History of computing hardware (1960s–present): Difference between revisions

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{{Missing information|History outside of US and USSR|talksection=History outside of US and USSR|date=January 2024}}

<small>This article is part of the<br>

The '''history of computing hardware''' starting at 1960 is marked by the conversion from [[vacuum tube]] to [[solid-state electronics|solid-state]] devices such as [[transistor]]s and then [[integrated circuit]] (IC) chips. Around 1953 to 1959, discrete transistors started being considered sufficiently reliable and economical that they made further vacuum tube computers [[competition (economics)|uncompetitive]]. [[Metal–oxide–semiconductor]] (MOS) [[large-scale integration]] (LSI) technology subsequently led to the development of [[semiconductor memory]] in the mid-to-late 1960s and then the [[microprocessor]] in the early 1970s. This led to primary [[computer memory]] moving away from [[magnetic-core memory]] devices to solid-state static and dynamic semiconductor memory, which greatly reduced the cost, size, and power consumption of computers. These advances led to the miniaturized [[personal computer]] (PC) in the 1970s, starting with [[home computer]]s and [[desktop computer]]s, followed by [[laptop]]s and then [[mobile computer]]s over the next several decades.

'''[[History of computing]]''' series.</small></td></tr>

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[[History of computing hardware]] (before 1960s)</td></tr>

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History of computing hardware (1960s-present)</td></tr>

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[[History of operating systems]]</td></tr>

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== Second generation ==

The '''history of computing hardware''' (continued from [[history of computing hardware]]) picks up with the development of the integrated circuit.

{{See also|List of transistorized computers| Transistor computer}}{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}

For the purposes of this article, the term "second generation" refers to computers using discrete transistors, even when the vendors referred to them as "third-generation". By 1960 transistorized computers were replacing vacuum tube computers, offering lower cost, higher speeds, and reduced power consumption. The marketplace was dominated by ''IBM and the seven dwarfs'':

* [[IBM]]

== Third generation ==

* The [[BUNCH]]

** [[Burroughs Corporation|Burroughs]]

** [[UNIVAC]]

** [[NCR Corporation|NCR]]

** [[Control Data Corporation]] (CDC)

** [[Honeywell]]

* [[General Electric]]

* [[RCA]].

Some examples of 1960s second generation computers from those vendors are:

The explosion in the use of computers began with 'Third Generation' computers. These relied on [[Jack Kilby|Jack St. Claire Kilby]]'s invention of the [[integrated circuit]] (or microchip).

* the [[IBM 1401]], the [[IBM 7090|IBM 7090/7094]], and the [[IBM System/360]];

The first integrated circuit was produced in September [[1958]] but computers using them didn't begin to appear until 1963. While large '[[Mainframe computer|mainframe]]s' such as the [[International Business Machines|IBM]] System/360 increased [[Computer storage|storage]] and processing capabilities further, the integrated circuit allowed the development of much smaller computers that began to bring computing into many smaller businesses. They were eventually called minicomputers.

* the [[Burroughs Large Systems#B5000|Burroughs 5000 series]];

* the [[UNIVAC 1107]];

* the [[NCR 315]];

* the [[CDC 1604]] and the [[CDC 3000 series]];

* the [[Honeywell 200]], Honeywell 400, and [[Honeywell 800]];

* the [[GE-400 series]] and the [[GE-600 series]];

* the RCA 301, 3301, [[RCA 501|501]], and the [[RCA Spectra 70|Spectra 70]] series.

However, some smaller companies made significant contributions. Also, towards the end of the second generation [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC) was a serious contender in the small and medium machine marketplace.

The [[minicomputer]] was a significant innovation in the 1960s and 1970s. It brought computing power to more people, not only through more convenient physical size but also through broadening the computer vendor field. [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] became the number two computer company behind IBM with their popular [[PDP]] and [[VAX]] computer systems. Smaller, affordable hardware also brought about the development of important new [[operating system]]s like [[Unix]].

Meanwhile, second-generation computers were also being developed in the USSR as, e.g., the [[Razdan (computer)|Razdan]] family of general-purpose digital computers created at the [[Yerevan Computer Research and Development Institute]].

Large scale integration of circuits led to the development of very small processing units, an early example of this is the processor used for analysing flight data in the [[US Navy]]'s [[F-14 Tomcat|F14A Tomcat]] fighter jet. This processor was developed by Steve Geller, Ray Holt and a team from [[AiResearch]] and [[American Microsystems]].

The second-generation computer architectures initially varied; they included character-based [[decimal computer]]s, [[sign-magnitude]] decimal computers with a 10-digit word, sign-magnitude binary computers, and [[ones' complement]] binary computers, although Philco, RCA, and Honeywell, for example, had some computers that were character-based binary computers and [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC) and Philco, for example, had [[two's complement]] computers. With the advent of the IBM [[IBM System/360|System/360]], two's complement became the norm for new product lines.

In 1966 [[Hewlett-Packard]] entered the general purpose computer business with its [[HP-2115]], offering a computational power formerly found only in much larger computers. It supported a wide variety of languages, among them [[BASIC]], [[Algol programming language|ALGOL]], and [[FORTRAN]].

The most common word sizes for binary mainframes were 36 and 48 bits, although entry-level and midrange machines used smaller words, e.g., [[12-bit computing|12 bits]], [[18-bit computing|18 bits]], [[24-bit computing|24 bits]], [[30-bit computing|30 bits]]. All but the smallest machines had asynchronous [[Channel I/O|I/O channels]] and [[interrupt]]s. Typically binary computers with word size up to 36 bits had one instruction per word, binary computers with 48 bits per word had two instructions per word and the CDC 60-bit machines could have two, three, or four instructions per word, depending on the instruction mix; the Burroughs [[B5000 instruction set|B5000]], [[Burroughs B6x00-7x00 instruction set|B6500/B7500]] and B8500 lines are notable exceptions to this.

In [[1969]] [[Data General]] shipped a total of 50,000 Novas at $8000 each. The Nova was one of the first [[16-bit]] minicomputers and led the way toward [[Computer word|word]] lengths that were multiples of the [[8-bit]] [[byte]]. It was first to employ medium-scale integration (MSI) circuits from [[Fairchild Semiconductor]], with subsequent models using large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits. Also notable was that the entire [[Central processing unit|central processor]] was contained on one 15-inch [[printed circuit board]].

First-generation computers with data channels (I/O channels) had a basic DMA interface to the channel cable. The second generation saw both simpler, e.g., channels on the [[CDC 6000 series]] had no DMA, and more sophisticated designs, e.g., the 7909 on the [[IBM 7090]] had limited computational, conditional branching and interrupt system.

In 1973 the TV Typewriter, designed by [[Don Lancaster]], provided the first display of alphanumeric information on an ordinary television set. It used $120 worth of electronics components, as outlined in the September 1973 issue of Radio Electronics magazine. The original design included two memory boards and could generate and store 512 characters as 16 lines of 32 characters. A 90-minute cassette tape provided supplementary storage for about 100 pages of text. His design used minimalistic hardware to generate the timing of the various signals needed to create the TV signal. [[Clive Sinclair]] later used the same approach in his legendary Sinclair [[ZX80]].

By 1960, [[magnetic-core memory|magnetic core]] was the dominant memory technology, although there were still some new machines using [[Drum memory|drums]] and [[Delay-line memory|delay lines]] during the 1960s.

== Fourth generation ==

<!-- Were there any drum or delay line machines in the 1970s? -->

[[Thin-film memory|Magnetic thin film]] and [[rod memory]] were used on some second-generation machines, but advances in core technology meant they remained niche players until semiconductor memory displaced both core and thin film.

In the first generation, word-oriented computers typically had a single [[Accumulator (computing)|accumulator]] and an extension, referred to as, e.g., Upper and Lower Accumulator, Accumulator and Multiplier-Quotient (MQ) register. In the second generation, it became common for computers to have multiple addressable accumulators. On some computers, e.g., [[PDP-6]], the same registers served as accumulators and [[index register]]s, making them an early example of [[general-purpose registers]].

The basis of the fourth generation was [[Marcian Hoff]]'s invention of the [[microprocessor]].

In the second generation there was considerable development of new [[address modes]], including truncated addressing on, e.g., the [[Philco]] [[Philco computers#S-2000|TRANSAC S-2000]], the [[UNIVAC III]], and automatic index register incrementing on, e.g., the RCA 601, [[UNIVAC 1107]], and the [[GE-600 series]]. Although [[index registers]] were introduced in the first generation under the name ''B-line'', their use became much more common in the second generation. Similarly, [[addressing mode#memory indirect|indirect addressing]] became more common in the second generation, either in conjunction with index registers or instead of them. While first-generation computers typically had a small number of index registers or none, several lines of second-generation computers had large numbers of index registers, e.g., [[Atlas (computer)|Atlas]], [[Bendix G-20]], [[IBM 7070]].

