Introduction to computers (part 3)

 

Introduction to the computer (part 3)

Que. 19 Name the secondary storage media popularly used in first, second, third, fourth and fifth generation computers.

Ans. 1G:  Electromagnetic relay memory, punched cards secondary memory. Vacuum based.

2G: Transistor, magnetic core memory, magnetic tapes, and disks secondary storage.

3G: ICs with SSI and MSI technologies, larger magnetic core memory tapes.

4G: ICs with VLSI technology, semiconductor memory, larger capacity hard disk, magnetic disk floppy disk, PC.

5G: Larger capacity hard disk, optical disks as read-only storage media, notebook computers.

Que. 20 In In what ways the concept of unbinding software from hardware affect manufacturers and users of computers?

Ans. Initially, all the software was embedded inside the computer. Thus who didn’t want that software to have to pay for it? But after unbinding the software from hardware. Only those users have to pay for it who wanted to use them.

Que. 21 What new type of computer applications emerged during the third, fourth, and fifth-generation, and what were the main driving technologies behind each?

Ans. 3G: Timesharing operating system.

4G: GUI, UNIX operating system.

5G: WWW, multimedia applications, internet-based applications. Microkernel, multithreading, and multicore operating system.

Que. 22 What is meant by the backward compatible family of computers? How is this concept useful for computer users?

Ans. Backward compatibility is a term used to describe software or hardware that is compatible (favorable) with the previous version of the software or operating system. However, a technology manufacturer may choose to sacrifice backward compatibility when releasing a new version of older technology.

Que. 23 What is microprocessor? How it revolutionized the computer industry?

Ans. Any of a type of miniature electronic device that contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry necessary to perform the function of a computer’s CPU. Microprocessor revolutionized electronics, giving them intelligence and making our lives easier. Everything contains a microprocessor.

Que. 24 Name some applications that emerged due to the emergence of a computer network?

Ans. E-mail, Web-browsing and peer to peer networking. The easiest computer networks were used for special purposes like for SABRE which is an airline reservation system, www.

Que. 25 Name some representative computer system of each of five types?

Ans. 1G: ENIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC I, IBM 701, etc.

2G:  Honeywell 400, IBM 7030, CDC 1604, UNIVAC  LARC

3G: IBM 360/370, PDP=8, PDP-11, CDC 6600

4G: IBM PC and its clones Apple II, TRS-80, VAX 9000, CRAY-1, CRAY-2, CRAY-X/MP.

5G: IBM notebooks, platinum PCs, SUN workstations, IBM SP/2, SGI origin-2000, PARAM supercomputer.