Imagine life without them. However, computers as we know them are relatively new devices. In fact, the first electronic computers were built just over fifty years ago. Since that time, the technology has advanced at an astounding rate, with the capacity and speed of computers approximately doubling every two years. Today, pocket calculators have many times the memory capacity and processing power of the mammoth computers of the 50's and 60's. The abacus, which emerged about 5,000 years ago in Asia is still in use today, may be considered the first computer. This device allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack. In 1642, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the 18-year-old son of a

First Generation Computers (1945-1956)- As the Second World War was about to start, governments sought to develop computers to exploit their potential strategic importance and to help them develop new computerized weapons and new technology. This increased funding for computer development projects.

Third Generation Computers (1964-1971) - Though transistors were clearly an improvement over the vacuum tube, they still generated a great deal of heat, which damaged the computer's sensitive internal parts. The quartz rock eliminated this problem and the over heating of the computers stopped resulting in new improved computers.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Generation Computers, Computers Computers, , Blaise Pascal, World War, generation computers, components onto chip, onto chip, components onto, development computers, learning community, life computers, fewer errors, vacuum tube,
Approximate Word count = 540
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)