The first generation had pioneered the use of special facilities for calling subroutines, e.g., '''TSX''' on the [[IBM 709]]. In the second generation, such facilities were ubiquitous; some examples are:

; Automatically record the next sequential instruction (NSI) in a register for all or most successful branch instructions

: The Jump Address (JA) Register on the Philco TRANSAC S-2000

: The Sequence History (SH) and Cosequence History (CSH) registers on the [[Honeywell 800]]

: The B register on an [[IBM 1401]] with the indexing feature

; Automatically record the NSI at a standard memory ___location following all or most successful branches

: Store P (STP) locations on RCA 301, 3301 and 501

: STICC on the RCA 601 is relative to the lower bound register

; Call instructions that save the NSI in the first word of the subroutine

: Return Jump (RJ) on the [[UNIVAC 1107]]

: Return Jump (RJ) on [[CDC 3600]] and [[CDC 6000 series]]

: Jump to Subroutine (JSR) on the [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[PDP-6]] and [[PDP-10]]

; Call instructions that save the NSI in an implicit or explicit register

: Branch and Load Location in Index Word (BLX) on the [[IBM 7070]]

: Transfer and Set indeX (TSX) on the [[IBM 7090]]

: Jump and Save PC (JSP) on the [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[PDP-6]] and [[PDP-10]]

: Transfer and Set Xn (TSXn) on the [[GE-600 series]]

: Branch and Link (BAL) on the [[IBM System/360]]

; Call instructions that use an index register as a [[stack pointer]] and push return information onto the stack

:Push jump (PUSHJ) on the [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[PDP-6]]

; Implicit call with return information pushed onto the stack

:[[Burroughs large systems descriptors#B5x00 Program Descriptors|Program descriptors]] on the Burroughs [[Burroughs Large Systems#B5000|B5000 line]]

: Program descriptors on the Burroughs [[Burroughs Large Systems#B6500, B6700/B7700, and successors|B6500 line]]

The second generation saw the introduction of features intended to support [[multiprogramming]] and [[multiprocessor]] configurations, including master/slave (supervisor/problem) mode, storage protection keys, limit registers, protection associated with address translation, and [[atomic instruction]]s.

Unlike Third generation [[minicomputer]]s, which were essentially scaled down versions of [[mainframe computer]]s, the fourth generation's origins are fundamentally different. Microprocessor based computers were originally very limited in their computational ability and speed, and were in no way an attempt to downsize the minicomputer. They were addressing an entirely different market.

===Microprocessors===

On [[November 15]]th [[1971]] [[Intel]] released the world's first commercial microprocessor, the [[Intel 4004|4004]]. It was developed for a Japanese calculator company, Busicom, as an alternative to hardwired circuitry, reaching the market in [[1971]]. Fourth generation computers developed, using a microprocessor to locate much of the computer's processing abilities on a single (small) chip. Coupled with one of Intel's other products - the [[RAM]] chip, based on an invention by Bob Dennard of IBM, (kilobits of memory on a single chip) - the microprocessor allowed fourth generation computers to be even smaller and faster than ever before. The 4004 was only capable of 60,000 instructions per second, but later processors (such as the [[Intel 8086]] upon which all of the IBM [[Personal computer|PC]] and compatibles are based) brought ever increasing speed and power to the computers.

=== Supercomputers ===

{{main|History of supercomputing}}

At the other end of the computing spectrum, [[supercomputer]]s of the era were immensely powerful. In [[1976]] the [[Cray-1]] was developed by [[Seymour Cray]], who left Control Data in 1972 to form his own company. This machine was known as much for its horseshoe-shaped design -- an effort to speed processing by shortening circuit paths -- as it was for being the first supercomputer to make [[vector processing]] practical. Vector processing, which uses a single instruction to perform the same operation on many numbers, has been a fundamental supercomputer processing style ever since. The Cray-1 could calculate 150 million floating point operations per second. 85 were shipped at a cost of $5 million each. Note that, contrary to the small computers blossoming in this era, the Cray-1 was not a microcomputer; its CPU was mostly constructed of [[ECL]] [[integrated circuit#SSI|SSI/MSI]] circuits.

Second generation supercomputers were substantially faster than most contemporary mainframes. Some of the technologies developed in order to achieve the desired performance are now used in commodity computers.

== Third generation ==

=== The [[home computer]] era ===

{{See also|List_of_early_third_generation_computers|l1=List of early third generation computers}}

The mass increase in the use of computers accelerated with ''Third Generation'' computers starting around 1966 in the commercial market. These generally relied on early (sub-1000 transistor) [[integrated circuit]] technology. The third generation ends with the [[microprocessor]]-based fourth generation.

In 1958, [[Jack Kilby]] at [[Texas Instruments]] invented the [[hybrid integrated circuit]] (hybrid IC),<ref name="Saxena140">{{cite book |last1=Saxena |first1=Arjun N. |title=Invention of Integrated Circuits: Untold Important Facts |date=2009 |publisher=[[World Scientific]] |isbn=9789812814456 |page=140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3lpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140}}</ref> which had external wire connections, making it difficult to mass-produce.<ref name="nasa">{{cite web |title=Integrated circuits |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ic-pg3.html |website=[[NASA]] |access-date=13 August 2019}}</ref> In 1959, [[Robert Noyce]] at [[Fairchild Semiconductor]] invented the [[monolithic integrated circuit]] (IC) chip.<ref name="computerhistory1959">{{cite web |title=1959: Practical Monolithic Integrated Circuit Concept Patented |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/practical-monolithic-integrated-circuit-concept-patented/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=13 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="nasa"/> It was made of [[silicon]], whereas Kilby's chip was made of [[germanium]]. The basis for Noyce's monolithic IC was Fairchild's [[planar process]], which allowed integrated circuits to be laid out using the same principles as those of [[printed circuit]]s. The planar process was developed by Noyce's colleague [[Jean Hoerni]] in early 1959, based on the silicon [[surface passivation]] and [[thermal oxidation]] processes developed by [[Carl Frosch]] and Lincoln Derrick in 1955 and 1957.<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2802760A|title=Oxidation of semiconductive surfaces for controlled diffusion|gdate=1957-08-13|invent1=Lincoln|invent2=Frosch|inventor1-first=Derick|inventor2-first=Carl J.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2802760A}}</ref><ref name="Lojek1203">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Sanford L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2STRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 |title=Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st century |date=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-0-470-50892-3 |page=168}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Christophe Lécuyer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LaZpUpkG70QC&pg=PA62 |title=Makers of the Microchip: A Documentary History of Fairchild Semiconductor |author2=David C. Brook |author3=Jay Last |date=2010 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-01424-3 |pages=62–63}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Claeys |first1=Cor L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bu22JNYbE5MC&pg=PA27 |title=ULSI Process Integration III: Proceedings of the International Symposium |date=2003 |publisher=[[The Electrochemical Society]] |isbn=978-1-56677-376-8 |pages=27–30}}</ref>

You can't talk about computer history without mentioning the [[Altair 8800|MITS Altair]]. The Altair was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics for January, [[1975]]. It was the world's first mass-produced personal computer kit, as well as the first computer to use an [[Intel 8080]] processor. It was a huge success, and 10,000 Altairs were shipped. The Altair also inspired the software development efforts of [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]], who developed a full-featured [[BASIC programming language|BASIC]] [[Interpreter (computer software)|interpreter]] for the machine.

