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A generation refers to the state of improvement
in the development of a product. This term is also
used in the different advancements of computer
technology. With each new generation, the circuitry
has gotten smaller and more advanced than the
previous generation before it. As a result of the
miniaturization, speed, power, and memory of
computers has proportionally increased. New
discoveries are constantly being developed that affect
the way we live, work and play.
m The first generation computers were huge, slow, expensive, and often undependable. In 1946 two Americans,
Presper Eckert, and John Mauchly built the ENIAC electronic computer which used vacuum tubes instead of
the mechanical switches of the Mark I. The ENIAC used
thousands of vacuum tubes, which took up a lot of space and gave
off a great deal of heat just like light bulbs do. The ENIAC led to
other vacuum tube type computers like the EDVAC (Electronic
Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) and the
UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer).
The vacuum tube was an extremely important step in the
advancement of computers. Vacuum tubes were invented the same
time the light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison and worked
very similar to light bulbs. It's purpose was to act like an amplifier
and a switch. Without any moving parts, vacuum tubes could take
very weak signals and make the signal stronger
(amplifyit). Vacuum tubes could also stop and start the flow of
electricity instantly (switch). These two properties made the ENIAC
computer possible.
The ENIAC gave off so much heat that they had to be cooled by
gigantic air conditioners. However even with these huge coolers,
vacuum tubes still overheated regularly. It was time for something
new.
m The transistor computer did not last as long as the vacuum tube computer lasted, but
it was no less important in the advancement of computer technology. In 1947 three
scientists, John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain working at
AT&T's Bell Labs invented what would replace the vacuum tube
forever. This invention was the transistor which functions like a vacuum
tube in that it can be used to relay and switch electronic signals.
m There were obvious differences between the transisitor and
the vacuum tube. The transistor was faster, more reliable, smaller, and much
cheaper to build than a vacuum tube. One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum
tubes. These transistors were made of solid material, some of which is silicon, an abundant
element (second only to oxygen) found in beach sand and glass. Therefore they were very
cheap to produce. Transistors were found to conduct electricity faster and better than vacuum
tubes. They were also much smaller and gave off virtually no heat compared to vacuum
tubes. Their use marked a new beginning for the computer. Without this invention, space
travel in the 1960's would not have been possible. However, a new invention would even
further advance our ability to use computers.
m Transistors were a tremendous breakthrough in advancing the computer. However no one
could predict that thousands even now millions of transistors (circuits) could be compacted in such
a small space. The integrated circuit, or as it is sometimes referred to as semiconductor chip, packs
a huge number of transistors onto a single wafer of silicon. Robert Noyce of
Fairchild Corporation and Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments
independently discovered the amazing attributes of integrated
circuits. Placing such large numbers of transistors on a single chip
vastly increased the power of a single computer and lowered its cost
considerably.
m Since the invention of integrated circuits, the number of
transistors that can be placed on a single chip has doubled
every two years, shrinking both the size and cost of computers even
further and further enhancing its power. Most electronic devices today use some form of
integrated circuits placed on printed circuit boards-- thin pieces of bakelite or fiberglass that have
electrical connections etched onto them -- sometimes called .

These third generation computers could carry out instructions in billionths of a second. The
size of these machines dropped to the size of small file cabinets. Yet, the single biggest
advancement in the computer era was yet to be discovered.
m The Fourth Generation: 1971-Today (The Microprocessor)
This generation can be characterized by both the jump to monolithic integrated
circuits(millions of transistors put onto one integrated circuit chip) and the invention of the
microprocessor (a single chip that could do all the processing of a full-scale computer). By
putting millions of transistors onto one single chip more calculation
and faster speeds could be reached by computers. Because electricity travels
about a foot in a billionth of a second, the smaller the distance the greater
the speed of computers. However what really triggered the tremendous
growth of computers and its significant impact on our lives is the
invention of the microprocessor. Ted Hoff, employed by Intel (Robert
Noyce's new company) invented a chip the size of a pencil eraser that
could do all the computing and logic work of a computer. The
microprocessor was made to be used in calculators, not computers. It led,
however, to the invention of personal computers, or microcomputers.
m It wasn't until the 1970's that people began buying computer for
personal use. One of the earliest personal computers was the Altair 8800 computer kit. In
1975 you could purchase this kit and put it together to make your own personal computer. In
1977 the Apple II was sold to the public and in 1981 IBM entered the PC (personal
computer) market.
m Today we have all heard of Intel and its Pentium® Processors and now we know how
it all got started. The computers of the next generation will have millions upon millions of
transistors on one chip and will perform over a billion calculations in a single second. There
is no end in sight for the computer movement.
m 1. Input: This is the process of entering data and programs in to the computer system. You
should know that computer is an electronic machine like any other machine which takes as
inputs raw data and performs some processing giving out processed data. Therefore, the
input unit takes data from us to the computer in an organized manner for processing.

