D.
Third-generation computers
• The invention of integrated circuits (IC) by Kilby and Noyce,
independently, in 1950’s made a big push that led to the emergence
of the third-generation computers (1965-1971).
• Integrated circuit: A small piece of silicon microchip fabricated with
thousands of resistors, transistors and capacitors.
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 17
• Features:
• Much smaller compared to
second-generation
computers (e.g. ENIAC)
• Enhanced user interaction by
means of operating system,
keyboard and mouse
• Multi-tasking
• Magnetic tapes and disks as
medium for input/output
• Less power-consuming
• Very costly!
IBM System/360 Model 50 operator’s console (1964)
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 18
E. Fourth-generation computers
• Computers were still not popular among general users until the first
microprocessor became available at the beginning of 70’s.
• Microprocessor: A processor incorporating one to several IC’s (Very
large scale integrated circuits, VLSI) that can reads inputs, process
data according to the stored instructions, and punches out results.
Texas Instrument TMS-1000 (1971) Intel C4004 (1971)
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• The use of VLSI microprocessors makes the computers:
• More powerful and multi-tasking
• Truly general-purpose
• More portable and reliable
• Very small size compared to predecessors
• Easily available
• Much more affordable
• Used as personal computers (PCs)
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• First home-use PC: MIT Altair 8800 (1974)
• Sold at the price of USD
$400-600 (about USD $2000-
3000 nowadays)
• Intel 8080 CPU
• Floppy disk drive available
• 4K memory board
• Altair BASIC (interpreter
developed by Bill Gates and
Paul Allen in 1975; the first
product of Micro-Soft)
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• Apples computers (1976 – )
• Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started to assemble and sell the first
version of computers, called Apple-1, under their company, Apple
Computer Inc.
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 22
• Subsequent models of Apple computers:
Apple-II series (1977 – 1993) Apple LISA (1983-1986) Apple Macintosh (1984-1993)
First consumer product of Apple First commercial product with First mouse-driven and GUI PC
Computer, Inc. graphical user interface (GUI) Old Toolbox read-only memory
16-bit processor 5MB HD and dual 5.25” floppy drive 8 MHz CPU, 128K RAM
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 23
Macintosh LC (1990-1996) Power Macintosh (1994-1996) Power Macintosh G3 (1997-1999)
Cheaper alternative with same overall PowerPC 601 @ 80-110 MHz Desktop, mini tower or all-in-one model
performance as Macintosh II CPU for business, home-use and education,
“Pizza-box” design with 16 MHz CPU 8 MB Memory expandable to respectively
264 MB PowerPC G3 @ 233-450 MHz
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• And many more iMac …
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 25
• Including laptop computers …
iBook G3 Clamshells (2001-2003) iBook G4 (2003-2006) MacBook (2006-present)
PowerPC G3 @ 300-466 MHz PowerPC G4 @ 800 MHz – 1.42 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors
32-64 MB SDRAM 256-512 MB DDR SDRAM DDR2/DDR3 SDRAM
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 26
• IBM PC’s (1981-1987)
• In early 80’s, IBM started to enter into the personal computer
markets, and has developed and released a series of PC’s. Soon they
dominated the microcomputer market and became the standard of
next-generation computers (“PC compatible”).
• IBM 5150 PC (the first in the
series)
• IBM BASIC / PC DOS operating
system
• Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz CPU
• 5.25” floppy drives
• 64 – 256 kB Memory
• Open standards and third-party
products compatible
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 27
IBM Personal System/2 (1987-1991) IBM PC Series (1994-2000)
Intel 80386 processor (12 – 40 MHz) Intel Pentium or Celeron CPU (PI, PII and PIII)
3.5” floppy drive @ 133 – 866 MHz
PS/2 plug-N-play ports for keyboard and mouse Floppy and CD-ROM drives
USB drive available for certain models
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 28
• IBM also developed and marketed laptop computers branded
“ThinkPad” since 1992. (This line was acquired by Lenovo in 2005.)
Lenovo ThinkPad P50 (2015); Intel Core i7 @ 3.6
IBM ThinkPad 380 ED (1997); Pentium GHz, 64 GB DDR4 Memory, 1TB HD, 15.6” anti-glare,
166MMX, 32 MB RAM, 3.2 GB HD, 12.1”, USB 3 ports, HDMI, card readers, thunderbolt 3
CD-ROM Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 29
• Along with Apple and IBM, there existed many so-called PC clones in
the market which are considered cheaper alternatives with similar
power and functionalities as the originals.
• Examples: Compaq, Dell, HP
Compaq Presario Dell Grey HP Black 8000
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 30
• High-performance computers (HPC)
• They are also known as supercomputers, which afford superior
computational capabilities compared with general-purpose computers.
• The concept of supercomputing can be dated back to 1960’s when the
Atlas was first installed at the University of Manchester in 1962.
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 31
• Significant advances in hardware architecture, software management
and operating systems made supercomputers more powerful and
more efficient.
Clay-2 at NASA (1985) Blue Gene at Argonne National Lab (1999)
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 32
• Recent supercomputers:
Fujitsu K-Computer, Japan (2011) NSC Tianhe-II, China (2013) NSC Sunway TaihuLight, China (2016)
(710000 cores, 10 PFLOPS) (3 millions cores, 34 PFLOPS) (10 millions cores, 93 PFLOPS)
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 33
• World record in 2018: IBM Summit at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science 34