Computers using IC chips began to appear in the early 1960s. For example, the 1961 Semiconductor Network Computer (Molecular Electronic Computer, Mol-E-Com),<ref>{{cite journal|title=1961 PICTORIAL REPORT ON THE COMPUTER FIELD: 5. Computer Component|journal=Computers and Automation|date=Dec 1961|volume=10|issue=12|page=85|url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_computersA_14985198/page/n83?q=%22Semiconductor+Network+Computer%22}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=9 November 1961 |title=Miniature computer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lo7r0zX_T0sC&q=%22Mol-E-Com%22&pg=PA362 |journal=New Scientist |language=en |publisher=Reed Business Information |issue=260 |access-date=12 November 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407161112/https://books.google.com/books?id=lo7r0zX_T0sC&q=%22Mol-E-Com%22&pg=PA362 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=First Integrated Circuit Computer |url=http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/company/history/iccomp.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060108153204/http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/company/history/iccomp.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 January 2006}}</ref> the first monolithic [[integrated circuit]]<ref>{{cite conference |conference=IRE International Convention |title=IRE International Convention Record |date=March 1962 |volume=10 |issue=1–5 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CURJAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Series+51+are+monolithic%22 |publisher=[[Institute of Radio Engineers]] |oclc=879918181 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |publisher=Texas Instruments |title=Bulletin SCA-1000: Digital Semiconductor Integrated Circuits |date=Jan 1965 |pages=2–3, 9–11 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_tidataBookmiconductorIntegratedCircuitsJan65_14257211/page/n9 |chapter=Series 51 RCTL}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dummer |first1=G. W. A. |last2=Robertson |first2=J. Mackenzie |title=American Microelectronics Data Annual 1964–65 |date=2014 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=9781483185491 |pages=596–650 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdCjBQAAQBAJ&q=%22Solid+Circuit%22+%22series+51%22&pg=PA596 |language=en |chapter=Texas Instruments Series 51 Semiconductor Networks}}</ref> general purpose computer (built for demonstration purposes, programmed to simulate a desk calculator) was built by [[Texas Instruments]] for the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]].<ref>{{cite book |title="IC at fifty" booklet |date=2009 |pages=26, 22 (28, 24) |language=en |chapter=1962: Aerospace systems are the first applications for ICs in computers |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ICAtFifty-Booklet/page/n27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102646283|title=Molecular Electronic Computer brochure {{!}} 102646283 {{!}} Computer History Museum|website=www.computerhistory.org|year=1961|language=en|access-date=2018-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite tech report|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD0273850.pdf|title=Silicon Semiconductor Networks Manufacturing Methods|date=1962|pages=67–113|id=AD0273850}}</ref><ref>{{cite tech report|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/DTIC_AD0273850#page/n79/mode/1up/search/Theory+of+operation+of+the+ASD+semiconductor-network+computer|title=Silicon Semiconductor Networks Manufacturing Methods|date=1962|pages=67–113|language=en|chapter=Section VI: Theory of Operation of the ASD Semiconductor-Network Computer}}</ref>

The [[Intel 8080]] microprocessor chip (and a follow-on clone, the [[Zilog Z80]]) led to the first wave of small business computers in the late 1970s. Many of them used the S-100 [[Computer bus|bus]] (first introduced in the Altair) and most ran the [[CP/M operating system|CP/M-80]] operating system from [[Digital Research]], founded by [[Gary Kildall]]. CP/M-80 was the first popular microcomputer operating system to be used by many different hardware vendors, and many ground-breaking software packages were written for it, such as [[WordStar]] and [[DBASE|dBase II]]. The commands in CP/M-80 were patterned after operating systems from [[Digital Equipment Corporation]], such as [[RSTS]] and [[RT-11]], and in turn CP/M was copied &ndash; down to the file and memory structures &ndash; in [[Microsoft]]'s [[MS-DOS]].

Some of their early uses were in [[embedded system]]s, notably used by [[NASA]] for the [[Apollo Guidance Computer]], by the military in the [[LGM-30 Minuteman]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]], the Honeywell ALERT airborne computer,<ref>{{cite book |url=http://bitsavers.org/pdf/honeywell/military/alert/R-ED_24290_ALERT_Programmers_Reference_Manual_Jun66.pdf |title=Programmer's Reference Manual, Honeywell ALERT General Purpose General Computer |edition=Third |publisher=[[Honeywell]] |date=June 1966}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_honeywellmAALERTGeneralPurposeDigitalComputer_8029340|title=Honeywell ALERT General Purpose Digital Computer|date=1965}} [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/honeywell/military/alert/FL-665-R1A_ALERT_General_Purpose_Digital_Computer.pdf Alt URL]</ref> and in the [[Central Air Data Computer]] used for flight control in the [[United States Navy|US Navy]]'s [[F-14 Tomcat|F-14A Tomcat]] fighter jet.

Many hobbyists at the time tried to design their own systems, with various degrees of success, and sometimes banded together to ease the job. Out of these house meetings the [[Homebrew Computer Club]] developed, where hobbyists met to talk about what they had done, exchange schematics and software and show off their systems.

An early commercial use was the 1965 [[SDS 9 Series|SDS 92]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cY0TAAAAIAAJ&q=%22SDS+92%22+installed|title=TH EINDUSTRIAL REORGANIZATION ACT|date=1974|others=Columns: Manufacturer and name of computer {{!}} Solid state? {{!}} Average monthly rentals {{!}} Date of 1st installation {{!}} Number of installations {{!}} Number of unfilled orders|pages=5577|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfyvXAOhWXAC&q=%22SDS+92%22+delivered|title=The U.S. computer industry: a study of market power|last=Brock|first=Gerald W.|date=1975|publisher=Ballinger Pub. Co.|isbn=9780884102618|pages=192|language=en}}</ref> IBM first used ICs in computers for the logic of the System/360 Model 85 shipped in 1969 and then made extensive use of ICs in its [[IBM System/370|System/370]] which began shipment in 1971.

At the same time, those same hobbyists were also interested in something ready-built that the average person could afford. [[Steve Wozniak]], a regular visitor to Homebrew Computer Club meetings, designed the [[Apple I]], a single-board computer. With specifications in hand and an order for 100 machines at $500 each from the Byte Shop, he and [[Steve Jobs]] got their start in business. In a photograph of the Apple I board, the upper two rows are a video terminal and the lower two rows are the computer. The [[MOS Technologies 6502|6502]] microprocessor in the white package sits on the lower right. About 200 of the machines sold before the company announced the Apple II as a complete computer. The [[Apple II family|Apple II]] was one of three personal computers launched in [[1977]]. Despite its higher price, it quickly pulled away from the other two, the [[TRS-80]] and [[Commodore PET]], to lead the pack in the late 70s and to become the symbol of the personal computing phenomenon.

The integrated circuit enabled the development of much smaller computers. The [[minicomputer]] was a significant innovation in the 1960s and 1970s. It brought computing power to more people, not only through more convenient physical size but also through broadening the computer vendor field. [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] became the number two computer company behind IBM with their popular [[Programmed Data Processor|PDP]] and [[VAX]] computer systems. Smaller, affordable hardware also brought about the development of important new [[operating system]]s such as [[Unix]].[[File:Data General NOVA System.jpg|200px|left|thumb|{{center|1969: [[Data General Nova]]}}]]

Unlike the [[TRS-80]], the [[Apple II family|Apple II]] was of high quality and featured a number of technical advantages. It had an open [[Computer architecture|architecture]], used color graphics, and most importantly, had an elegantly designed interface to a [[floppy disk]] drive, something only mainframes and minis had used for storage until then.

In November 1966, [[Hewlett-Packard]] introduced the [[HP 2100|2116A]]<ref name="hp2116">{{cite web|title=History of the 2116A digital computer|url=http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/earlyinstruments/0001/0001history.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HP: The Accidentally, On-Purpose Computer Company|url=http://www.hp9825.com/html/hp_2116.html}}</ref> minicomputer, one of the first commercial 16-bit computers. It used CTμL (Complementary Transistor MicroLogic)<ref>{{cite web|title=Fairchild CTμL Integrated Circuits|url=http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~hilpert/e/HP21xx/CTL.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923212203/http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~hilpert/e/HP21xx/CTL.html|archive-date=2015-09-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> in integrated circuits from [[Fairchild Semiconductor]]. Hewlett-Packard followed this with similar 16-bit computers, such as the 2115A in 1967,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=96|title=HP 2115A|website=HP Computer Museum|access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref> the 2114A in 1968,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=97|title=HP 2114S|website=HP Computer Museum|access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref> and others.

Another key to success was the software: the Apple II was chosen by entrepreneurs [[Dan Bricklin|Daniel Bricklin]] and Bob Frankston to be the desktop platform for the first "[[Killer application|killer app]]" of the business world &#8212; the [[VisiCalc]] [[spreadsheet]] program. That created a phenomenal business market for the Apple II; and the corporate presence attracted many software and hardware developers to the machine.

In 1969, [[Data General]] introduced the [[Data General Nova|Nova]] and shipped a total of 50,000 at $8,000 each. The popularity of 16-bit computers, such as the Hewlett-Packard 21xx series and the Data General Nova, led the way toward [[Word (computer architecture)|word]] lengths that were multiples of the [[8-bit]] [[byte]]. The Nova was first to employ [[medium-scale integration]] (MSI) circuits from Fairchild Semiconductor, with subsequent models using large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits. Also notable was that the entire [[central processing unit|central processor]] was contained on one 15-inch [[printed circuit board]].

The rise of [[Apple Computer]] is one of America's great success stories. Based on the business and technical savvy of [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Steve Wozniak]], and the marketing expertise of [[Mike Markula]], Apple dominated the personal computer industry between 1977 and 1983.

