Bernard H.

Alimon
PERIODS OF ICT DEVELOPMENT

The History of Information Technology: Past, Present, Future

When we think of information technology (IT), we think of computers and
the internet. Right? Even kids can´t imagine that there was a time without
computers, cell phones and other mobile devices. We use it every day and we feel
that we can´t live without it. We communicate with others using cell phones, chat
rooms, forums and email. We use the internet for research, entertainment,
communication, work and school. In today’s modern time, kids don’t have to go to
the library to find information and to do their homework. They conveniently have
constant access to the internet in their own homes. Likewise, businesses use
computers and the internet not only for research purposes but also for gathering
and storing information. They no longer have to rely on paperwork, cabinets and
books. However, there was a time when these modern technologies didn´t exist
and society used other forms of what was the latest technology at that time. In
fact, information technology has been around for a long time and without the
evolution of IT throughout history, it wouldn’t be where it is today and provide us
with the modern technologies that are readily available to us.

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The Pre Mechanical Age
The earliest age of technology has been dated back to the pre mechanical age
(between 3000 B.C. and 1450 A.D.). Human beings at that time primarily communicated
with each other using simple picture drawings called petroglyphs. They created these
drawings on rock. This form of language was used to tell a story, to keep record of how
many animals one owned and to mark their territory. This eventually led to the arrival of
the first writing system known as ¨cuneiform¨. Instead of using pictures to express words,
signs were composed to correspond with spoken sounds. Afterwards, the Phoenician
alphabet was created which consisted of a more simplified writing technique using
symbols to express single syllables and consonants. Later on, vowels were added and
names were given to the letters to create the alphabet that we use today.
As the alphabets and the writing systems became more popular and common,
there was more and more recorded information. This resulted in finding better ways to
communicate and keep record of information. The first writing material was simply a pen
like object to create markings in wet clay. This led to more useful forms of writing
materials from writing on bark, leaves, leather to writing on the papyrus plant to making
paper with rags to the making of modern-day paper we use today. However, as more and
more people used these new early technologies, they had to confront a new problem.
How could they safely store all of this information for a long period of time? This resulted
in different methods for record keeping such as clay tablets and scrolls which led to books
and libraries.
The numbering systems and the abacus, the first calculator, were also invented during this
period.

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The Mechanical Age

During the mechanical age (between 1450 and 1840) many

extraordinary inventions took place. This is where we can see similarities
between our modern-day technologies and the rising technologies back
then.
Due to many new technological inventions, there was a great
interest in computation and information. There were several machines that
were invented, one of them being the printing press. With this new
movable, metal-type printing machine, the process of composing pages
took only a few, short minutes which made written technology easily
accessible to the public. This led to other useful techniques such as the
development of book indexes and the use of page numbers. These
methods of organizing information paved the way of the development of
files and databases.

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Other major machine inventions were the following:

• The slide rule (1600s) - an analog computer that allowed users to multiply
and divide.
• The Pascaline (around 1642) – a mechanical computer that allowed users
to add, subtract, multiply and divide two numbers.
• The Leibniz’s machine (1670s) – a machine that was an improvement of
the Pascaline that included additional components that made it easier for
users to multiply and divide.
• The difference engine (1820s) – a machine creation that could calculate
numbers and print the results.
• Even though these machine inventions were not as effective as the latest
technologies we use today, they play a big role in the evolution process of
information technology.

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The Electromechanical Age

During the time of the electromechanical age (between 1840 and

1940), the beginning of telecommunication emerged. Many revolutionary
technologies were invented in this stage that led to modern information
technology systems. First, a new method of communicating information
was discovered with the voltaic battery. This discovery was the first
electrical battery that created and stored electricity. Afterwards, the
telegraph was invented to communicate with others over great distances
through the use of electricity. This led to the development of Morse code.
This was a system built to communicate with others by breaking down the
alphabet into dots and dashes, transformed into electrical impulses and
transmitted over a wire. This was very similar to today´s digital technologies
that break down information. Shortly afterwards, the telephone and radio
were invented. Later on, the first digital computer was created. It consisted
of electromechanical computing components, data and program readers,
automatic typewriters and input/output and control readers. It was
different from our modern computers but it resulted an interest to explore
other ways to make the system smaller and to operate more effectively.

