi Shima and Stanley Mazor at Intel. It was the first single-chip microprocessor. It was used on the Pioneer 10 space probe, launched on March 2, 1972. -
The Kenbak-1
It was designed by John Blankenbaker of Kenbak Corporation and was the world's first personal computer. -
Period: to
Fourth generation
The fourth generation computers used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. They had more primary storage capacity, were faster, more reliable, smaller, and required less electricity. -
The P6060
It was sold by Olivetti and was the first complete, pre-assembled personal computer system. -
The Altair 8800
Developed by the Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems company. It was the first commercially available microcomputer kit. It used the Intel 8080 microprocessor. -
The Osborne 1
It was designed by Lee Felsenstein and was the first commercially successful portable computer. -
The Organizer
Released by Psion, this was the first personal digital assistant, or PDA. -
The Simon Personal Communicator
It was released by IBM and was the first smartphone. -
Fifth Generation
The fifth generation of computers is still being developed. They use artificial intelligence (AI) to perform various tasks. They can perform intricate tasks such as image recognition, human speech interpretation, and natural language understanding. -
Sources
Information obtained from:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computing_hardware#
www.britannica.com/technology/computer/History-of-computing#ref216019
www.shiksha.com/online-courses/articles/generation-of-computers/