FIVE GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

We are now developing the so-called fifth generation of computers. It is amazing to see the progress of computers over the last 25 years or so. The first generation of computers used vacuum tubes, were very bulky, and generated much heat - like thousands of light bulbs. Such computers filled whole rooms. The second generation used smaller, cooler transistors and diodes. The third generation was the introduction of integrated circuits. An integrated circuit is a network of transistors all contained on a silicon chip about the size of the top of a pencil. The fourth generation uses very large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI). These computers can fit on your lap, but have much greater processing ability than the original room-sized computers. Today's personal computers are fourth-generation computers.

Fifth generation computers are much faster. They are able to use artificial intelligence software. That is, the computer systems are able to "reason" and "learn" using data from their past actions. Such systems are now being used in financial management and petroleum refinery monitoring.

They are also used for such things as diagnosing medical problems, providing vision systems for robots, and allowing people to use English to communicate with computers. Organizations such as NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, GE's Space Division, and Motorola's Radar Operations Service use this new generation of computers.

Computer manufacturers are working on new technologies that will greatly increase the speed and lower the cost of computers. Today the Apple computer, along with Macintosh, is one of the leading microcomputers on the market. A microcomputer or personal computer (PC) is the smallest and least expensive class of computers. They are used in homes, schools, and businesses. In addition to PCs, today's technology includes minicomputers and mainframe computers. Minicomputers are more powerful, more expensive, and accept more programming languages than microcomputers, but they are not as large, expensive, or powerful as mainframe computers. Many small or medium-size businesses are choosing minicomputers instead of mainframes when they need more power than PCs because minicomputers are easier to use and more able to network with PCs. Mainframes are the largest, fastest, and most expensive class of computers. (Supercomputers are the largest, fastest, and most expensive of the mainframes.) Mainframes are used for information processing in large businesses, colleges, and organizations.

The introduction of new computer technology changes the way businesses computer. First there was centralized computing. Single mainframes were the centre of the computerized firm. Bottlenecks developed as one computer served increasing numbers of users with different requirements. Then came the PCs. This led to a second form of computing: segmented computing. Each computer performed different activities independently without interaction with a central system. Segmented computing was okay for a while, but it had limited storage and processing power. The PCs had no way of accessing data stored in a central system other than to re-enter the data on the individual PCs. This quickly led to the third form of computing: networked computing. PCs are connected to a central computer called a "host" machine. Data can be transferred from host to PC or vice versa. This saves time and improves efficiency.

The latest in computer networks are called hubs. They are, in effect, networks of networks. They can automatically shift loads from busy segments of the networks to less busy ones, locate trouble spots, and help with network planning. Now a network of a computers in Chicago can communicate with another network in San Antonio. Such developments are especially important for linking manufacturers to key vendors.

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