The Generations of Computers

The Five Generations of Computers:===

Each  generation  of  computer  is  characterized  by a  major  technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly  smaller,  cheaper,  more  powerful  and  more  efficient  and  reliable  devices.

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes :===  First  generation  computers  relied  on  machine language,  the  lowest-level  programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they  could  only  solve  one  problem  at  a  time.  Input  was  based  on  punched  cards  and paper  tape,  and  output  was  displayed  on  printouts.   The  UNIVAC  and ENIAC computers  are  examples  of  first-generation  computing  devices.  The  UNIVAC  was  the  first  commercial  computer  delivered  to  a  business  client,  the  U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors :=== Second-generation  computers  moved  from  cryptic binary  machine  language  to symbolic,  or assembly,  languages,  which  allowed  programmers  to  specify instructions  in  words. High-level  programming  languages were  also  being  developed  at  this  time,  such  as  early  versions  of COBOL and FORTRAN.  These  were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology The  first  computers  of  this  generation  were  developed  for  the  atomic  energy  industry.

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits :=== The development of the  integrated  circuit  was the hallmark of the third generation of  computers.  Transistors  were miniaturized  and  placed  on silicon chips, called semiconductors,  which  drastically  increased  the  speed  and  efficiency  of computers.Instead  of  punched  cards  and  printouts,  users  interacted  with  third  gene ration computers  through keyboards and  monitorsand interfaced with  an operating system,  which  allowed  the  device  to  run  many  different applications at  one  time with  a  central  program  that  monitored  the  memory.  Computers  for  the  first  time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors :===The  microprocessor brought  the  fourth  generation  of  computers,  as  thousands  of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer —from the central processing  unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip. In  1981 IBM introduced  its  first  computer  for  the  home  user,  and  in 1984 Apple  introduced  the  Macintosh.  Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors. As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form  networks,  which  eventually  led  to  the  development  of  the  Internet.  Fourth generation computers  also  saw  the  development  of GUIs, the  mouse and  handhelddevices

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Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence :===Fifth  generation  computing  devices,  based  on artificial  intelligence,  are  still  in development,  though  there  are  some  applications,  such  as   voice  recognition,  that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to  make  artificial  intelligence  a  reality.  Quantum  computation and  molecular and  nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The  goal  of  fifth-generation  computing  is  to  develop  devices  that  respond to natural  language  input and are capable of learning and self-organization.                                                               

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Some Useful Abbreviations in Computers

An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning short) is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase. For example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr., abbrv. or abbrev.

Following Abbreviations or full forms are very useful to exams like banking,S.S.C. and UPSC .