Large mainframe computers used ICs to increase storage and processing abilities. The 1965 [[IBM System/360]] [[mainframe computer]] family are sometimes called third-generation computers; however, their logic consisted primarily of [[IBM Solid Logic Technology|SLT]] [[hybrid circuit]]s, which contained discrete transistors and diodes interconnected on a substrate with printed wires and printed passive components; the S/360 M85 and M91 did use ICs for some of their circuits. IBM's 1971 [[IBM System/370|System/370]] used ICs for their logic, and later models used [[semiconductor memory]].

More than 2 million Apple II's were shipped at a price of $970 for the 4KB model.

By 1971, the [[ILLIAC IV]] supercomputer was the fastest computer in the world, using about a quarter-million small-scale [[Emitter-coupled logic|ECL]] logic gate integrated circuits to make up sixty-four parallel data processors.<ref>D. A. Slotnick, ''The Fastest Computer'', ''Scientific American'' February 1971, reprinted in ''Computers and Computation'', Freeman and Company, San Francisco, California, 1971, {{ISBN|0-7167-0936-8}}</ref>

The Commodore PET ('''''P'''ersonal '''E'''lectronic '''T'''ransactor'') &ndash; the first of several personal computers released in 1977 &ndash; came fully assembled and was straightforward to operate, with either 4 or 8 kilobytes of memory, a built-in cassette drive, and a calculator "[[chiclet keyboard]]". It was followed by the [[Commodore VIC-20|VIC-20]], which had a full typewriter keyboard, color and sound, 3.5K of user accessible memory, and a much lower price than Apple's offerings.

Third-generation computers were offered well into the 1990s; for example the IBM ES9000 9X2 announced April 1994<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUS194-084|title=IBM ES/9000 Water-Cooled Processor Enhancements: New Ten-Way Processor, Parallel Sysplex Capability, and Additional Functions|date=April 6, 1994|id=Announcement Number: 194-084|publisher=IBM}}</ref> used 5,960 ECL chips to make a 10-way processor.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rao |first1=G. S. |last2=Gregg |first2=T. A. |last3=Price |first3=C. A. |last4=Rao |first4=C. L. |last5=Repka |first5=S. J. |title=IBM S/390 Parallel Enterprlse Servers G3 and G4 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/88c6/e48801b117ae555510c11216e5259e81579b.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=[[IBM Journal of Research and Development]] |volume=41 |issue=4/5 |s2cid=18459824 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044000/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/88c6/e48801b117ae555510c11216e5259e81579b.pdf |archive-date=2019-03-06}}</ref> Other third-generation computers offered in the 1990s included the [[VAX 9000|DEC VAX 9000]] (1989), built from ECL gate arrays and custom chips,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adiletta |first1=Matthew J. |last2=Doucette |first2=Richard L. |last3=Hackenberg |first3=John H. |last4=Leuthold |first4=Dale H. |last5=Litwinetz |first5=Denis M. |date=Fall 1990 |title=Semiconductor Technology in a High-performance VAX System |url=http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/dtj/dtj_v02-04_1990.pdf |journal=Digital Technical Journal |volume=2 |issue=4}}</ref> and the [[Cray T90]] (1995).

The best-selling personal computer of all time was released by [[Commodore International]] in 1982: the [[Commodore 64]] (C64). Magazines became available which contained the code for various utilities and games. All of these machines used the [[MOS Technologies 6502]] microprocessor [[CPU]]; [[MOS Technologies]] was owned by Commodore. The C64 and Commodore's other 8-bit computers was followed in 1985 by the more powerful [[Commodore Amiga]], built around the [[Motorola 68000]] CPU.

== Fourth generation ==

[[Image:Cpc464.computer.750pix.jpg|thumb|Amstrad CPC464 home computer in 1988. Data storage used standard tape cassettes inserted into the reader on the right of the keyboard.]]

Third-generation [[minicomputer]]s were essentially scaled-down versions of [[mainframe computer]]s, designed to perform similar tasks but on a smaller and more accessible scale. In contrast, the fourth generation's origins are fundamentally different, as it is based on the [[microprocessor]]—a computer processor integrated onto a single [[large-scale integration]] (LSI) [[MOS integrated circuit]] chip.<ref name="ieee"/>

Microprocessor-based computers were originally very limited in their computational ability and speed and were in no way an attempt to downsize the minicomputer. They were addressing an entirely different market.

Many other home computers came onto the market, including the [[Atari 8-bit family]], the [[Sinclair Research|Sinclair]] [[ZX Spectrum]], the [[TI 99/4A]], the [[BBC Micro]], the [[Amstrad CPC 464|Amstrad/Schneider CPC 464]], the Oric Atmos, the [[Coleco Adam]], the SWTPC 6800 and 6809 machines, the [[TRS-80 Color Computer|Tandy Color Computer]]/[[Dragon 32]], the Exidy Sorcerer, and the Japanese [[MSX]] range.

Processing power and storage capacities have grown beyond all recognition since the 1970s, but the underlying technology has remained basically the same of large-scale integration (LSI) or [[very-large-scale integration]] (VLSI) microchips, so it is widely regarded that most of today's computers still belong to the fourth generation.

Years later, when the IBM PC machines started to take over the role of the home computer, some of the bigger home computer companies came out with 16-bit machines to compete with the PC. Most famous were the [[Atari ST]] and the [[Commodore Amiga]] range of home-/personal computers.

=== Microprocessors ===

In [[1981]] IBM decided to enter the personal computer market after seeing the success of the Apple II. The first model was the [[IBM PC]] (IBM compatible computers quickly became known simply as PC's, to the irritation of earlier manufacturers who had thought they were making personal computers but hadn't thought of trademarking the intials.). It was based on an open architecture which allowed third party cards and peripherals to be used with it. It used the [[Intel 8088]] CPU running at 4.77 MHz, containing 5000 transistors and was able to accommodate up to 640KB of RAM, though no one could afford that much in the early '80s. The first model used an audio cassette for external storage, though there was an expensive floppy disk option. Three operating systems were available for those who chose the floppy disk version. One was [[CP/M-86]] from Digital Research, the second was [[PC-DOS]] from IBM, and the third was the [[UCSD p-System]] (from the University of California at San Diego). PC-DOS was the IBM branded version of an operating system from [[Microsoft]], previously best known for supplying BASIC language systems to computer hardware companies. When sold by Microsoft, PC-DOS was called [[MS-DOS]]. The UCSD p-System OS was built around the [[Pascal programming language|Pascal]] programming language and was, most probably, too specialized for IBM's customers. CP/M-86 didn't survive the competition with Microsoft and so MS-DOS, under one name or another, swept the field.

[[File:C4004 (Intel).jpg|thumb|170px|{{center|1971: [[Intel 4004]]}}]]

The microprocessor has origins in the [[MOS integrated circuit]] (MOS IC) chip.<ref name="ieee">{{cite journal |last1=Shirriff |first1=Ken |title=The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors |journal=[[IEEE Spectrum]] |date=30 August 2016 |volume=53 |issue=9 |pages=48–54 |publisher=[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.2016.7551353 |s2cid=32003640 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors |access-date=13 October 2019|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The MOS IC was [[semiconductor device fabrication|fabricated]] by Fred Heiman and Steven Hofstein at [[RCA]] in 1962.<ref name="computerhistory-digital">{{cite web |title=Tortoise of Transistors Wins the Race – CHM Revolution |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/digital-logic/12/279 |access-date=22 July 2019 |website=[[Computer History Museum]]}}</ref> Due to rapid [[MOSFET scaling]], MOS IC chips rapidly increased in complexity at a rate predicted by [[Moore's law]], leading to [[large-scale integration]] (LSI) with hundreds of transistors on a single MOS chip by the late 1960s. The application of MOS LSI chips to [[computing]] was the basis for the first microprocessors, as engineers began recognizing that a complete [[computer processor]] could be contained on a single MOS LSI chip.<ref name="ieee"/>

The earliest multi-chip microprocessors were the [[Four-Phase Systems]] AL1 in 1969 and [[Garrett AiResearch]] [[MP944]] in 1970, each using several MOS LSI chips.<ref name="ieee"/> On November 15, 1971, [[Intel]] released the world's first single-chip microprocessor, the [[Intel 4004|4004]], on a single MOS LSI chip. Its development was led by [[Federico Faggin]], using [[silicon-gate]] MOS technology, along with [[Marcian Hoff|Ted Hoff]], [[Stanley Mazor]] and [[Masatoshi Shima]].<ref name="computerhistory1971">{{cite web |title=1971: Microprocessor Integrates CPU Function onto a Single Chip |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/microprocessor-integrates-cpu-function-onto-a-single-chip/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> It was developed for a Japanese calculator company called [[Busicom]] as an alternative to hardwired circuitry, but computers were developed around it, with much of their processing abilities provided by one small microprocessor chip. The [[Dynamic random-access memory|dynamic]] [[Random-access memory|RAM]] (DRAM) chip was based on the MOS DRAM [[memory cell (computing)|memory cell]] developed by [[Robert Dennard]] of IBM, offering kilobits of memory on one chip. Intel coupled the RAM chip with the microprocessor, allowing fourth generation computers to be smaller and faster than prior computers. The 4004 was only capable of 60,000 instructions per second, but its successors brought ever-growing speed and power to computers, including the Intel 8008, 8080 (used in many computers using the [[CP/M]] [[operating system]]), and the 8086/8088 family. (The IBM personal computer (PC) and compatibles use processors that are still backward-compatible with the 8086.) Other producers also made microprocessors which were widely used in microcomputers.