m 2. Storage: The process of saving data and instructions permanently is known as storage.
Data has to be fed into the system before the actual processing starts. It is because the
processing speed of Central Processing Unit (CPU) is so fast that the data has to be
provided to CPU with the same speed. Therefore the data is first stored in the storage unit
for faster access and processing. This storage unit or the primary storage of the computer
system is designed to do the above functionality. It provides space for storing data and
instructions.
m The storage unit performs the following major functions:
m All data and instructions are stored here before and after processing.
m Intermediate results of processing are also stored here.
m ‰. Processing: The task of performing operations like arithmetic and logical operations is called
processing. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) takes data and instructions from the storage unit
and makes all sorts of calculations based on the instructions given and the type of data provided.
It is then sent back to the storage unit.

m 4. Output: This is the process of producing results from the data for getting useful information.
Similarly the output produced by the computer after processing must also be kept somewhere inside
the computer before being given to you in human readable form. Again the output is also stored
inside the computer for further processing.

m 5. Control: The manner how instructions are executed and the above operations are performed.
Controlling of all operations like input, processing and output are performed by control unit. It
takes care of step by step processing of all operations in side the computer.
m In order to carry out the operations mentioned in the previous
section the computer allocates the task between its various
functional units. The computer system is divided into three
separate units for its operation. They are 1) arithmetic logical
unit, 2) control unit, and ‰) central processing unit.
m Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU)

After you enter data through the input device it is stored in the primary storage unit. The actual
processing of the data and instruction are performed by Arithmetic Logical Unit. The major operations
performed by the ALU are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, logic and comparison. Data is
transferred to ALU from storage unit when required. After processing the output is returned back to
storage unit for further processing or getting stored.

m Control Unit (CU)

The next component of computer is the Control Unit, which acts like the supervisor seeing that things
are done in proper fashion. The control unit determines the sequence in which computer programs and
instructions are executed. Things like processing of programs stored in the main memory, interpretation
of the instructions and issuing of signals for other units of the computer to execute them. It also acts as
a switch board operator when several users access the computer simultaneously. Thereby it coordinates
the activities of computer·s peripheral equipment as they perform the input and output. Therefore it is
the manager of all operations mentioned in the previous section.

m Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The ALU and the CU of a computer system are jointly known as the central processing unit. You may
call CPU as the brain of any computer system. It is just like brain that takes all major decisions, makes
all sorts of calculations and directs different parts of the computer functions by activating and
controlling the operations.
m Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry,
as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. The
hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and
data, which are "soft" in the sense that they are readily created, modified or erased on
the computer. Firmware is a special type of software that rarely, if ever, needs to be
changed and so is stored on hardware devices such as read-only memory (ROM) where
it is not readily changed (and is, therefore, "firm" rather than just "soft").
m Most computer hardware is not seen by normal users. It is in embedded systems in
automobiles, microwave ovens, electrocardiograph machines, compact disc players, and
other devices. Personal computers, the computer hardware familiar to most people, form
only a small minority of computers (about 0.2% of all new computers produced in
200‰). See Market statistics.
m Monitor
m Keyboard & Mouse
m Mother Board
m Power Supply
m Storage Controllers of IDE
m Video Display Controller
m Removable Media Writer
m Internal Storage
m Sound Card
m CRTs, or video monitors, are the most common output device on computers today. The
figure below illustrates the basic structure of a CRT. A CRT is an evacuated glass
bottle, with a heating element on one end and a phosphor coated screen on the other.
When a current flows through this heating element,
called a filament, the conductivity of the metal
filamant is reduced due to the high temperature.
This cause electrons to pile up on the filament,
because they can not move as fast as they would like
to (Notice I'm wearing my "electrons-are-particles"
hat). Some of these electrons actually boil off of the
filament.

These free electrons are attracted to a strong positive charge

from the outer surface of the focusing anode cylinder
(sometines called an electrostic lens). However, the inside of the cylinder has a weaker
negative charge. Thus when the electrons head toward the anode they are forced into a
beam and accelerated by the repulsion of the inner cylinder walls in just the way that
water is speeds up when its flow though a smaller diameter pipe. By the time the
electrons get out they're going so fast that they fly past the cathode they were heading for.
m The next thing that the electrons run into are two sets of weakly charged deflection plates. These
plates have opposite charges, one positive the other negative. While their charge is not strong
enough to capture the fast moving electrons they do influence the path of the beam. The first set
displaces the beam up and down, and the second displaces
the beam left and right. The electrons are sent flying out
of the neck of the bottle until they smash into the
phosphor coating on the other end of the bottle. The
impact of this collision on the out valence bands of the
phosphor compounds knocks some of the
electrons to jump into the another band. This causes a few
photons to be generated, and results in our seeing a spot on
the CRT's face
CRTs were embraced as output devices very early in the
development of digital computers. There close cousins,
vacuum tubes, were some of the first switching elements
used to build computers. Today, the CRT is a the last
remaining vacuum tube in most systems (Even the flashing lights are solid-state LEDs).
m Most likely, oscilloscopes were some of the first computer graphics displays. The results of
computations could be used to directly drive the vertical and horizontal displacement plates in
order to draw lines on the CRT's face. By varying the current to the heating filament the output
of the electron beam could also be controlled. This allowed the intensity of the lines to vary from
bright to completely dark.
m These early CRT displays were called vector, calligraphic or affectionately stroker displays. The
following demostration gives some feel for how they worked.
m Color CRT's are more complicated than the simple monochrome models
summarized above. The phosphors on the face of a
color CRT are laid out in a precise geometric
pattern. There are two primary variations, the
stripe pattern of in-line tubes shown on the left, and
the delta pattern of delta tubes as shown on the
right.

