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Notebook: EdTech
Created: 11/9/2022 7:43 PM Updated: 11/10/2022 10:12 PM
Author: Mary Alsuzanne
URL: https://lsu.instructure.com/courses/10462/pages/modern-digital-computers?module_it…

Modern Digital
Computers
Modern digital computers are all conceptually similar, regardless of size. Nevertheless, they can
be divided into several categories

on the basis of cost and performance.

1. Mainframes - are large, relatively expensive machine that offer extensive problem-solving
capabilities. They often
have several processors. Mainframes are used mainly by large organizations (e.g., banks.
insurance companies).
2. Minicomputers or Midrange computer - is a scaled-down version of the mainframe. This is a
middle-size computer.
3. Microcomputers - The smallest and least expensive type of computer system, also known as a
personal computer (PC)

or a micro.

Traditionally, microcomputers are designed to be operated by one user at a time, using the
keyboard or mouse
for data entry and a monitor or printer for display output.
Microcomputer systems can be classified as desktop, portable, or hand-held units.
Desktop computers - are those found most often in schools, homes, and businesses.
Portable
computers, such as laptops and notebooks, are designed for users who would like to use the
same
microcomputer at several sites. These computers are characterized as being lightweight and
compact
(able to fit into a carrying case).
 Hand-held computers - like palmtop computers and Personal Digital Assistants POSs) -
look and
behave a lot like standard pocket calculators.
Server - computer that is specifically optimized to provide software and other resources
to other
computers over a network; and
Server farm - a large group of servers maintained by a commercial vendor and made
available via

subscription for electronic commerce and other activities requiring heavy use of servers

Specialized types of computers

1. Embedded Computers - a microprocessor designed to operate within another tool. Embedded
computers are not as
flexible as general-purpose microcomputers. The purpose of embedded computers is to expand
the capacities of the
tools we use (e.g., the microprocessor in the refrigerator helps regulate the refrigerator’s
temperature to keep the food
fresh).
2. Supercomputers - The most advanced and expensive type of computer. Supercomputer use is
usually limited to such
organizations as large oil companies, the US Department of Defense. and the National
Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA). This is a highly sophisticated and powerful computer that can perform
very complex operations
in extreme speed.
3. Fault-Tolerated Computers - These machines are designed so that they never crash. To achieve
this, the manufacturer
duplicates all important components of the processing hardware. Fault-tolerated computers are
especially useful in
hazardous environments or in situations where an organization cannot afford to be without
processing power, e.g.,
hospitals, scientific laboratories, nuclear power plants.
4. Workstation - this is a desktop computer with enhanced graphics, mathematical, and
communications capabilities that
can make it especially useful to perform complicated task at once. They are ideal for office work.

5. Thin client - this computer functions only when connected to a server.

Stored programs
The stored program concept was a major advance in computer technology because it gave much
more flexibility in the
use of the machine. Just who invented the concept is a matter of controversy. Credit generally is
given to John Von Neumann of
Pennsylvania University, one of the most brilliant mathematicians in the U. S.
1949 - Proposed by John Von Neumann, the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
(EDVAC) was designed
so that It would be capable of storing and completed until 1951. The machine. named Electronic
Delay Storage
Automatic Calculator(EDSAC) was finished in the year 1949. Thus, EDSAC is acknowledged as the
“World’s first
operating electronic computer that stored its program of instructions."
1951 - The Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), developed by J. Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly, is the
“World's first business computer". The most famous UNIVAC product was the UNIVAC I
mainframe computer of
1951, which became known for predicting the outcome of the US presidential election the
following year.

Generation of Computers
1. First Generation Computers (ca. 1940-1956) - Computers were very large in size and had
thousands of Vacuum tubes.
These tubes produced so much heat that special air-conditioning was required to cool computer
rooms. Punched cards
were used for input and output while magnetic drums for memory. The machines had small
memory capacities, and
preparation of the program of Instructions was difficult.
2. Second Generation Computers (ca. 1956-1963) - solid state Transistors replaced the vacuum
tubes. The transistors
were developed by William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain in 1947 at Bell Labs but
did not see widespread
use in computers until the 1950’s. Computers with transistor produced much less heat than those
made with vacuum
tubes. These machines were much faster, smaller in size, and much more reliable in operation.
Data input and output
could be recorded on magnetic tape as well as on punched cards.
3. Third Generation Computers (ca. 1964-1971) - The development of the Integrated Circuit (IC)
was the hallmark of
the third generation computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called
semiconductors, which
drastically increased the speed, efficiency, and storage capacity of computers, Jack Kilby of Texas
Instruments and
Robes Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductors were credited for developing the IC. Instead of
punched cards and printouts,
users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and
interfaced with an operating
system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central
program that monitored
the memory. Third generation computers included smaller and less expensive machines called
minicomputers.
4. Four Generation Computers (ca. 1971- Present) - The microprocessor brought the fourth
generation of computers.
as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. The microprocessor
developed by Gilbert Hyatt
and Marcian E. Hoff of Intel Corp., operates 10,000 times faster than first generation machines.
Fourth Generation
Machine also have target memories, for storage of data and provide faster access to stored data
and information. Fourth
generation computers also saw the development of GUls. the mouse and handheld devices.
5. Fifth Generation Computers (Present and Beyond) - microprocessor is still the processing
hardware of computers.
Fifth generation computing devices, based on Artificial Intelligence are still in development.
Although, there are some
applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of Parallel Processing
and Superconductors
is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and
nanotechnology will
200
radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth generation computing
is to develop devices

that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.