Computer Fundamentals Index

Computer Introduction Types of computer Characteristics of computer Uses of computer History of Computers

Computer Languages

Low Level language Middle level Language High level language

Computer Generation

Generation of Computers First Generation of Computer Second generation of Computers Third generation of Computers Fourth generation of Computers Fifth generation of Computers Sixth Generation of Computer

Peripheral Devices

Input devices Output device

Components

Block diagram and basic components Control processing unit (CPU) Software Hardware

Memory

Computer Memory Registers Memory Hierarchy RAM Vs ROM Understanding file sizes (Bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, EB, ZB, YB)

Computer Network

Types of Network Types of Area Networks (LAN, WAN, MAN) TCP Flags

Computer Virus

Computer Virus

Computer Ports

Computer Ports

How

How to hack a computer How much do Computer Programmers make How does a Computer work How to associate a file with a program How does a computer convert text into binary How does a computer process data into information How to fix a CD-ROM DVD How to fix the no input signal How to install computer memory How to associate a file with a program How to log out of your operating system How do I change my name on Google How to installation or uninstallation Microsoft Paint How to fix a not a valid Win32 application error How to fix missing Microsoft Windows .dll files How to use a computer keyboard How to erase my hard drive and start over How can I test how many words I can write a minute How to shut down a computer How do I open and edit the Windows registry How to edit the registry from the command line How to restart Microsoft Windows How to install a computer processor How to open Microsoft Paint How to fix problems in Windows after installing new software How to enable or disable the preview pane of Microsoft Outlook How to open a Microsoft .wps or Works file in Word How to view the HTML source code in Microsoft Word How to View or Change the Screen Resolution of a Monitor How to Connect and Install a Computer Keyboard How to Delete Temporary Files in Windows 10 How to determine Which Version of Microsoft Office I'm using How to find out how much hard drive space is available How to Fix PC Stuck on Verifying DMI Pool Data How to choose which items show in the notification area How to find similar images using Search by Image How to fix Low Memory and out of memory errors How To Replace the CMOS Battery How do I Update my Antivirus Program How to fix a general protection fault How to Identify problems in the Windows Device Manager How can the Base be Shown How to test if a Website or Web Page is down How Much is 1 Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, etc How to fix a CMOS checksum error How to Fix a Windows CD-ROM, DVD, or Disc Drive Issue How to Open Safe Mode How to Password Protect Files and Folders in Windows How to Reset CMOS or BIOS Settings How to use Computer Keyboard How to create a text file How to enable or disable DHCP in Windows How to test computer memory to determine if its bad How do double space or change line spacing in Microsoft Word How do I know if I have Windows Administrator Rights How many cores does my computer have How to Create a Directory or Folder How to Enter and Exit the BIOS or CMOS Setup How to change Windows Compatibility mode How to clear your internet browser history How to Connect Computer Speakers How to Copy a Web Page Link or URL How to install a Hard Drive or SSD How to Open the Windows Control Panel How to split a screen in Windows How to copy text from a scanned PDF