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The Electronic Age

The electronic age (from 1940 to present day) is the stage of

information technology that we currently live in. It first started when
electronic equipment including computers began to take place. At the
beginning of this stage, it was realized that electronic vacuum tubes could
be used instead of electromechanical parts. The first high-speed digital
computer was the ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It
was able to solve a large class of numerical problems through
reprogramming. It was also one thousand times faster than that of electro-
mechanical machines from the previous age. However, the problem with
the ENIAC was that it didn’t have the capacity to store program instructions
in its memory. Then, the EDSAC, Electronic Delay Storage Automatic
Calculator was created and was recognized as the first stored-program
computer. Afterwards, the world’s first commercial computer was invented
known as LEO (Lyons Electronic Office).

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GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

The evolution of information technology and the development of

computers have been grouped into five different stages or generations.
They are:

• The First Generation (roughly from 1940-1956)

• The Second Generation (roughly from 1956-1963)
• The Third Generation (roughly from 1964-1971)
• The Fourth Generation (roughly from 1971-Present)

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The First Generation

During the first generation, computer systems used vacuum tubes.

The machines were huge and took up entire rooms. They consumed a large
amount of electricity and therefore, were expensive to operate. They also
generated a lot of heat which resulted in malfunctions.

These first generation computers relied on machine language and

could only solve one problem at a time. It also took a long, complicated
process to set up a new problem onto the machine. Punched cards and
paper tape were used for input and printouts were used to display output.
The ENIAC was an example of a first generation computer but it was
programmed by plug board and switches.

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The Second Generation

In the second generation, vacuum tubes were replaced with

transistors. This was a major improvement, allowing computers to become
smaller, faster, cheaper, reliable and more energy-efficient. They were also
becoming more accessible since high-level programming languages were
being developed such as COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language)
and FORTRAN (Formula Translator). Second generation computers leaned
away from cryptic, binary machine language to symbolic, assembly
languages which programmed written instruction. Magnetic core
technology was also used instead of magnetic drum which made it possible
for computers to store their instructions in their memory. Little by little,
magnetic tape and disks took the place of punched cards.

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The Third Generation

By the time the third generation arrived, there was an increase in

the speed and the efficiency of computers due to the development of
integrated circuits. Transistors were made smaller and installed on silicon
chips. Punched cards and printouts became obsolete since operating
systems, keyboards and monitors were created. This allowed computers to
operate many different applications at one time with one main program to
monitor and store information. Programming languages were developed
that made programming easier to do. BASIC was one of those languages.
For the first time in history, society as a whole had access to computers.

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The Fourth Generation

Fourth generation computers unscaled to integrated circuits that

contained a numerous amount of transistors on one, small chip.
Microprocessors contained memory, logic and control circuits (central
processing unit) on a single chip. Computer systems went from enormous
vacuum tubes that filled an entire room to a tiny chip that could fit in your
hand. Computers like IBM and Apple PC (personal computer) were created
for both personal and business purposes. Language software products such
as Word for Windows and Access were also introduced which enabled
people to use computers without the necessity of any technical knowledge.
As these fourth generation small computers became popular and spread
worldwide, networks, handheld devices and finally the internet were
developed.

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The Fifth Generation

We are currently in the fifth generation. A lot of today´s research

focuses on artificial intelligence, the creation of intelligent machines that
function and behave like humans. Speech recognition, learning, planning
and problem solving are some of the activities that are being tested and
performed. Even though artificial intelligence is still in development, there
are some applications that are being used such as voice recognition.
Overall, the main goal is to develop devices that respond to natural
language input and that are capable of learning.
In conclusion, information technology has been in existence for
thousands of years and has been evolving since the beginning of time – and
it is still evolving. Human beings have been collecting information in
different ways and have discovered different forms to communicate
through the use of technologies. Information technology has been essential
to our lives and has made a huge impact throughout history. Without it, we
wouldn’t be here today with the latest, advanced technologies.

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