DATA – organized facts that needed to be c.

Modern Printing Press – 1st

process; tentative or assumption general purpose computer
INFORMATION - Knowledge obtained from (Johannes Gutenberg)
investigation, study, or instruction;
organized or classified data; processed data Electromechanical Age (1840 – 1940)
decisions and actions are based o beginnings of telecommunications
o Timely − available when required a. Morse Code – beep sound, war
o Accuracy – accurate b. Telephone, radio
o Completeness − be complete. c. Mark 1 (1944)– Automatic
TECHNOLOGY - The practical application of sequence controlled calculator;
knowledge especially in a particular area electromechanical computer used
(IrDA- Infrarred Data Association, old during WWII; Manhattan Project to
cellphone) simulate the feasibility of an
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY implosion to detonate an atomic
-development, maintenance, and use of bomb
computer systems, software, and networks
for the processing and distribution of data Electronic Age (1940-present)
o used electronic switches, in the form
Basic Computer Periods of vacuum tubes, instead of the
electromechanical; more reliable,
Pre-Mechanical Age (3000 B.C.-1450 A.D.) since they would have no moving
o use language to make simple pictures parts that would wear out, but the
o petroglyphs - story, map their terrain, technology was still new at that time
or keep accounts and the tubes were comparable to
a. Papyrus – Egyptian relays in reliability; could ‘open’ and
b. Abacus – China ‘close’ thousands of times faster
c. Napiers Bone – John Napier, than relays.
calculating device
Generation of Computers
Mechanical Age (1450 – 1840)
o current technology and its ancestors. 1st Generation (1945-1959)
a. Pascaline - mechanical computer o vacuum tubes as circuitry and
capable of adding, subtracting, magnetic drums for memory;
multiplying, and dividing two enormous, inefficient materials
numbers (Blaise Pascal) which generated a lot of heat,
b. Slide Ruler - analog computer sucked huge electricity
used for multiplying and dividing o machine language - most basic
(William Oughtred) programming language that can be
understood by computers; limited to
solving one problem at a time. Input
 was based on punched cards and input/output controls) onto a single
paper tape. Output came out on chip; thousands of integrated circuits.
print-outs. o IBM – first ever computer home use;
o UNIVAC – Universal Automatic 1984 MacIntosh introduced by Apple.
Computer; first every commercial Microprocessors even
computer which was purchased in o could be linked, creating networks;
1951 by a business Internet
o ENIAC – Electronic Numeric o Graphical user interface (GUI), the
Integrated and Calculator mouse and lap-top capability and
hand-held devices.
2nd Generation (1960-1964) o Network topologies (ring topology) -
o Transistors; smaller, faster, cheaper arrangement of the elements of a
and less heavy on electricity use; communication network
relied on punched card for
input/printouts. 5th Generation (2010-present)
o cryptic binary language to symbolic o artificial intelligence: voice
(assembly) languages; create recognition; reality made possible by
instructions in words using parallel processing and
o COBOL and FORTRAN superconductors.
o Transistor-driven machines - first o quantum computation, molecular
computers to store instructions into and nanotechnology.
their memories – moving from o create machines which can process
magnetic drum to magnetic core and respond to natural language, and
technology have capability to learn and organize
o atomic energy industry themselves.

3rd Generation (1964-1971)

o silicon chips – semiconductors
(absorb heat); massive increase in
speed and efficiency; cheaper and
smaller
o keyboards and monitors which
interfaced with an operating system
o run several applications at once using
a central program which functioned
to monitor memory.

4th Generation (1972-2010)

o Intel – 4004; positioned all computer
components (CPU, memory,