ASCII - American Standard Code For Information Interchange
ALGOL - Algorithmic Language
AC - Alternate Current
ACPI - Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
ALU - Arithmetic Logical Unit
ANSI - American National Standard Institute
APM - Advanced Power Management
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ABC - Atanasoff Berry Computer
ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode
BBS - Bulletin Board System
BCC - Block Character Check
BNC - Boyonet Nut Connector
BIOS - Basic Input/Output System
BSC - Binary Synchronous Communication
BCD - Binary Coded Decimal
BCC - Blind Carbon Copy
BASIC - Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
CAD - Computer Aided Design
CAM - Computer Aided Manufacturing
CDROM - Compact Disk Read Only Memory
CGA - Color Graphics Array
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CPI - Clock Per Instruction
CRC - Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRT - Cathode Ray Tube
CSS - Cascading Style Sheet
CC - Carbon Copy
CAN - Campus Area Network
DEC - Digital Equipment Corporation
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DAT - Digital Audio Tape
DC - Direct Current
DD - Double Density
DDR - Double Data Rate
DMA - Direct Memory Access
DOS - Disk Operating System
DTR - Data Terminal Ready
DML - Data Maipulation Language
DDL - Data Definition Language
DCL - Data Control Language
DBMS - Database Management System
DSL - Digital Subscriber Line
DBA - Data Base Administrator
DFD - Data Flow Diagram
EBCDIC - Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
EC - Error Check
ECC - Error Check And Correction
EOF - End Of File
EOL - End Of Line
EPP - Enhanced Parallel Port
ESD - Electro-Static Discharge
ESCD - Extended System Configuration Data
FAT - File Allocation Table
FCC - Federal Communication Commission
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FDDI - Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDM - Frequency Divison Multiplexing
FDX - Full-Duplex Transmission
FE - Front End
FIFO - First-In First-Out
FILO - First-In Last-Out
FM - Frequency Modulation
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
GUI - Graphical User Interface
GIF - Graphics Interchange Format
GPRS - General Packet Radio service
GSM - Global System For Mobile
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HPFS - High Performance File System
HDX - Half-Duplex Transmission
HREF - Hyper Reference
HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
HTTPS - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
I/O - Input/Output
IBM - International Business Machine
IMP - Interface Message Processor
IPC - Inter Process Communication
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network
ISO - International Standard Organization
IC - Integrated Circuit
LAN - Local Area Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LED - Light Emitting Diode
LSI - Large Scale Integration
LSB - Least Significant Bit
LUN - Logical Unit Number
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
MB/Mb - Mega Byte/mega bit
MBR - Master Boot Record
MICR - Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
MCGA - Multi Color Graphics Array
MIMD - Multiple-Instruction Multiple Data
MIPS - Millions Instruction Per Second
MISD - Multiple Instruction Single Data
MODEM - Modulator-Demodulator
MOPS - Millions Of Operations Per Second
MOS - Metal Oxide Semiconductor
MS - Microsoft
MSI - Medium Scale Integration
MIME - Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension
NVRAM - Non-Volatile Random Access memory
NT - New Technology
NTFS - New Technology File System
OCR - Optical Character Recognition
OMR - Optical Mark Reader
ODI - Open Data Link Interface
OS - Operating System
OSF - Open System Interconnect
OSI - Open System Interconnection
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
PB - Peta Byte
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PMOS - Positively Doped Metal Oxide Semiconductor
PNP - Plug-and-Play
POST - Power On self Test
PPP - Point-To-Point protocol
PSTN - Public Switched Telephone network
PNG - Portable Network Graphics
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disk
RISC - Reduced Instructions Set Computer
RMS - Root Mean Squared
RPC - Remote Procedure Call
RTC - Real Time Clock
RTS - Request To Send
RDBMS - Relational Database Management System
RAR - Roshal Archieve
SIM - Subscriber Identity Module
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SIMM - Single Inline Memory Module
SMT - Surface Mount Technology
STDM - Synchronous Time Divison Multiplexing
SMD - Surface Mount Device
TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
TDMA - Time Divison Multiple Access
TFT - Thin Film Transistor
TRANSISTOR - TRANSformer resISTOR
TTL - Transistor-Transistor Logic
TIF - Transferred Image File
TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
TCL - Transaction Control Language
TI - Texas Instrument
UDP - User Datagram protocol
UDDI - Universal Description Discovery and Integration
UPS - Uniterrupted Power Supply
USB - Universal Serial Bus
ULSI - Ultra Large Scale Integration
UTP - Unshielded Twisted pair
VBE - Video BIOS Extension
VCR - Vodeo Cassette Recorder
VESA - Video Enhanced Standards Association
VGA - Video Graphics Array
VLSI - Very Large Scale Integration
VIRUS - Vital Information Resources Under Siege
VPN - Virtual Private Network
WAN - Wide Area Network
WORM - Write Once Read Many
WMAP - Wireless Message Access Protocol
WI-FI - Wireless-Fidelity
WIMAX - World Wide Interoperability For Microwave Access
SQL - Structured Query Language
STP - Shielded Twisted Pair
SAN - Storage Area Network
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SNMP - Simple Network Mangement Protocol
SDSL - Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line
SDLC - Software Development Life Cycle
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XOR - Exclusive-OR
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technlogy
ZIF - Zero Insertion Force

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Important Computer Questions for Banking Exams

Following set of Computer Questions related to Banking Exams like PO/CLERK/IBPS.below 33 Computer Question will help you to crack your computer awareness paper in banking sector.Computer Awareness paper is a mandatory paper for banking exams. so below question will be helpful for examinees. Answers are at the last of page..

1. A firewall is ........
1) A software program
2) A virus program
3) A Hardware
4) All the above
5) Only 1 and 3

2. Which of the following memory can be erased using Ultra Violet Rays?
1) RAM
2) ROM
3) PROM
4) EPROM
5) EEPROM

3. Which of the following is an input device which is used with interactive graphics to locate a place on the screen?
1) Bus
2) Modem
3) Magnetic Tape
4) Mouse
5) Scanner

4. Retrieval of information from a computer is called:
1) Output
2) Input
3) Data
4) Information
5) Processing

5. GUI is the acronym for:
1) Generation User Interface
2) General User Interface
3) Graphical User Instruction
4) Graphical User Interface
5) None of these

6. Internal Memory in a Central Processing Unit Comprises of which of the following?
1) Bus
2) A set of ALUs
3) A set of registers
4) Ward disk memory
5) All of these

7. Which of the following is a file in computer?
1) Hard disk
2) Magnetic Drum
3) Floppy disk
4) Portable Document Format
5) None of these