Questions

Who invented Computer What are the advantages of the Internet? What are the disadvantages of the Internet? Is my computer 64 bit? What is Edge Computing? What is a Router? What is Monitor What is Printer What is a Web Browser What is Microphone What is a Webcam What is PC What is Keyboard What is Motherboard What is WAP What is URL What is a Digital Assistant When was the first Computer Invented What is Modem What is Firmware What is Imperative Programming What is Protocol What is Safe Mode What is Device Driver What is Hybrid Topology What is Mesh Topology What is Procedural language What is a hyperlink What is a Username Who invented the Internet What is Video Card What is Sound Card What is Binary What does Alt+B do What does Alt+D do What does Alt+E do What does Alt+Esc do What does Alt+R do What does ALT + Q do What does Alt + Tab do What is Data Manipulation What is a touch screen What is Back Panel What is Analog Monitor What is AR lens What is an ATX Style Connector What is a File System What is Hard Disk Drive (HDD) What is a boot device What is accessibility What is Line In What is network Interface card (NIC) What is Optical Disk Where can I ask questions on the internet What is Auto Rotate What is CAD (Computer-aided design) What is Cable Modem What is Home Page What is boot menu What is braille reader What is flash memory What is Windows What is Clipboard What is Cyber Warfare What is Myspace Why has my IP address changed What is Jacquard Loom My computer is running slow, what steps can I do to fix it What is a Kensington Lock What is a multicore processor What is automation Are smartphones and tablets computers What is a Login Script What is a Loosely Typed Language What is Multitasking? Why my computer monitor shows no display or black screen What is REM What is Parallelization What is Overtype mode What is open with What is Bracket What is an Online Service What is REM What is Parallelization What is Overtype mode What is open with What is Bracket What is an Online Service What is the Pg Dn Key (Page Down Key) What is the Pg up Key (Page up Key) What is Palmtop Computer What is a Processing Device What is a Print Preview What is the Print Screen Key What can I do if my computer or laptop is lost or stolen What is a Model Number What are the currently available antivirus programs What are Toggle keys What is a Case fan What is a Silicon Chip What is a Slate PC What is a TAB stop What is an Octothorpe What is Task Pane What is Task View What is the svchost.exe file used for in Windows Where can I find free online virus scanners Why am I unable to increase the resolution in Windows What is Autofill When I click my mouse, it sometimes double-clicks What is Scratch What is UDIMM What is MsConfig What is an Expansion Card What is an Executable File What is an Elevated Command Prompt What is an AC Adapter What is AIMBOT What is a Software Suite What is a LED Monitor What does Alt + X do What does alt + space do What does Alt + O do Now that I’ve got a Computer, what can i do What is a Punch Card What is RDIMM What is Select All What is Serial number What is Thermos flask What programs can I use for speech recognition What are the Advantages of Computers What are the Disadvantages of Computers What does Alt + T do What Hardware Device Drivers should be Updated What is a Desktop What is a Ring Topology What is CMOS What is a Directory What is a Mechanical Mouse What is a Plotter What is a Variable What is an Icon What is Data What is HDMI What is Remote What is Right-Click What is SMPS Why does my Laptop not turn on What is a Copyright What is a Cordless Mouse What is a CSV file What is a Joystick What is a Start Button What is a Taskbar What is an Alignment What is an Output Device What is Cat 5 What is Google Chrome What is Post What are Recordable DVD Drives What Does Alt + F4 Do What Does Alt + L Do What is a bit (Binary Digit) What is a cable What is a Calculator What is a capacitor What is a Cold Boot What is a Dialog Box What is a Dual-boot What is a Slide What is A4 What is AM What is Barcode Reader What is EHCI What is a Header What is a Joystick What is a Secondary Storage Device What is Access Time What is Account Sharing What is an Asterisk What is Asynchronous DRAM What is Back Quote What is BIOS What is Borderless Printing What is Case Badge What is CD-ROM What is Chat Slang What is Composite What is RJ Cable What Are Bottom Row Keys What is SAN What is Tray What is VDU What Does Alt + M Do What Does Alt + P Do What is a Cell What is a Command Key What is a key Combination What is a Menu Bar What is a Startup What is a T What is Chat What are the F1 through F12 keys What does Alt + Enter do What Does Alt + Home DO What does Alt + R do What does Ctrl + B do What Does Ctrl + Enter Do What Does Ctrl + R Do What does Ctrl + G do What does Ctrl + 9 do What does Ctrl + End do What does Ctrl + O do What Does Ctrl + P do What Does Ctrl + Q do What is a Colon What is a Core What is Apple Touch Icon What is Clock What is Code What is Computer Crime What is Ctrl What is DAT What is Data diddling What is Date Why won't my computer turn on What Does Alt + N Do What does ctrl + 2 do What does ctrl + space do What does Ctrl + W do What does Ctrl + T Do What Does Ctrl + 2 do What does Ctrl + 5 Do What are the most common file types and file extensions What are Sticky keys What Does Ctrl + Shift + Esc Do What is Settings What is Task Manager What is Taskbar What is a DNS Resolver What does ctrl + 1 do What does ctrl + 0 do How to install software What is a Folder What is a Legend What is a MAC Address What is a Path What is a Ruler What is a Toolbar What is an Intranet Meaning and Differences with Internet What is an SSD What is Inheritance What is Tablet What is Depth What is Docking Station What is Double Click What is a Solid Ink Printer What is a Temporary File What is Backup and Restore What is Electronic Payment Systems Eps What is Marshalling