=== The PC era ===

The following table shows a timeline of significant microprocessor development.

About this time, PC "clones" machines started appearing on the market; these were 'off-brand' machines designed to run the same software as the 'on-brand' ones. Notable were the Franklin 1000 Apple II-compatible and the first [[IBM PC compatible]] machines from [[Compaq]] and others. Legal battles established the legitimacy of the machines, and the lower prices made them popular. Some introduced new features that the popular brands didn't have &mdash; the Franklin, for example, had lowercase display that the Apple II lacked, and Compaq's first machines were portable (or "luggable" in the terminology later developed to distinguish their quite heavy suitcase-sized machines from laptops).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

In 1982 the 80286 Intel CPU was released, and IBM released the IBM PC/AT built around it. This chip could address up to 16MB of RAM, but the MS-DOS operating system at the time was not able to take advantage of this capability. A popular urban legend has Bill Gates of Microsoft stating "Why would anyone need more than 640KB?". Many different software vendors created competing and ''incompatible'' standards for addressing extra memory for software (such as [[Lotus Development]] Corporation for its [[Lotus 1-2-3]] spreadsheet) and for a time this created much confusion in the software business.

|-

! Year !! [[Microprocessor chronology|Microprocessors]]

|-

| 1969 || Four-Phase Systems [[Four-Phase Systems AL1|AL1]]

|-

| 1970 || Texas Instruments TMX 1795

|-

| 1971 || Texas Instruments TMS 1802NC

|-

| 1971 || Intel [[Intel 4004|4004]]

|-

| 1972 || Fairchild PPS-25; Intel [[Intel 8008|8008]]; [[Rockwell International|Rockwell]] [[Rockwell PPS-4|PPS-4]]

|-

| 1973 || Burroughs Mini-D; [[National Semiconductor]] [[IMP-16]]; NEC [[:ja:ΜCOMシリーズ|μCOM]]

|-

| 1974 || [[General Instrument]] [[General Instrument CP1600|CP1600]]; Intel [[Intel 4040|4040]], [[Intel 8080|8080]]; [[Mostek]] [[Mostek 5065|5065]]; Motorola [[Motorola 6800|6800]]; National Semiconductor IMP-4, IMP-8, ISP-8A/500, [[National Semiconductor PACE|PACE]]; Texas Instruments [[TMS 1000]]; Toshiba TLCS-12

|-

| 1975 || Fairchild [[Fairchild F8|F8]]; Hewlett Packard [[HP 2100#Descendants and variants|BPC]]; [[Intersil]] [[Intersil 6100|6100]]; MOS Technology [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]]; RCA [[CDP 1801]]; Rockwell PPS-8; [[Signetics]] [[Signetics 2650|2650]]; Western Digital [[MCP-1600]]

|-

| 1976 || RCA [[CDP 1802]]; Signetics [[Signetics 8X300|8X300]]; Texas Instruments [[TMS9900]]; [[Zilog]] [[Zilog Z80|Z80]]

|-

| 1977 || Intel [[Intel 8085|8085]]

|-

| 1978 || Intel [[Intel 8086|8086]]; Motorola 6801, [[Motorola 6809|6809]]

|-

| 1979 || Intel [[Intel 8088|8088]]; Motorola [[Motorola 68000|68000]]; Zilog [[Zilog Z8000|Z8000]]

|-

| 1980 || National Semiconductor [[NS32000#32016|16032]]; Intel [[Intel 8087|8087]]

|-

| 1981 || DEC [[DEC T-11|T11]]; Harris 6120; IBM [[IBM ROMP|ROMP]]

|-

| 1982 || Hewlett-Packard [[HP FOCUS|FOCUS]]; Intel [[Intel 80186|80186]], [[Intel 80188|80188]], [[Intel 80286|80286]]; DEC [[DEC J-11|J-11]]; [[Berkeley RISC#RISC I|Berkeley RISC-I]]

|-

| 1983 || [[Stanford MIPS]]; [[Berkeley RISC#RISC II|Berkeley RISC-II]]

|-

| 1984 || Motorola [[Motorola 68020|68020]]; National Semiconductor [[NS32000#32032|32032]]; NEC [[NEC V20|V20]]

|-

| 1985 || DEC [[MicroVAX 78032|MicroVAX 78032/78132]]; Harris Novix; Intel [[i386|80386]]; MIPS [[R2000 microprocessor|R2000]]

|-

| 1986 || NEC [[NEC V60|V60]]; Sun [[SPARC]] [[MB86900|MB86900/86910]]; Zilog [[Zilog Z80000|Z80000]]

|-

| 1987 || Acorn [[ARM2]]; DEC [[CVAX]] 78034; Hitachi Gmicro/200; Motorola [[Motorola 68030|68030]]; NEC [[NEC V70|V70]]

|-

| 1988 || [[Apollo Computer|Apollo]] [[Apollo PRISM|PRISM]]; Intel [[i386#80386SX|80386SX]], [[Intel i960|i960]]; MIPS [[R3000]]

|-

| 1989 || DEC [[Rigel (microprocessor)|VAX DC520 Rigel]]; Intel [[i486|80486]], [[Intel i860|i860]]

|-

| 1990 || IBM [[POWER1]]; Motorola [[Motorola 68040|68040]]

|-

| 1991 || DEC [[NVAX]]; IBM [[RISC Single Chip|RSC]]; MIPS [[R4000]]

|-

| 1992 || DEC [[Alpha 21064]]; Hewlett-Packard [[PA-7100]]; Sun [[microSPARC I]]

|-

| 1993 || IBM [[POWER2]], [[PowerPC 601]]; Intel [[Pentium (original)|Pentium]]; Hitachi [[SuperH]]

|-

| 1994 || DEC [[Alpha 21064A]]; Hewlett-Packard [[PA-7100LC]], PA-7200; IBM [[PowerPC 603]], [[PowerPC 604]], [[ESA/390]] G1; Motorola [[Motorola 68060|68060]]; QED [[R4600]]; NEC [[V850]]

|-

| 1995 || DEC [[Alpha 21164]]; HAL Computer [[HAL SPARC64|SPARC64]]; Intel [[Pentium Pro]]; Sun [[Sun UltraSPARC|UltraSPARC]]; IBM ESA/390 G2

|-

| 1996 || AMD [[AMD K5|K5]]; DEC [[Alpha 21164A]]; HAL Computer [[HAL SPARC64#SPARC64 II|SPARC64 II]]; Hewlett Packard [[PA-8000]]; IBM [[P2SC]], ESA/390 G3; MTI [[R10000]]; [[Quantum Effect Devices|QED]] [[R5000]]

|-

| 1997 || AMD [[AMD K6|K6]]; IBM [[PowerPC 620]], [[PowerPC 750]], [[RS64#RS64|RS64]], ESA/390 G4; Intel [[Pentium II]]; Sun [[UltraSPARC II]]s

|-

| 1998 || DEC [[Alpha 21264]]; HAL Computer [[HAL SPARC64#SPARC64 GP|SPARC64 III]]; Hewlett Packard [[PA-8500]]; IBM [[POWER3]], [[RS64#RS64-II|RS64-II]], ESA/390 G5; QED RM7000; SGI MIPS R12000

|-

| 1999 || AMD [[Athlon#Athlon Classic (1999)|Athlon]]; IBM [[RS64#RS64-III|RS64-III]]; Intel [[Pentium III]]; Motorola [[PowerPC 7400]]

|-

| 2000 || AMD [[Athlon XP]], [[Duron]]; Fujitsu [[HAL SPARC64|SPARC64 IV]]; IBM [[RS64#RS64-IV|RS64-IV]], z900; Intel [[Pentium 4]]

|-

| 2001 || IBM [[POWER4]]; Intel [[Itanium]]; Motorola [[PowerPC 7450]]; SGI MIPS [[R14000]]; Sun [[UltraSPARC III]]

|-

| 2002 || Fujitsu [[SPARC64 V]]; Intel [[Itanium 2]]

|-

| 2003 || AMD [[Opteron]], [[Athlon 64]]; IBM [[PowerPC 970]]; Intel [[Pentium M]]

|-

| 2004 || IBM [[POWER5]], [[IBM Blue Gene#Architecture|PowerPC BGL]]