8. Which of the following terms is associated with the computers processing speed?
1) MIPS
2) FCFS
3) MPEG
4) TIFF
5) None of these

9. The smallest storage unit in a computer is...
1) Nibble
2) Byte
3) Bit
4) Word
5) None of these

10. Which function calculates the average of a given set of numbers in Excel?
1) Min
2) Max
3) Count
4) Avg
5) Sum


11. ...... shows all the websites and pages that are visited over a period of time.
1) Home page
2) Toolbar
3) Task bar
4) History
5) Cookies

12. Which among the following is a diskette?
1) Cartridge
2) Toner
3) Floppy
4) CD
5) Hard Disk

13. Excel is a collection of
1) Workbook
2) Worksheets
3) Graphs
4) Charts
5) None of these above

14. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way and so form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to the group?
1) MESH
2) SAFARI
3) AVANT
4) GOOGLE CHROME
5) MOZILLA FIREFOX

15. Ctrl + H keyboard short cut in MS word is used to ....
1) Open Font dialog box
2) Align Center
3) Open Replace Box
4) Insert Link
5) None of these

16. Track Ball and Light pen are examples of
1) Input devices
2) Output Devices
3) Input/Output
4) Name of Video game
5) None of these

17. Which of the following features make UNIX Operating System popular?
1) Multi tasking
2) Multi-user
3) Reliable
4) All
5) None of these

18. Which of the following is a part of Central Processing Unit?
1) Printer
2) Keyboard
3) Mouse
4) Arithmetic and Logic unit
5) None of these

19. A computer connected to a Local Area Network can:
1) Run faster
2) Be accessed online
3) Share information and/or share peripheral equipment
4) Be used to send Email
5) None of these

20. Timing and Control unit is a part of a(n) ....
1) Arithmetic Logic Unit
2) Processor
3) Memory
4) CMOS
5) BIOS

21. Which of the following controls the way in which the computer system functions and provides a means by which users can interact with the computer?
1) Platform
2) Operating System
3) Mother Board
4) Application Software
5) None of these

22. System software is the set of programs that enables the computer's hardware devices and ....... software to work together.
1) Management
2) Processing
3) Utility
4) Application
5) None of these

23. The ...... turns into different shapes depending upon the task being performed.
1) Active tab
2) Insertion point
3) Mouse pointer
4) ribbon
5) None of these

24. Using Print preview would be of help to the user when he/she wants to:
1) Colour the document
2) Save the document
3) Delete the document
4) Copy the document
5) View how the document will appear when printed

25. Compatibility, with respect to computers, refers to:
1) the software doing the right job for the user
2) the software being versatile enough to handle the job
3) the software being able to run on the computer
4) the software running only with other previously installed software
5) the software permanently available in the computer

26. The higher the resolution of a monitor, the
1) larger the pixels
2) less clear the screen is
3) further apart the pixels
4) closer together are the pixels
5) None of these

27. Mahesh and Pavan are employees of company X working in different countries, on the same project. Which of the following Computer technologies would be useful for them to have Review meets monthly?
1) Video-display software
2) Video digitizing
3) Video Conferencing
4) Video Scanning
5) None of these

28. A received E-mail may be :
1) Read
2) Unread
3) Stored
4) All the above
5) None of these


29. ..... is an icon that opens a folder of icons for all the resources on the computer like hard drive and printer?
1) My documents
2) Recycle bin
3) My computer
4) Accessories
5) None of these

30. ............... is a device or a software in a computer, that determines the next network point to which a packet is forwarded towards its destination.
1) Switch
2) Network
3) Bridge
4) Router
5) None of these

31. Which of the following is the standard interactive and programming language for getting information from a database?
1) DCOM
2) Java
3) SQL
4) Cova
5) Mercury

32. A hyperlink can be ......
1) Text
2) Image
3) Paragraph
4) All the above
5) None of these

33. The range of frequencies that a communication signal occupies is referred to as
1) Bandwidth
2) Frequency
3) Amplitude
4) Range
5) Rate

34. CPU is a/an .....
1) Expansion card
2) Mother board
3) Microprocessor
4) Memory
5) Graphic Card

35. Which of the following is true about Fire wall?
1) It is a Virus
2) It is an Antivirus
3) It is a software that logs internet activity
4) A filter for an internet connection
5) A search engine

36. Which of the following products/softwares is not associated with Microsoft?
1) Microsoft Silverlight
2) Windows CE
3) Surface Tablet
4) Windows Live
5) All are associated with Microsoft.