Difference

Difference between hardware and software Difference between multiprocessor and distributed systems Difference between Desktop and Laptop Difference between File and folder Difference between Hard Copy and Soft Copy Open Source Programs vs Closed Source Programs Difference between Optical Fibre and Coaxial Cable Difference between Website and Webpage Difference between Classes and Objects Input VS Output Difference between Primary and Secondary Storage with Examples

Misc

Quantum Computing Computer Software Autoexec.bat and config.sys info Update an Antivirus Use of Internet Advantages and disadvantages of Email Computing Power Internet Explorer Shortcut Keys Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Augmented Reality Infrastructure Readiness Check Top 10 Internet tips and tricks Introduction and Features of FoxPro Features of Multimedia Top 10 online services and applications Receiving S.M.A.R.T. status bad backup and replacing error Version Control System Uninstalling Software or Apps in Windows Data Warehouse Increase or decrease font size in Word using keyboard shortcuts Mouse not detected or working in Windows Computer Cleaning Information and Steps Function Keys on Keyboard Windows 7 Alt+Tab won’t stay on top or stick 10 Essential Examples of Web Browsers Binary Subtraction using 2’s Complement Case Sensitive Languages Computer Pioneers and people who are CEO Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys Parts of Computers Names, Definitions and Images ROM and its Types Basics of Information Technology Characteristics of a Good Software Design Characteristics of Management Information System Classification of Management Information System Implementation of MIS Input Devices of Computer Definition Limitations of Management Information System 3 Types Of Network in Computer Block Diagram Of Control Unit Difference Between Computer and Embedded System Difference Between Hard Disk and Floppy Disk Abstraction in OOAD Hardware and Software Devices Optomechanical Mouse CMOS Memory What is a Terminal? What is Graphic Design? What is Load? What is Passcode? What is Reboot? What is Registry? What is Safe Mode? What is Standby? What is SYN (Synchronize)? What is Task Manager? Attribute Computing BPS in Computer Bulletin Board System Light Pen Input Device 3 TYPES OF NETWORK IN COMPUTER Block diagram of control unit What is a Solid Ink Printer? What is a Temporary File? What is an App launcher? What is Backup and Restore? What is a Tab Character? What is the Core i3? What is Paint? What is a Workbook? Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Education What is a String? What is a VDU (Visible Display Unit)? 50 Uses of Computer What is Workspace? What is a Procedural Language? What is VGA (Video Graphics Array)?

Second Generation of Computer

The period of the second generation was from (1959-1965). The transistor takes the place of the vacuum tubes in the second generation. The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947. It was far superior to the vacuum tube.

The transistor is allowing the computer to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient, and reliable than the first-generation processor. It was a great improvement over the vacuum tube. The computer of the second generation was invented by the two persons named "H.W.Brattain" and "W.Shockley."

The computers of the second generation moved to symbolic or assembly language from binary language. Due to assembly language, the programmers or coders have specified the instructions in words. The high-level languages such as COBOL and FORTRAN were developed at the time of the second generation.

Second Generation of computer

                                                Fig: Transistor.

The computers of this generation still relied on punch cards for input and printouts for output. The computers of this generation were the first type of computers which are capable to storing their instructions in their memory and moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

The magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and the magnetic tape and magnetic disks used as the secondary storage devices in the second generation of computer. These computers can use batch processing and multiprogramming operating systems.

Features of the second generation 

  • We can use transistors in this generation.
  • The computers of the second-generation are reliable in comparison to the first generation.
  • These computers are small in size as compared to first-generation computers.
  • The computers of the second-generation produced less heat as compared to the first generation.  
  • The computer of this generation consumed less electricity as compared to first-generation computers.
  • These computers are faster than first-generation computers.
  • The computer of the second generation was still very costly.
  • AC is also required for these types of computer.
  • These type of computers supported machine and assembly languages.
Second Generation

                                    Fig: computers of the second generation.