|-

| 2005 || AMD [[Athlon 64 X2]], [[Opteron]] Athens; IBM [[PowerPC 970MP]], [[Xenon (processor)|Xenon]]; Intel [[Pentium D]]; Sun [[UltraSPARC IV]], [[UltraSPARC T1]]

|-

| 2006 || IBM [[Cell (processor)|Cell/B.E.]], [[IBM System z9|z9]]; [[Intel Core 2]], [[Core Duo]], [[Itanium]] Montecito

|-

| 2007 || AMD Opteron Barcelona; Fujitsu [[SPARC64 VI]]; IBM [[POWER6]], [[IBM Blue Gene#Design|PowerPC BGP]]; Sun [[UltraSPARC T2]]; [[Tilera]] [[TILE64]]

|-

| 2008 || AMD Opteron Shanghai, [[AMD Phenom|Phenom]]; Fujitsu [[SPARC64 VII]]; IBM [[PowerXCell 8i]], [[IBM z10|z10]]; Intel [[Intel Atom|Atom]], [[List of Intel Core i7 processors|Core i7]]; Tilera [[TILEPro64]]

|-

| 2009 || AMD Opteron Istanbul, Phenom II

|-

| 2010 || AMD Opteron Magny-cours; Fujitsu [[SPARC64 VII+]]; IBM [[POWER7]], [[IBM z196|z196]]; Intel Itanium [[Tukwila (processor)|Tukwila]], [[Westmere (microarchitecture)|Westmere]], [[Nehalem (microarchitecture)|Nehalem-EX]]; Sun [[SPARC T3]]

|-

| 2011 || AMD [[Bulldozer (microarchitecture)|FX Bulldozer]], Interlagos, Llano; Fujitsu [[SPARC64 VIIIfx]]; Freescale [[PowerPC e6500]]; Intel [[Sandy Bridge]], [[Xeon|Xeon E7]]; Oracle [[SPARC T4]]

|-

| 2012 || Fujitsu SPARC64 IXfx; IBM [[POWER7|POWER7+]], [[IBM zEC12 (microprocessor)|zEC12]]; Intel Itanium Poulson; Apple [[Apple A6|A6]]

|-

| 2013 || Fujitsu SPARC64 X; Intel [[Haswell (microarchitecture)|Haswell]]; Oracle [[SPARC T5]]

|-

| 2014 || IBM [[POWER8]]

|-

| 2015 || IBM [[IBM z13 (microprocessor)|z13]]

|-

| 2017 || IBM [[POWER9]], [[IBM z14 (microprocessor)|z14]]; AMD [[Ryzen]]

|-

| 2020 || Apple [[Apple M1|M1]]

|}

=== Supercomputers ===

Eventually the PC would take over the role of the 8-bit home computers and become the dominant "Personal Computer" architecture, especially in the small business market. This did not happen overnight - for many years PC's and other home computers competed for the money and attention of the home user. For business use, though, the IBM PC and its clones quickly became the standard, only to be challenged by the [[Apple Macintosh]] and perhaps, in its heyday, the [[Atari ST]].

{{Main|History of supercomputing}}

[[File:Cray 1 IMG 9126.jpg|thumb|right|160px|{{center|1976: [[Cray-1]] supercomputer}}]]

The powerful [[supercomputer]]s of the era were at the other end of the computing spectrum from the [[microcomputer]]s, and they also used integrated circuit technology. In 1976, the [[Cray-1]] was developed by [[Seymour Cray]], who had left Control Data in 1972 to form his own company. This machine was the first supercomputer to make [[vector processing]] practical. It had a characteristic horseshoe shape to speed processing by shortening circuit paths. Vector processing uses one instruction to perform the same operation on many arguments; it has been a fundamental supercomputer processing method ever since. The Cray-1 could calculate 150 million floating-point operations per second (150 [[megaflop]]s). 85 were shipped at a price of $5 million each. The Cray-1 had a [[central processing unit|CPU]] that was mostly constructed of [[integrated circuit#SSI, MSI and LSI|SSI]] and [[integrated circuit#SSI, MSI and LSI|MSI]] [[emitter coupled logic|ECL]] ICs.

== Mainframes and minicomputers ==

In 1983 Apple introduced its [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]]. The first microcomputer with a graphical user interface, its development was central in the move to such systems for personal computers. The Lisa ran on a [[Motorola 68000]] microprocessor and came equipped with 1 megabyte of RAM, a 12-inch black-and-white monitor, dual 5&frac14;-inch floppy disk drives and a 5 megabyte Profile hard drive. The [[Xerox Star]] &ndash; which included a programming language system called [[Smalltalk programming language|Smalltalk]] that involved the use of a mouse, windows, and pop-up menus &ndash; inspired the Lisa's designers. However, the Lisa's slow operating speed and high price (US$10,000) led to its ultimate failure.

[[File:Televideo925Terminal adjusted.jpg|thumb|[[Time-sharing]] [[computer terminal]]s connected to central computers, such as the TeleVideo [[ASCII]] character mode smart terminal pictured here, were sometimes used before the advent of the PC.]]

Computers were generally large, costly systems owned by large institutions before the introduction of the [[microprocessor]] in the early 1970s—corporations, universities, government agencies, and the like. Users were experienced specialists who did not usually interact with the machine itself, but instead prepared tasks for the computer on off-line equipment, such as [[keypunch|card punches]]. A number of assignments for the computer would be gathered up and processed in [[batch processing|batch mode]]. After the jobs had completed, users could collect the output printouts and punched cards. In some organizations, it could take hours or days between submitting a job to the computing center and receiving the output.

A more interactive form of computer use developed commercially by the middle 1960s. In a [[time-sharing]] system, multiple [[computer terminal|teleprinter and display terminals]] let many people share the use of one [[mainframe computer]] processor, with the operating system assigning [[Preemption (computing)#Time slice|time slices]] to each user's jobs. This was common in business applications and in science and engineering.

Apple Computer also launched the [[Apple Macintosh]], the first successful mouse-driven computer with a [[graphical user interface]], with a single $1.5 million television commercial during the [[1984]] [[Super Bowl]]. Based on the [[Motorola 68000]] microprocessor, the Macintosh included many of Lisa's features at a much more affordable price: $2,500.

A different model of computer use was foreshadowed by the way in which early, pre-commercial, experimental computers were used, where one user had exclusive use of a processor.<ref>Anthony Ralston and edwin D. Reilly (ed), ''Encyclopedia of Computer Science 3rd Edition'', Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993 {{ISBN|0-442-27679-6}}, article ''Digital Computers History''</ref> Some of the first computers that might be called "personal" were early [[minicomputer]]s such as the [[LINC]] and [[PDP-8]], and later on [[VAX]] and larger minicomputers from [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC), [[Data General]], [[Prime Computer]], and others. They originated as peripheral processors for mainframe computers, taking on some routine tasks and freeing the processor for computation.

Applications that came with the Macintosh included MacPaint, which made use of the mouse, and MacWrite, which demonstrated [[WYSIWYG]] word processing.

By today's standards, they were physically large (about the size of a refrigerator) and costly (typically tens of thousands of [[United States dollar|US dollars]]), and thus were rarely purchased by individuals. However, they were much smaller, less expensive, and generally simpler to operate than the mainframe computers of the time, and thus affordable by individual laboratories and research projects. Minicomputers largely freed these organizations from the [[batch processing]] and bureaucracy of a commercial or university computing center.

Although processing power and storage capacities have increased beyond all recognition since the 1970s the underlying technology of LSI (large scale integration) or [[VLSI]] (very large scale integration) microchips has remained basically the same, so it is widely regarded that most of today's computers still belong to the fourth generation.

In addition, minicomputers were more interactive than mainframes, and soon had their own [[operating system]]s. The minicomputer [[Xerox Alto]] (1973) was a landmark step in the development of personal computers, because of its [[graphical user interface]], [[bit-map]]ped high-resolution screen, large internal and external memory storage, [[computer mouse|mouse]], and special software.<ref>Rheingold, H. (2000). Tools for thought: the history and future of mind-expanding technology (New ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts, etc.: The MIT Press.</ref>

===The microprocessor based server and networks===

== Microcomputers ==

The invention in the late 1970s of [[local area network]]s (LANs), notably [[Ethernet]], allowed PCs to communicate with each other ([[peer-to-peer]]) and with shared printers.

=== Microprocessor and cost reduction ===

In the [[minicomputer]] ancestors of the modern personal computer, processing was carried out by circuits with large numbers of components arranged on multiple large [[printed circuit board]]s. Minicomputers were consequently physically large and expensive to produce compared with later microprocessor systems. After the "computer-on-a-chip" was commercialized, the cost to produce a computer system dropped dramatically. The arithmetic, logic, and control functions that previously occupied several costly [[circuit board]]s were now available in one [[integrated circuit]] which was very expensive to design but cheap to produce in large quantities. Concurrently, advances in developing [[solid-state electronics|solid state]] [[dynamic random-access memory|memory]] eliminated the bulky, costly, and power-hungry [[magnetic-core memory]] used in prior generations of computers.

