Are you on a computer right now? Then do you know how a computer evolved? Read all about the evolution of computers. The term Computer, originally meant a person capable of performing numerical calculations with the help of a mechanical computing device. Evolution of Computers

The evolution of computers started way back in the late 1930s. In the evolution of computers the first generation was characterized by the use of vacuum tubes. These computers were expensive and bulky. They did not support multitasking.

It was in 1937 that John V. Atanasoff devised the first digital electronic computer.

The U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory came up with the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC) in It came to be known as the first general purpose electronic computer. Until the 1950s all computers that were used were vacuum tube based.

In the 1960s, transistor based computers replaced vacuum tubes. Transistors made computers smaller and cheaper. They made computers energy efficient. But transistors were responsible for the emission of large amounts of heat from the computer. Due to this computers were subject to damage. The use of transistors marked the second generation of computers -Stanford Research Institute brought about ERMA, Electronic Recording Machine Accounting Project, which dealt with automation of the process of bookkeeping in banking.

The use of Integrated circuits was in the third generation of computers. Small transistors placed on silicon chips, called semi conductors. This increased the speed and efficiency of computers. Operating systems were the human interface to computer operations and keyboards and monitors became the input- output devices. In 1968, was launched the first mini computer called the PDP- 8. In 1969, the development of ARPANET began with the financial backing of the Department Of Defense.

Thousands of integrated circuits placed onto a silicon chip made up a microprocessor. Introduction of microprocessors was the hallmark of fourth generation computers. In 1971, Micro Computer came up with microprocessor and Ted Hoff, working for Intel introduced 4-bit In 1974, Xerox came up with Alto workstation at PARC. It consisted of a monitor, a graphical interface, a mouse, and an Ethernet card for networking. FIRST MICROPROCESSORS IN 1971

The fifth generation computers are under development. They are going to be based on principles of artificial intelligence and natural language recognition. Developers are aiming at computers capable of organizing themselves World-Wide Web (WWW) was developed by Tim Berners-Lee and released by CERN Netscape Navigator 1.0 was released Dec. 1994, and was given away free, soon gaining 75% of world browser market Microsoft failed to recognized the importance of the Web, but finally released the much imporoved browser Explorer 3.0 in the summer.

Components

The system unit is composed of a motherboard, a power source, a microprocessor, memory, hard-disk(s), and a graphic card. These are the core components of a system unit. Apart from these we can find auxiliary components such as a TV tuner, CD/DVD Reading- Writing units, floppy disk unit, etc.

There are 3 types of monitors: CRT monitors (cathode-ray tube), LCD monitors (liquid crystal display) and LED monitors (light-emitting diode).

Vocabulary exercises : 1. Complete the fallowing sentences with one word only: 1. If you want your computer to work, you ……. it on. 2. Jim wants to ………… his computer. 3. This project is really good. You need to ……………… it form this website: 4. A computer is a …………. that receives input, stores an manipulate data and provides output in a useful format. 5. The first computer did not support ………………….

6. In the evolution of computer the first generation was characterized by the use of …………. tubes. 7. Mary needs to…….. on the school’s website. 8. The first electronic computers were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern ……………. computers. 9. If you want to go on-line, you need to turn on your ……………. 10. My computer doesn’t work well. I probably got a ………...

1. Match the items to form the definition: a) Hardware b) Software c) printer d) scanner e) upload 1) an output device that produces a paper copy of alphanumeric or graphic data. 2) aided electronic system using photoelectric cells to separate copy, as color illustrations, into its primary colors, correct color copy, and produce a set of color separations ready for proofing or printing. 3) all of those parts of a computer that are tangible objects 4) parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as programs, data, protocols, etc. 5) to transfer (software, data, character sets, etc.) from a smaller to a larger computer

7. How many hours do you use the computer per day? 3 hours 2 hours 1 hour 4 hours 6 hours

8. What software do you have on your computer?  Windows  Winamp  Yahoo Messenger  VLC  Photoshop  Media player  BS-player  Nero  U- torrent

9. What is your favorite activity on the computer? Playing games Chatting Listening to music Surfing on the Internet Watching movies

10. How do you imagine your life without a computer? Boring Healthier Harder More TV, less information Not so hard Not so interesting

11. Do you think messenger is an efficient way to communicate? Why? Yes, because is easy and fast; Yes, because is free; Yes, because you make a lot of friends; Yes, because you keep in touch with your friends; No, because people use to take different identity an isolate from the real world; No, because you can not make real friends;