Within the neck of the CRT there are three electron

guns, one each for red, green, and blue (the actual
beams are all the same color-invisible). There is also
a special metal plate just behind the phosphor cover front face, called a
shadow mask. This mask is aligned so that it simultaneously allows each
electron beam to see only the phosphors of its assigned color and blocks
the phosphor of the remaining two colors.
m The figure shows the configuration of an example in-line tube.
A significant portion of the electron beam's
energy strikes the mask rather than the
phosphors. This has two side effects. The
shadow mask has to be extremely rigid to
stay aligned with the phosphor patterns on
the CRT face. The collision of
electrons with metal mask causes the
mask to emit some of it absorbed
energy as eletromagnetic radiation.
Most of this energy is in the form of heat,
but some fraction is emitted as x-rays. X-rays can present a health
hazard. This wasn't a large problem for television because the intensity
of the x-ray radiation falls off quickly as you move away from the
screen. However, computer monitors are supposed to be viewed from a
short distance. This health concern along with the high voltages and
power dispations of CRTs has motivated the development of new
display technologies.



  
A keyboard is a set of typewriter-like keys that enables you, the user,
to enter information and
instructions into a computer .

It contains «.
Alphanumeric Keys: Letters
and numbers
Punctuation Keys: Comma,
semicolon, etc.
Special Keys: control keys,
arrow keys, Caps Lock key, and so
on.
Function Keys:
Num Pad: Number keys.



  
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m Motherboard:
The main circuit board of a microcomputer. The motherboard
contains the connectors for attaching
additional the cpu, Bios, memory,
mass storage boards. Typically, the
motherboard contains interfaces,
serial and parallel ports,expansion
slots, and all the controllers required
to control standard peripheral
devices, such as the display screen,
keyboard,and disk drive. Collectively,
all these chips that reside on the
motherboard are known as the
motherboard's chipset.



  



 



  
m What is a processor?

The CPU or the Central Processing unit is the

brain of the computer and the single most
important
contain
etched onto a tiny
about the with
performs the
The majority of
Intel processors.
processor, the 4004 in 1970.
shared by other
popular AMD processor
the AMD company.
chip in the computer. Modern processors
millions of transistors which are
square silicon called a die, which is
of a standard thumb. The CPU
system's calculating and processing.
personal computers included the
Intel released the first
Today the market is being
companies such as the
manufactured by
m What is Ram or Memory?
Although memory is technically any form of electronic storage, it
is used most often to identify fast, temporary forms of storage.
If your computer's Cpu had to constantly access the hard drive to
retrieve every piece of data it needs, it would operate very slowly.
When the information is kept in memory,the CPU can access it
much more quickly. Most forms of memory are intended to store
data temporarily. The primary storage is referred to as random
access memory (RAM) because it is possible to randomly select and
use any location of the memory directly store and retrieve data. It
takes same time to any address of the memory as the
first address. It is also called read/write memory.
The storage of data and instructions inside the
primary storage is temporary. It disappears from
RAM as soon as the power to the computer is
switched off. The memories, which loose their content
on failure of power supply, are known as volatile
memories So now we can say that RAM is volatile
memory.
m What is a hard drive?

The mechanism that reads and writes

data on a hard disk. Hard disk drives
(HDDs) for PCs generally have seek
times of about 12 milliseconds or less.
Many disk drives improve their
performance through a technique
called caching.
m What is a cpu fan?

A cpu fan is a fan that cools the cpu.

[go figure] Without the fan it will
cause the cpu to overheat which in
turn causes lockup problems.
m What is a power supply?

A power supply is where you

normally plug the power cord into.
The unit converts 110 volts to 12
volts to supply the computer and its
components power.
m What is a ribbon cable?

The ribbon cable is what connects the

hard-drive, cd rom, and floppy to the
motherboard.
 


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ü DVD stands for ´Digital Versatile Diskµ or ´Digital Video
Diskµ
ü DVD was first created just to be a bigger CD capable of
holding more info
ü A DVD disk can hold between 4.4 and 16gb of data,
depending on the disk

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m External Bus Controllers - used to connect to external
peripherals, such as printers and input devices. These ports
may also be based upon expansion cards, attached to the
internal buses.
ü parallel port
ü serial port
ü USB
ü firewire
 Universal Serial Bus is an external
bus that supports transfer rates of
12 Mbps, can support 127
devices and supports hot
plugging.




  
m Analog Computer