Information Technology (IT)

Information Technology (IT) includes the study and application of computers and any form of telecommunications that store, retrieve and send information.

It a combination of hardware and software used together to perform the essential functions people need and use every day.

In IT All the equipment or elements which are used for communication in real world.

Computer science is a part of IT.

Advantages

Communication –

• Instant messaging, emails, voice and video calls become quicker, cheaper, and more efficient.

Globalization and cultural gap –

• Remove the linguistic, geographical and some cultural boundaries.
• Sharing the information, knowledge, communication and relationships between different countries, languages and cultures becomes much easier.

Availability –

• Business can be open anytime anywhere over the globe.
• Ecommerce from different countries easier and more convenient and goods delivered exactly to customers.

Creation of new types of jobs – 

• Creates new and interesting jobs such as Computer programmers, Systems analysers, Hardware and Software developers and Web designers etc.

Cost effectiveness and productivity –

• Promotes more efficient operation of the company and also improves the decision-making capability.
• Improve production at low cost in competitive era.

Disadvantages

Unemployment and lack of job security –

• Reduce job security and increase unemployment.
• Ex. reduce paperwork’s, financial transactions are automatically calculated, online and personal assistants etc. man power replaced by machine power.

Dominant culture – 

• Due to IT, the world a global village, English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else.

Security issues –

• Thieves and hackers get access to identities and sensitive company data Such as include vendor information, bank records, intellectual property and personal data on company management.
• The hackers distribute the information over the Internet, sell it to rival companies or use it to damage the company’s image.

Implementation expenses –

• It require good amount of cost in a case of software, hardware and people. Employees need to be trained with unfamiliar information technology and software.

Generation of Computers

First Generation (1940 to 1956): Using Vacuum Tubes.

• Used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory.
• Input by punched cards and paper tapes.
• The output was displayed as printouts.
• The instructions were written in machine language. (0s and 1s)
• Solve one problem at a time (computation time in milliseconds).
• Computers size :- huge, required a large room.
• Used in scientific applications.
• J.P.Eckert and J.W.Mauchy invented the first successful electronic computer called ENIAC, ENIAC stands for “Electronic Numeric Integrated And Calculator”.
•  
• Examples:- Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator (ENIAC), and Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC), IBM-701 IBM-650.

Drawbacks:-  

• Used a large number of vacuum tubes and thus generated a lot of heat.
• vacuum tubes require a large cooling system.
• Consumed lot of electricity which are expensive to operate.
• The machines were required constant maintenance.
• Due to machine language, so difficult to program.
• Very less work efficiency.

2. Second Generation (1956 to 1963): Using Transistors

• Transistors replaced the vacuum tubes.
• Transistors size:- smaller, faster, cheaper, energy efficient and reliable.
• Used magnetic core technology for primary memory.
• Used magnetic tapes and magnetic disks for secondary storage.
• Input by punched cards and the output using printouts.

• Instructions written by the assembly language.
• Assembly language uses mnemonics like ADD for addition and SUB for subtraction for coding of the instructions.
• Easier as compared to machine language.
• High-level programming languages, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN were also developed during this period.
• The computation time :- microseconds.
• The cost of commercial production was very high, though less than the first generation computers.
• Less maintenance than the first generation computers.

Examples : PDP-8, IBM 1401 and CDC 1604, Honeywell 400, IBM 7094, CDC 3600, UNIVAC 1108.

Drawbacks

• Generated a lot of heat but less than the first generation computers.
• .Only used for specific purposes.
• Constant maintenance was required.

3 Third Generation (1964 to 1971): Using Integrated Circuits

• Used the Integrated Circuit (IC)chips. (In an IC chip, multiple transistors are placed on a silicon chip.)
• IC was invented by Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby In 1958-1959.
• Silicon is a type of semiconductor.
• Increased the speed and the efficiency of computer.
• The keyboard and monitor were used to interact instead of the punched card and printouts.
• The keyboard and the monitor used by operating system.
• Operating system allowed different applications to run at the same time.
• High-level languages were used for programming, instead of machine language and assembly language.
• The computation time:-  in nanoseconds.
• Size of computers is small as compared to the second generation computers.
• These Computers were mainly used for commercial purpose.
• Smaller and cheaper than previous generation computers.
• The third generation computers used less power and generated less heat than the second generation computers.
• The maintenance cost of the computers was less as compared to their previous generations.

Examples IBM 370, PDP 11, PDP-8, PDP-11, ICL 2900, IBM 360 … and many more

Drawbacks

IC chips are difficult to maintain.

The highly sophisticated technology required for the manufacturing of IC chips.

Air conditioning is required.

4 Fourth Generation (1971 to 1980): Using Microprocessors

• use the Large Scale Integration (LSI) and the Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology.
• (Thousands of transistors are integrated on a small silicon chip using LSI technology.
• VLSI allows hundreds of thousands of components to be integrated in a small chip. )
• Use microprocessor chip (Microprocessor:-a chip containing millions of transistors and components, and, designed using LSI and VLSI technology. ).
• Use Semiconductor memory ( fast random access to Memory. ).
• Secondary storage device like magnetic disks became smaller in physical size and larger in capacity.
• Development of pointing devices like mouse, and handheld devices.
• Personal Computer (PC) was developed .
• new operating systems like the MS-DOS and MS-Windows were developed.
• GUI feature developed.
• High-level programming languages are used for the writing of programs.
• The computation time is in picoseconds.
• computers Size smaller than previous generation. Ex. palm top.
• widely use for commercial, Personal( PC) purpose.
• The Intel 4004 chip was the first microprocessor.
• Central Processing Unit (CPU) and memory were located on a single chip.
• In 1981, IBM introduced the first computer for home use.
• In 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh.
• computers are also portable and more reliable.
• Due to microprocessor computers being smaller and cheaper from their predecessors.
• Generate much lesser heat and require less maintenance compared to their predecessors.
• GUI and pointing devices facilitate easy use and learning on the computer.
• Networking use for resource sharing and communication among different computers.
• Examples are: · IBM 4341 · DEC 10 · STAR 1000 · PUP 11 … and many more

Disadvantages:

· The Microprocessor design and fabrication are very complex.

· Air conditioning is required in many cases due to the presence of ICs.

· Advance technology is required to make the ICs.

5. Fifth Generation (1981 and continue ): Using Artificial Intelligence

• Develop computers that are capable of learning and self-organization.
• Use super large scale integrated (slsi) chips that are able to store millions of components on a single chip.
• This generation is based on ULSI(Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic component.
• require large memory.
• Uses parallel processing that allows several instructions to be executed in parallel, instead of serial execution. So processing speed is faster.
• Ex. Intel dualcore microprocessor uses parallel processing.
• Based on artificial intelligence (ai).  Try to simulate the human way of thinking and reasoning.
• Artificial intelligence includes areas like expert system (es), natural language processing (nlp), speech recognition, voice recognition, robotics, Quantum computation, Nanotechnology etc.
• It is more reliable and works faster.
• It is available in different sizes and unique features.
• It provides computers with more user-friendly interfaces with multimedia features.

Example:- • Desktop • Laptop • Notebook • Ultrabook • Chromebook

Disadvantages:

· They need very low-level languages.

· They may make the human brains dull and doomed.