1st Generation of Computer
Computer Generations The history of computer development is a computer science topic that is often used to reference the different generations of computing devices . Each one of the 5 generations of computers is characterized by a major technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate. Most major developments from the 1940's to present day have resulted in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more efficient computing devices. First Generation: Vacuum Tubes (1940-1956) The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. These computers were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, the first computers generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform oper