ANSWERS:

1-5; 2-4; 3-4; 4-1; 5-4; 6-3; 7-4; 8-1; 9-3; 10-4;
11-4; 12-3; 13-2; 14-1; 15-3; 16-1; 17-4; 18-4; 19-3; 20-2;
21-2; 22-4; 23-3; 24-5; 25-3; 26-4; 27-3; 28-4; 29-3; 30-4;
31-3; 32-4; 33-1; 34-3; 35-4; 36-5.

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Nobel Prize winners of 2011

On November 27, 1895, a year before he died, Alfred Bernhard Nobel signed his last will and testament at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris. Eight years before his death the Swedish chemist, inventor and engineer who held 355 patents and made his fortune in armaments and explosives (he invented dynamite and ballistite, and owned the gun-making firm Bofors) had an unexpected change of heart. In 1888, a French newspaper erroneously published Nobel’s obituary – it was actually his brother Ludvig who had died – in which it described the inventor as “the merchant of death.”

Concerned at how he might be remembered, Nobel attempted to right his wrongs: He bequeathed 94 percent of his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes to recognize scientists and inventors whose achievements conferred “the greatest benefit on mankind” in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank (the National Bank of Sweden) instituted a prize for Economic Sciences in Nobel’s memory.

Laureates receive a medal, a diploma and a sum of money that varies in relation to the Nobel Foundation’s income that year – in 2011 each prize was worth about $1.45 million. The awards are presented annually in Stockholm, Sweden (except for the Peace Prize, which is presented in Oslo, Norway).

Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman, one of three recipients of
the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, at her tent in Change Square in
Sanaa, Yemen. Karman's Nobel Peace Prize draws attention 
to the role of women in the Arab Spring uprisings; they have
rebelled not only against dictators but against a traditional, 
conservative mindset that fears women as agents of change.
Women have participated in all the protests sweeping the 
Arab world, working both online to mobilize, and on the 
ground to march, chant and even throw themselves into 
stone-throwing clashes with security forces side by side 
with men. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Leymah Gbowee of Liberia is one of three 2011 
Nobel Peace Prize winners. Gbowee campaigned 
against the use of rape as a weapon in her country's 
brutal civil war. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia's current president and 
presidential candidate of the Unity Party (UP), is the third 
Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Liberia's October 11 general 
election will be the first domestically organised vote since 
an on-off 1989-2003 civil war and a test for a West African
country struggling to close the book on its bloody past eight
years after the fighting ceased. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

The 2011 Nobel Prize in literature was awarded on Thursday
to poet and author Tomas Transtromer of Sweden, whose
surrealistic works about the mysteries of the human mind 
won him wide recognition as the most influential Scandinavian
poet of recent decades. (AP Photo/Scanpix, Maja Suslin)

Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Israeli scientist Dan 
Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 
the secret of quasicrystals, an atomic mosaic whose discovery 
overturned theories about solids. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Astronomer Adam Riess in his office at Johns Hopkins 
University in Baltimore, USA. The Royal Swedish Academy
of Sciences has announced that American Saul Perlmutter, 
US-Australian citizen Brian Schmidt and US scientist Adam
Riess will share the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics. The trio were
honored "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the
universe through observations of distant supernovae."
(AP Photo/The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur 
Foundation, Gail Burton)

Australian Academy of Science Professor Brian Schmidt is
one of three US-born scientists to win the Nobel Prize in 
Physics for discovering that the universe is expanding at an 
accelerating pace. (AP Photo/AAS Irene Dowdy)

Saul Perlmutter, one of three winners of the Nobel Prize for 
Physics, poses with his daughter's telescope at his home in 
Berkeley, California after hearing he had won. The Royal 
Swedish Academy of Sciences said American Perlmutter would 
share the 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award with 
US-Australian Brian Schmidt and US scientist Adam Riess. 
Working in two separate research teams during the 1990s, 
Perlmutter in one and Schmidt and Riess in the other, the 
scientists raced to map the universe's expansion by analyzing
a particular type of supernova, or exploding star. 
(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Dr. Bruce Beutler, director of the Center for the Genetics of 
Host Defense at UT Southwestern Medical Center, 
acknowledges applause from attendees at an event announcing
Beutler as a recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology 
or Medicine in Dallas, Texas. Beutler is one of three scientists
chosen to share the prize for discoveries about the immune 
system. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Canadian-born scientist Ralph Steinman died three days 
before he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for 
"his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive 
immunity". Steinman died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 68,
having extended his life using a kind of therapy he designed. 
This is the first time in history, that the Nobel Prize, which is 
never awarded posthumously, will go to a dead person. 
(AP Photo/Mike Groll)

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