There are some computers of the second generation, which are given below:

  1. IBM 7094
  2. IBM 1620
  3. CDC 1604
  4. CDC 3600
  5. UNIVAC1108
  6. Honeywell 400

Computer Architecture of IBM 7094

The IBM 7094 is the computer of the second generation. It was the last commercial, scientific mainframe computer, and the transistorized version of the earlier IBM 709 vacuum tube mainframe computer. These computers used various type of operating systems such as SOS, IBSYS, IBJOB, FMS, etc.

Second Generation of Computer

This computer has seven index registers. In April 1964, the first IBM 7094 II was installed. It has dual memory bank and also improved overlap of instruction execution. The computer systems of this generation are developed for the large scale of scientific computing. These computers have extra index registers and support hardware double-precision floating-point. The IBM 7094 has two models: the original IBM 7094, and another was 7094 II. The IBM 7094 had new data processing system in which the major speed effects are available for floating-point operations, fixed-point multiply, and divide operations.

 The IBM 7094 is the data processing system that featured outstanding price and performance. It offered substantial increases in internal operating speed. These computers increase the functional capacities to match growing scientific workloads in the 1960s.

The IBM 7094 had 1.4 to 2.4 time’s internal processing speed, which depends upon the individual application. It has basic machine operating cycle of 2 microseconds. These computers have conditional transfer instructions.

IBM 1620

The IBM 1620 computer was developed by IBM on October 21, 1959. After the total production about 2000 machines, these computers were withdrawn on November 19, 1970. This was the variable word length decimal computer with the magnetic core memory.

The magnetic core memory of this computer can hold 20,000 decimal digits. The memory was accessed by using two decimal numbers at the same time in these computers. Every decimal digit has six bits. The instructions were fixed length, which is 12 decimal digit.

The architecture of IBM 1620 was very popular to the scientific and engineering community. Most of the installations of IBM1620 used the punched card to the input/output rather than paper tape. The IBM supplied various software for 1620, which are given below:

  1. 1620 symbolic programming system which can use assembly language.
  2. FORTRAN
  3. FORTRAN II, which required 40,000 digits or more.

CDC 1604 computer

The CDC 1604 computer was manufactured by "Seymour Cray" and his team at Control Data Corporation. It is known as the first commercially successful transistorized computer. The first 1604 was shipped to the US Navy in the 1960s.

These computers can execute about 100,000 operations per second. Every 48- bit word contained two 24 bit instructions. The CPU in these computers contained a 48-bit accumulator, a 48- bit mask register, a 15-bit program counter, and six 15 bits for index register.

Second Generation of Computer

                                   Fig: second-generation computer CDC 1604

The memory in the CDC 1604 consist of 32k 48bit words of a magnetic core memory with the cycle time of 6.4 microseconds. The memory of CDC 1604 was organized as two banks of 16k words each.

The average effective memory access time was 3.2 microseconds. There was 12-bit minicomputer, which is known as CDC 160, which was used as an input/output processor in CDC 1604 computer systems. 

The significant three bits of the accumulator was converted from digital to analog.  The Soviet nuclear weapons laboratory used the CDC 1604. The CDC 1604s was shipped to DASA (Defense atomic support agency) and utilized in Cuban missiles.

The Advantage of the second generation

  • These computers have better probability as compared to the first-generation computer.
  • These computers have better speed and capacity of calculating the data in microseconds.
  • Assembly language, punch cards were used for input in the second generation of computers.
  • The size of the electron component is decreased due to the presence of transistors instead of vacuum tubes.
  • These computers are smaller in size as compared to the first generation.
  • The accuracy of these computers was improved as compared to the previous computer.

The disadvantage of the second generation

  1. We required a cooling system for the use of these computers.
  2. The constant maintenance was required for these computers.

The computers of the second-generation are only used for a specific purpose.