FCC113 (Week 2)

 Computer Hardware Basics

       Learning something new in Computer and Internet is very memorable for me who like using and interacting with computer. Hence, I want to share with you about what I have been learning in Computer and Internet lecture, especially in week two.

       First of all, I want to share some information regarding the history of computers. Even though, knowing computer history is not really important for us, but a history has created an invention. Many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. Nevertheless, there are five generations of computer as we can see now:

First Generation Computers (1940s – 1950s) Vacuum Tube

The first electronic computers used vacuum tubes, and they were huge and complex. Moreover, the first electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). It was digital, although it didn’t operate with binary code, and was reprogrammable to solve a complete range of computing problems.

Second Generation Computers (1955s – 1960s) Transistor

The second generation of computers came about the transistor, which then started replacing vacuum tubes into transistor. In transistor, it had First operating Systems, On-off switches, and High level languages (COBOL and FORTRAN). In addition, the first transistor computer was created at the University of Manchester in 1953. The most popular of transistor computers was IBM 1401.

Third Generation Computers (1960s – 1971s) Integrated Circuit (IC)

The third generation computer was invented into Integrated Circuits (ICs), also known as microchips that combined thousands of transistors. It had semiconductor memory, multiple computer models with different performance characteristics, and the size of computers has been reduced drastically.

Fourth Generation Computers (1971s – Present) VLSI/ULSI

The fourth generation was invented in 1971s to the present from Integrated Circuit (IC) became Single-chip processor and single-board computer emerged. It was known as Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) and Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI) that combined millions of transistors.      

Fifth Generation Computers (Now and Future)

New technology has become more develop as we can see that the fifth generation of computer has invented based on artificial intelligence, which means computers can think and learn. Moreover, different computers construct such as optical computers that utilizes nanotechnology that primary means of input is voice and touch. 

 History is never end, it same goes to the technology like computer, which has invented and more valuable for human being. Computer has a lot of categories which are used by humans, especially for people who involve in business. The first category is Embedded Computer, which is embedded into a specific product for a specific function.  The second is Mobile Computer, which is fitted on our hand. The third is Personal Computer (PC) and it is designed for a single user at a time. The fourth is Midrange Server, physically likes a small cabinet, hosting data and programs that available to a small group of users. The fifth ones is Mainframe computer, which is a large, expensive, and very powerful computer that can handle hundreds or thousands of connected users simultaneously. The last category is Super Computer is the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive category of computer, which is used by a big company.

Last but not least, I will touch about Motherboard, CPU and Main Memory as the important part of a single computer. Firstly, Motherboard which means main circuit board in system unit and contains chips, integrated circuits, and transistors or called as system board. Secondly is CPU stands for Central Processing Unit that acts as the brain of any computer system, and converts data into information. Lastly, Main Memory which has two types of memories, such as RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory). 

    In addition, most of us know about Input and Output in computers. But, I will describe more briefly about what Input and Output are. Input is any data and instructions entered into the memory of a computer. It has an input device which is any hardware component that allows users to enter data and instructions into a computer, such as, the key board, pointing device, voice input and many others. Output is data that has been processed into a useful form. An output device is any type of hardware component that conveys information to one or more people, like text, videos, pictures, and audios.