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The evolution of modern computers is divided into a few "distinct" generations. Each generation is characterized by extreme improvements over the prior era in the technology used in the manufacturing process, the internal layout of computer systems, and programming languages. There has also been a steady improvement in algorithms, including algorithms used in computational science, though not usually associated with computer generations. The following timeline has been organized using a logical breakdown of events and discoveries.

Personal Computers, microcomputers were made possible by two technical innovations in the field of microelectronics: the integrated circuit, or IC, which was developed in 1959; and the microprocessor, which first appeared in 1971. The IC permitted the miniaturization of computer-memory circuits, and the microprocessor reduced the size of a computer's CPU to the size of a single silicon chip.

International Business Machines, abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software (with a focus on the latter), and offers infrastructure services, hosting services, and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. Samuel J Palmisano is the chairman and CEO of IBM.

The Intel Core 2 Duo processor was developed to meet the insatiable demand for increased performance from PC users running multiple intense software applications simultaneously.

What is Y2K Bug? During 1960s to late 80s there was a widespread practice in all computer softwares to use two digits for repreasenting a year rather than using 4 digits. This was done to save computer disk and memory space because these resources were relatively expensive in those times. As the year 90's approached experts began to realize this major shortcoming in the computer application softwares. In year 2000, the computer systems could interpret 00 as 1900 messing up all the computing work. For example if a program function is calculating difference between two dates, it would calculate a negative number. For example difference between 1 Jan 2000 and 31 Dec 1999 could be calculated as -100 years rather than 1 day. This was a major bug for the whole finance industry. The bug not only existed in computer software but it also existed in the firmware being used in the computer hardware. In general this bug threatened all the major industries including utilities, banking, manufacturing, telecom, airlines.

Electronic digital computers moved out of science fiction and into reality during World War II. Less powerful than a modern pocket calculator, the first real job for these massive machines was to speed up the calculation of artillery firing tables. Thirty years later, computers had firmly cemented themselves in the public imagination. They were huge boxes, covered with blinking lights and whirring reels of tape. Banks and big corporations all had computer rooms, closely guarded by a priesthood of programmers and administrators. Science fiction novels and movies imagined impossibly brilliant supercomputers that guided spaceships and controlled societies, yet they were still room-sized behemoths. The idea of a personal computer, something small and light enough for someone to pick up and carry around, wasn't even on the radar.

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984. As of October 2009, Windows had approximately 90% of the market share of the client operating systems for usage on the Internet.

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982. Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US $595.

With the 25th anniversary of the first Macintosh computer coming up on January 24th, 2009, we’re taking a look back in time at the evolution of Apple products. Most have been notable leaps forward, while some were famous flops. Whether or not their inventions were accepted by the marketplace, Apple has consistently put out products that raise the bar for the computer and telecommunications industry.

A computer is essentially a physical machine or system which can perform predefined actions via receiving input and then outputting useful information/results. For example a modern-day computer can receive input (such as words typed into a word processing software such as Microsoft Word), and then it will process that information and output it in a useful format (i.e. as a document which can then easily be edited and added to).