EARLIER GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS AND STORAGE DEVICES - To remind

Small computer history - To remind.

In the past several decades, there have been many significant innovations in computers. These include a reduction in size of equipment and an increase in storage capacity and speed of operation. There have been so many innovations that computers have been grouped into categories, called generations.

First-generation computing systems were composed of tubes and relays, but had the ability to store a program internally. They received their input data via paper tape or cards. The machines were large and often unreliable because of the many vacuum tubes involved. First-generation machines date to the later 1940´ s. They proliferated in use in the mid 1950´ s.

The introduction of the transistor led to smaller, more dependable, and faster machines. Second-generation computing systems were characterized by greater speed, storage capacity, reduction in physical size, and a reduction in cost. Data was input by paper and magnetic tapes, or, most often, by punched cards. The late 1950´ s. and early 1960´ s. saw the introduction and proliferation of these machines.

Development of new manufacturing techniques and the microtransistor led to improvements in computer design. The third-generation computing systems, characterized by further reduction in size and lower cost, introduced improved methods of storing data. Data could now be input by magnetic tape of from optical or magnetic images printed on a page. The third-generation machines were distributed during the latter 1960´ s.

Fourth-generation machines appeared in the 1970´ s, utilizing new technology such as cryogenics (deep cold), integrated circuitry, and monolithic circuits. Physically they are characterized by new types of terminals and new kinds of computers, such as portable minicomputers. Many new programs for the general user will be developed. The 1970´ s is the era of teleprocessing, time sharing, readily available terminals, and ready-made software.

First and second generation of computers used punched cards for data input and had limited storage capacity. Faster, more efficient, and larger capacity means of data input, output, and storage were needed. Two methods of storage and input were developed: magnetic tape and magnetic disk. Magnetic tape is commonly used for storing and recording data for large computers. It allows large amounts of data to be stored in a comparatively small volume. Tape can be fed to a computer much faster than punched cards, is more economical, and can be stored conveniently. All data is stored on the tape in the same sequence in which it was recorded. To access data, the computer searches the data in sequence for the desired information. Thus, this storage medium is called sequential access storage.

Magnetic disks offer higher speed and are convenient to store. Several disks, resembling ordinary phonograph records, are assembled into a disk pack. It can store up to several million characters in a system called random access storage. Data can be accessed without searching in sequence. With magnetic tape, the entire tape must be searched to locate a particular piece of data, but data can be retrieved directly from the moving disk. A single character, or group of characters, can be retrieved from or recorded on the revolving disk in a fraction of a second.

Many have already forgotten all this things.

After that, computer technology has made a lot of progress, up to blockchain technology.

And now we are here, on STEEMIT!