Computer Era
(1946 - Today)
- Second Generation
(1959 - 64)
- Characteristics
- Used transistors
- Assembly and other high
level programming languages developed
- 7 000 000 calculations
per second
- Hard disk storage available
- Themes
- Faster
- Size starting to shrink
a little
- Little more reliable
- Heat output dramatically
reduced
- Cost is still expensive
- Important Computers and
/ or Events
- 1961
Integrated Circuit (ICs)
- Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
- first commercially available integrated
circuits became available from the Fairchild Corporation
- from this date forward computers would
use ICs instead of individual transistors or other components
- 1964
IBM 360
- Hugely successful line of computers
- Had 70% of market
- Several different computers, all compatible