History of the Digital Computer
1946 saw the development of the first general-purpose all-electronic computer
called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrators and Computer). ENIC contained in
excess of 18,000 vacuum tubes and had a speed of several hundred multiplications
per minute.
The first commercially available electronic computer was called UNIVAC 1.
This computer marked the beginning of the computer era.
By 1960 transistors had replaced vacuum tubes as logical components of a
computer. This change meant that computer components used less power and had a
much longer life span. Computers using this technology were referred to as
second generation computers.
Late in the 1960s the integrated circuit was developed which allowed many
transistors to be fabricated on one circuit board with interconnecting wires
plated in place.
The microprocessor became a reality in the mid-1970s with introduction of the
large scale integrated circuit, which accommodated many thousands of
interconnected transistors etched into a single circuit board.
Computers developed in the 1970s were able check eight switches at every
cycle. Since then the development of processors that can handle 16, 32 and 64
bits of data at a time had increased the speed of computers.
Source: http://www.nou.edu.ng/uploads/NOUN_OCL/pdf/SST/CIT%20101.pdf
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