=== Micral N ===

As the [[microcomputer]] revolution continued, more robust versions of the same technology were used to produce [[microprocessor]] based [[server]]s that could also be linked to the [[local area network|LAN]]. This was facilitated by the development of server [[operating system]]s to run on the [[Intel]] [[computer architecture|architecture]], including several versions of both [[Unix]] and [[Microsoft Windows]].

[[File:Micral MGR Lyon-IMG 9895.JPG|thumb|{{center|1973: Micral N}}]]

====Networks of disks and networks of microprocessors ====

{{Main|Micral}}

With the development of [[Storage Area Network]]s and [[server farm]]s of thousands of servers, by the year 2000 the [[minicomputer]] had all but disappeared, and [[mainframes]] were largely restricted to specialised uses.

In France, the company R2E (Réalisations et Etudes Electroniques) formed by five former engineers of the [[Intertechnique]] company, [[André Truong Trong Thi]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/informatique/0,39040745,39216252,00.htm|title=Décès d'André Truong, inventeur du micro-ordinateur|work=ZDNet France|date=6 April 2005 |access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.silicon.fr/fr/silicon/news/2005/04/05/andre-truong-pere-micro-ordinateur-quittes |title=André Truong, père du micro-ordinateur, nous a quittés Actualité - Silicon.fr<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514155252/http://www.silicon.fr/fr/silicon/news/2005/04/05/andre-truong-pere-micro-ordinateur-quittes |archive-date=2008-05-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[François Gernelle]]<ref>[http://members.fortunecity.com/pcmuseum/gernelle.htm Gernelle creator of the first micro computer<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020209154232/http://members.fortunecity.com/pcmuseum/gernelle.htm |date=2002-02-09 }}</ref> introduced in February 1973 a microcomputer, the [[Micral]] N based on the [[Intel 8008]].<ref>Roy A. Allan ''A History of the Personal Computer'' (Alan Publishing, 2001) {{ISBN|0-9689108-0-7}} Chapter 4 (PDF: https://archive.org/download/A_History_of_the_Personal_Computer/eBook04.pdf)</ref>

Originally, the computer had been designed by Gernelle, Lacombe, Beckmann and Benchitrite for the [[Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique]] to automate hygrometric measurements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://febcm.club.fr/english/chronoa10.htm|title=Groupe&nbsp; BULL chronology|access-date=11 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210111914/http://febcm.club.fr/english/chronoa10.htm|archive-date=10 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=352|title=OLD-COMPUTERS.COM Museum - R2E MICRAL-N|access-date=11 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723101654/https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=352|archive-date=23 July 2023|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Micral N cost a fifth of the price of a [[PDP-8]], about 8500FF ($1300).

The clock of the Intel 8008 was set at 500&nbsp;kHz, the memory was 16 kilobytes.

A bus, called Pluribus was introduced and allowed connection of up to 14 boards.

Different boards for digital I/O, analog I/O, memory, floppy disk were available from R2E.

=== Altair 8800 and IMSAI 8080 ===

{{Main|Altair 8800|IMSAI 8080}}

The development of the single-chip [[microprocessor]] was an enormous catalyst to the popularization of cheap, easy to use, and truly personal computers. The [[Altair 8800]], introduced in a ''[[Popular Electronics]]'' magazine article in the January 1975 issue, at the time set a new low price point for a computer, bringing computer ownership to an admittedly select market in the 1970s. This was followed by the [[IMSAI 8080]] computer, with similar abilities and limitations. The Altair and IMSAI were essentially scaled-down minicomputers and were incomplete: to connect a keyboard or [[teleprinter]] to them required heavy, expensive "peripherals". These machines both featured a front panel with switches and lights, which communicated with the operator in [[binary number|binary]]. To program the machine after switching it on the [[bootstrap loader]] program had to be entered, without error, in binary, then a paper tape containing a [[BASIC interpreter]] loaded from a paper-tape reader. Keying the loader required setting a bank of eight switches up or down and pressing the "load" button, once for each byte of the program, which was typically hundreds of bytes long. The computer could run BASIC programs once the interpreter had been loaded.

[[File:Altair 8800 Computer.jpg|thumb|right|160px|{{center|1975: [[Altair 8800]]}}]]

The [[Altair 8800|MITS Altair]], the first commercially successful microprocessor kit, was featured on the cover of ''[[Popular Electronics]]'' magazine in January 1975. It was the world's first mass-produced personal computer kit, as well as the first computer to use an [[Intel 8080]] processor. It was a commercial success with 10,000 Altairs being shipped. The Altair also inspired the software development efforts of [[Paul Allen]] and his high school friend [[Bill Gates]] who developed a BASIC [[interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] for the Altair, and then formed [[Microsoft]].

The MITS Altair 8800 effectively created a new industry of microcomputers and computer kits, with many others following, such as a wave of small business computers in the late 1970s based on the Intel 8080, [[Zilog Z80]] and [[Intel 8085]] microprocessor chips. Most ran the [[CP/M]]-80 operating system developed by [[Gary Kildall]] at [[Digital Research]]. CP/M-80 was the first popular microcomputer operating system to be used by many different hardware vendors, and many software packages were written for it, such as [[WordStar]] and [[dBase]] II.

Many hobbyists during the mid-1970s designed their own systems, with various degrees of success, and sometimes banded together to ease the job. Out of these house meetings, the [[Homebrew Computer Club]] developed, where hobbyists met to talk about what they had done, exchange schematics and software, and demonstrate their systems. Many people built or assembled their own computers as per published designs. For example, many thousands of people built the [[Galaksija (computer)|Galaksija]] home computer later in the early 1980s.

The Altair was influential. It came before [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]], as well as [[Microsoft]] which produced and sold the [[Altair BASIC]] programming language interpreter, Microsoft's first product. The second generation of [[microcomputer]]s, those that appeared in the late 1970s, sparked by the unexpected demand for the kit computers at the electronic hobbyist clubs, were usually known as [[home computer]]s. For business use these systems were less capable and in some ways less versatile than the large business computers of the day. They were designed for fun and educational purposes, not so much for practical use. And although you could use some simple office/productivity applications on them, they were generally used by computer enthusiasts for learning to [[computer programming|program]] and for running computer games, for which the personal computers of the period were less suitable and much too expensive. For the more technical hobbyists home computers were also used for electronically interfacing to external devices, such as controlling [[Rail transport modelling|model railroads]], and other general hobbyist pursuits.

===Microcomputer emerges===

{{Main|History of personal computers}}

[[File:Home or Personal Computers from 1977 - Commodore PET 2001, Apple II, TRS-80 Model I, together called 'Trinity77' (edited image).jpg|thumb|right|The "Big Three" computers of 1977: from left to right, the [[Commodore PET]] (PET 2001 model shown), the standard [[Apple II]] (with two [[Disk II]] drives) and the [[TRS-80]] Model I.]]

{{Main|Personal computer}}

The advent of the microprocessor and solid-state memory made home computing affordable. Early hobby microcomputer systems such as the [[Altair 8800]] and [[Apple I]] introduced around 1975 marked the release of low-cost 8-bit processor chips, which had sufficient computing power to be of interest to hobby and experimental users. By 1977 pre-assembled systems such as the [[Apple II]], [[Commodore PET]], and [[TRS-80]] (later dubbed the "1977 Trinity" by ''Byte'' Magazine)<ref>{{cite web

|url=http://www.byte.com/art/9509/sec7/art15.htm

|title=Most Important Companies

|access-date=2008-06-10

|date=September 1995

|work=[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618072507/http://www.byte.com/art/9509/sec7/art15.htm

|archive-date=2008-06-18

|url-status=dead

}}</ref> began the era of mass-market [[home computer]]s; much less effort was required to obtain an operating computer, and applications such as games, word processing, and spreadsheets began to proliferate. Distinct from computers used in homes, small business systems were typically based on [[CP/M]], until IBM introduced the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]], which was quickly adopted. The PC was heavily [[clone (computing)|cloned]], leading to mass production and consequent cost reduction throughout the 1980s. This expanded the PC's presence in homes, replacing the home computer category during the 1990s and [[Influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market|leading to the current]] [[monoculture (computer science)|monoculture]] of architecturally identical personal computers.

