Q. Compare and contrast the different computer generations. Comparison:
I. All the generations had storage mechanisms.
II. There was innovation in each generation resulting to the advancement of new computers.
III. In all the generations there was heat generation.
IV. Each generation saw improved storage and instruction levels.

Contrast: 1st Generation (1946 -1956)
I. Relied on vacuum tubes to store and process information.
II. Consumed great deal of power.
III. Used magnetic drum memories.
IV. Had a maximum of 2000 bytes (2kb). 2nd Generation (1957- 1963)
I. Relied on transistor technology and magnetic core memories.
II. Generated less heat.
III. Transistors were much stable and reliable than vacuum tubes.
IV. Memory size expanded to 32 kilobytes and speed of 200,000 to 300,000 per second.

3rd Generation (1964 - 1979)
I. Magnetic disk was developed for storage.
II. Used intergrated circuits made of combining several transistors.
III. Consisted of fast mainframe computers such as IBM 360,370 and 8-bit microcomputers.
IV. Memory expanded to 2 megabytes of RAM (random access memory) and speed accelerated to 5 million instructions per second.
4th Generation (1979 - 1989)
I. Used Large Scale Intergrated (LSI – combining hundreds of transistors) and Very Large Scale Intergration (VLSI – 200,000 to 400,000 transistors).
II. Used memories of magnetic disks, bubble memories and optical disks.
III. Memory size expanded to several hundred megabytes and a speed of 50 mips per second. 5th Generation (1990 – present)
I. Used parallel architectures.
II. Had 3 dimensional circuit designs and super conducting materials.
III. Had improved computer net workings.
IV. Saw developments of super computers with a range of 1 gigabyte to 1 terabyte instruction per second.

MDEIZI AYUB