Technological advances are often quantified and identified with the term “generation.” Every year the product development process improves, this is considered a generation. With each new generation of computers, the motherboard and silicon footprint decreases and the speed, power, and memory power increases.
computer progress
Computers have come a long way since the first generation of vacuum tube circuits and magnetic memory drums. The first generation computer used assembly language programming or high-level programming languages to execute user instructions. These early computers required a lot of electricity to run and also generated a lot of heat that was difficult to displace.
The second generation replaced vacuum tubes with transistors, which were a major component of today’s microprocessors. Transistors were invented in 1947 at Bell Laboratories. These devices were preferable to vacuum tubes which gave off a significant amount of heat and slowed down processing times.
Transistors opened the door to faster processing. The latest microprocessors contain tens of millions of microscopic transistors. Without the transistor, we wouldn’t have the same level of computing power that we have today.
The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube. This allowed computers to be smaller, faster, cheaper, more power efficient, and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors.
The third generation computer involved integrated circuits. These circuits are often called semiconductors, due to the substrate used to design the circuit. Semiconductors dramatically increased the speed and efficiency of the computer. Semiconductors also reduced the overall footprint of the computer. As semiconductor packages got smaller, designers produced smaller laptops and desktops. Minimalist designers and chiropractors rejoiced at the reduction in weight and size.
The fourth generation marked the production of computers as we know them today. Microprocessors were introduced in this generation of computers. Computer processing speeds increased exponentially, as the computer “brain” mastered complex calculations. This generation of computers allowed manufacturers to lower the price to make computers available to the common household. However, computers were still not as profitable as they are today.
The fifth generation of computers added artificial intelligence to the computer to improve the speed and efficiency of advanced calculations and graphical displays. Games, expert systems, natural language, neural networks, and robotics were all fifth-generation computer capabilities.
Neural networks were particularly important in this generation of computers. The computer could mimic real neural synapses in the human body. These complex mathematical models were easily handled through the fifth generation computer. However, scientists still needed more computing power to achieve advanced robotics and other language computations.
The sixth generation of computers
Not only does the technology improve, but the price decreases as the technology improves. The sixth generation of computers gave consumers the opportunity to have more power in a smaller space. The sixth generation also introduced voice recognition. Improved technology allows the computer to take dictation and recognize words. Computers have the ability to learn through a variety of advanced algorithms.
The use of nanotechnology is a feature of sixth generation computers. This significantly increases computer processing time and helps consumers. Computers with multiple CPUs can perform sophisticated calculations and multitask. When a single CPU can perform multiple tasks at once, this is considered multitasking.
When qubits or quantum bits do computations, they are often faster than conventional computers. This technology works in conjunction with the computer’s processor and memory. Complex languages like English, Chinese, French, and Spanish are easily processed with the use of qubits, or quantum bits. Computers can now understand and interpret numerous languages with the new advanced technology available.
This new advance will allow students and the disabled to speak commands into the computer without touching the physical device. Speech recognition is also useful in laboratory clean rooms, surgical operating rooms, or even in customer service. Speech recognition will significantly improve the scientist’s ability to create new technology.
Voice controlled gaming and typing apps are easy with 6th generation apps. Avid gamers will watch games in incredible detail and lifelike movement. Parallel processing allows faster speeds for video games. As the footprint of semiconductors becomes smaller through the use of nanotechnology, the user has more flexibility in the use of the computer.
Conclusion
The sixth generation took advanced computing to a new level with speech recognition. Consumers can only imagine what the seventh generation of computers will bring. Consumers will look forward to these new advances as they are developed.