== Timeline of computer systems and important hardware ==

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year !! Hardware

|-

| 1958 || [[Transistor computer|Transistors]]: [[IBM 7070]]

|-

| 1959 || [[IBM 7090]]; [[IBM 1401]]

|-

| 1960 || [[PDP-1|DEC PDP-1]]; [[CDC 1604]]; Honeywell 800

|-

| 1961 || [[Fairchild Semiconductor|Fairchild]] resistor transistor logic; [[IBM 7080]]

|-

| 1962 || [[Bipolar junction transistor|NPN transistor]]; [[UNIVAC 1100/2200 series#1107|UNIVAC 1107]]

|-

| 1963 || [[Computer mouse|Mouse]]; [[CMOS]] patented; [[CDC 3000 series#Upper 3000 series|CDC 3600]]

|-

| 1964 || [[CDC 6600]]; [[IBM System/360]]; [[IBM 2321 Data Cell|IBM Data Cell Drive]]; [[UNIVAC 1100/2200 series#1108|UNIVAC 1108]]; [[PDP-6|DEC PDP-6]]

|-

| 1965 || [[PDP-8|DEC PDP-8]]; [[IBM 1130]]

|-

| 1966 || [[Integrated circuit]]s: [[HP 2100|HP 2116A]];<ref name="hp2116" /> [[Apollo Guidance Computer]]; [[PDP-10|DEC PDP-10]]

|-

| 1967 || Fairchild built first MOS; [[Douglas Engelbart|Engelbart]] applies for mouse patent

|-

| 1969 ||[[Data General Nova]]

|-

| 1969 || [[Honeywell 316]]

|-

| 1970 || [[PDP-11|DEC PDP-11]]; [[IBM System/370]]

|-

| 1971 || 8" [[floppy disk]]; [[ILLIAC IV]]

|-

| 1972 || [[Atari]] founded; [[Cray Research]] founded; [[HP 3000]]

|-

| 1973 || [[Micral N]] - first microprocessor PC

|-

| 1974 || [[Altair 8800]]; [[Data General Eclipse]]

|-

| 1975 || [[Olivetti P6060]]; [[Cray-1]]

|-

| 1976 || [[Tandem Computers|Tandem/16]]

|-

| 1977 || [[Apple II]]; [[TRS-80|TRS-80 Model 1]]; [[Commodore PET]]; 5.25" floppy

|-

| 1978 || [[VAX-11|DEC VAX-11]]

|-

| 1979 || [[Atari 8-bit computers|Atari 400/800]]

|-

| 1980 || Sinclair [[ZX80]], Seagate [[hard disk drive]], [[VIC-20]]

|-

| 1981 || [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]], [[BBC Micro]]

|-

| 1982 || [[Commodore 64]], [[ZX Spectrum]]

|-

| 1983 || [[Apple Lisa]], [[MSX]], 3.5" floppy

|-

| 1984 || [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]]; [[Apple Lisa#Lisa 2|Apple Lisa 2]]

|-

| 1985 || [[Dell|PC's Limited (renamed Dell Computer Corporation in 1988)]]; [[Amiga 1000]]

|-

| 1986 || [[Tandem Computers|Tandem NonStop VLX]]

|-

| 1987 || [[Thinking Machines Corporation|Thinking Machines]] CM2; [[Tera Computer]] founded

|-

| 1988 || Dell

|-

| 1989 || [[NeXT Computer]]

|-

| 1990 || [[ETA10]]; [[CD-R]]

|-

| 1992 || [[HP 95LX]]; [[Palmtop PC]]

|-

| 1993 || [[PPGA|Intel PPGA]]

|-

| 1994 || Apple switches to [[PowerPC]]; [[Video Electronics Standards Association|VESA]] [[VESA Local Bus|Local Bus]]

|-

| 1995 || [[Deep Blue (chess computer)|IBM Deep Blue chess computer]]

|-

| 1996 || [[USB#USB 1.x|USB 1.0]]

|-

| 1997 || [[Compaq]] buys Tandem; [[CD-RW]]

|-

| 1998 || [[iMac]]

|-

| 1999 || First [[BlackBerry]] device (850)

|-

| 2000 || [[USB#USB 2.0|USB 2]]

|-

| 2003 || [[Arduino]]

|-

| 2005 || [[Mac Mini]]; World's first desktop dual-core CPU [[Athlon 64 X2]]

|-

| 2006 || [[Mac transition to Intel processors]]

|-

| 2007 || [[iPhone (1st generation)|First-generation iPhone]]

|-

| 2008 || [[USB#USB 3.x|USB 3.0]]

|-

| 2010 || Apple [[iPad]]

|-

| 2012 || [[IBM zEnterprise System]]; [[Raspberry Pi]]

|-

| 2015 || [[HoloLens]]

|}

== See also ==

* [[History of computing hardware]], before the 1960s

* [[Computing timeline]]

* [[Influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market]]

* [[Timeline of computing]]

* [[History of software|History of Computer Software]]

* [[Processor design|CPU design]], a technical discussion of computing history

* [[History of operating systems]]

* [[History of the Internet]]

* [[History of the graphical user interface]]

* [[Timeline of programming languages]]

* [[Programming language timeline]]

* [[Hardware description language]]

* [[Hardware abstraction|Hardware abstraction layer]]

* [[Computer architecture]], how computers are designed

* [[Computers in fiction]]

* [[List of fictional computers]]

* [[Fifth generation computer systems project]]

* [[Fifth Generation Computer Systems|Fifth generation computer]]

* [[Clifford Stoll]]

* [[Quantum computing]]

* [[Curta calculator]]

* [[List of pioneers in computer science]]

* ''[[Pirates of Silicon Valley]]'', [[docudrama]] about [[Apple Inc.]] and [[Microsoft]]'s early days

* ''[[Triumph of the Nerds]]''

* [[Ubiquitous computing]]

* [[Internet of things]]

* [[Fog computing]]

* [[Edge computing]]

* [[Ambient intelligence]]

* [[System on a chip]]

* [[Network on a chip]]

== Notes ==

{{reflist|30em}}

== References ==

* {{cite book

| last1 = Freiberger

| first1 = Paul

| author-link1 = Paul Freiberger

| first2 = Michael

| last2 = Swaine

| author-link2 = Michael Swaine (technical author)

| title = Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer

| orig-year = 1984

| url = https://archive.org/details/fireinvalleymaki00frei_0

| edition = 2nd

| year = 2000

| publisher = McGraw-Hill

| ___location = New York

| isbn = 0-07-135892-7

| url-access = registration

}}

== External links ==

* [httphttps://oxtrillian.randomstuff.compsocorg.netuk/~swhitestephen/history.html/ Stephen White's excellent Computer history site] (the above article is a modified version of his work, used with [[History_of_computingWP:history of computing/Permission|Permissionused with permission]])

* [http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/ ''Digital Deli'', edited by Steve Ditlea, full text of the classic computer book]

* [http://oldcomputermuseum.com Collection of old analog and digital computers] at Old Computer Museum

*[http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/History/ Yahoo Computers and History]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100203222102/http://www.zx81museum.net/ ZX81 Computer Online Museum]

*[http://computer.org/history/development/index.html IEEE computer history timeline]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090705015058/http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/History/ Yahoo Computers and History]

*[http://www.icomm.ca/tpug/#CommodoreInformationOnline Links to all things Commodore]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000124122442/http://www.computer.org/history/development/index.html IEEE computer history timeline] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20050319011112/http://www.computer.org:80/history/development/index.html Archive from 2005])

*[http://www.bambi.net/bob/homebrew.html A homebrew computer club site]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050306154142/http://www.icomm.ca/tpug/links.html Links to all things Commodore]

* [http://www.bambi.net/bob/homebrew.html A homebrew computer club site]

* [http://www.computerhistory.org Computer History Museum]

* [http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org Pictures and information on old computers]

* [http://www.powersourceonline.com PowerSource Online: New, Used, Refurbished, Hard to Find Parts, Equipment & Services]

* [https://www.pcworld.co.nz/article/485431/pc_world_15/ History of Computers (1989–2004) in PC World excerpts]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224184431/http://davidguy.brinkster.net/computer/default.html ''How It Works – The Computer'', 1971 and 1979 editions, by David Carey, illustrated by B. H. Robinson]

* [http://www.pc-history.org PC History] Stan Veit's classic work on the history of Pre-IBM personal computers.

* [http://vlib.iue.it/history/internet/index.html WWW-VL: Internet History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528165007/http://vlib.iue.it/history/internet/ |date=2020-05-28 }}

{{Basic computer components}}

{{Mainframes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of computing hardware (1960s-present)}}

[[Category:20th century in computing]]

[[Category:21st century in computing]]

[[Category:History of computing hardware|*]]

[[Category:History of computing|computing hardware (1960s–present)]]

[[Category:History of Silicon Valley|computing hardware (1960s–present)]]

[[ca:Ordinadors digitals de programa emmagatzemat]]