History of computing hardware (1960s–present)

The history of computing hardware starting at 1960 is marked by the conversion from vacuum tube to solid-state devices such as transistors 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 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 computers and desktop computers, followed by laptops and then mobile computers over the next several decades. List of transistorized computers and Transistor computer 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 The BUNCH Burroughs UNIVAC NCR Control Data Corporation (CDC) Honeywell General Electric RCA. Some examples of 1960s second generation computers from those vendors are: the IBM 1401, the IBM 7090/7094, and the IBM System/360; the 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 and the 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.