Advantages and Disadvantages of Fourth Generation of Computer

The fourth generation of the computer can incorporate several items only integrated chips. Such minimization of the computers is also known as ultra-scale integration which results in increased speed in normal storage and greater reliability. Thousands of integrated circuit components were fit into the single silicon chip that the computers can fit on the palm of a hand. The first company to produce the fourth generation of the computer was IBM and the second company was Apple which introduced the Macintosh. 

Advantages of the fourth generation of computer

  1. The computers of the fourth generation use large scale integration which means a lot of integrated components can fit on the same piece of board that it would have been in compared to the third generation
  2. Earlier the computer all the first generation required a complete room two storage component now it can fit in the palm of your hand
  3. The fourth generation of the computer as the highest capacity and speed as compared to all of the generations
  4. A systematic modular design standard has been set by the producers off the computer therefore hardware and software can be differently manufactured
  5. the fourth generation of the computer also introduced us to microprocessors and microcomputers
  6. The computer can handle any number of input and output device that can communicate with the operating system at the same time
  7. The computer moved from a business commercial product to a home product so that every normal person can use it for their purpose
  8. an everyday product such as microwave oven electronic games and vehicles started to incorporate computer chips into their components
  9. This fourth generation of the computer include introduced us to the concept of creating networks of computer and forming a huge world wide web
  10. The four in the fourth generation of the computer we were introduced to the concept of graphical user interface and development of mouse and handhold devices
  11. many languages have come in the fourth generation of computers that helped the internet as well as the graphical user interface to be developed
  12. during the fourth generation of the computer, the object-oriented programming concept was the brother which was greatly used in the development of many programming languages
  13. Many times in the fourth generation of the computers the cooling fans are eliminated and thermal paste is used to keep the CPU cool.
  14. the four generations of the computer can also be termed as general-purpose computer and were the first computer that reached every home

The disadvantage of the fourth generation of computers

  1. Only specialized technological companies can move into the production of computer parts which do not give the freedom of choosing the manufacturing companies
  2. The integrated circuits have become a complicated technology that requires highly trained people to work on and sometimes the company fails to find a skilled person who can slow down innovation.

Characteristics of Fourth Generation of computer

Technology Used in Fourth Generation

The time period of the fourth generation of computers is marked between 1972-1990, after the third generation of computer (1972-1990).

The fourth generation of computer is marked by the use of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) circuits. In the third generation of computers, the transistors were lithographed on the silicon based chips. In the fourth generation of computers, companies like Intel were able to implement the Very Large Scale Integration on the same silicon chip. 

The Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) circuits have 5000 transistors and other circuit elements and their associated circuits on a single silicon chip. This enabled the development of microprocessors and microcomputers in the fourth generation. 

Due to these reasons, the fourth generation of computer had better processing power which made it compact,reliable and affordable. 

This era also marked the rise of personal computers (PC), powerful and affordable computers in every home.

Technologies that marked the Generation of computers 

Generation of Computer Technology 
First generation Vacuum tubes
Second Generation Transistors
Third Generation Integrated Circuits (IC)
Fourth Generation Microprocessor
Fifth Generation Artificial Intelligence 

 

Types of Operating System in the fourth generation

In the third generation of computers, the types of operating systems used were Remote Processing, Time-Sharing, Real-Time, Multiprogramming Operating System.  If you want to know about these operating systems then visit the third generation of computer link given in the technology used heading.

The fourth generation of computers marked the advent of personal computers (PC). The personal computer increased the usage of distributed operating systems or network computers.

Distributed operating system – The distributed operating system is a collection of software that manages the hardware resources and provides common services to independent and physically separated computational nodes. They handle jobs which require multiple CPUs. Also, failure in one distributed system does not affect the other.    

Examples of the Fourth Generation of Computers

The examples of the fourth generation of computers are:

  1. DEC 10
  2. STAR 1000
  3. PDP 11
  4. CRAY-1 (Supercomputer)
  5. CRAY-X-MP (Supercomputer)

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