Information Technology Topics
Third Generation of Computers
- On April 7, 1964 IBM released its System/360 line of computers. The System/360 release marked the beginning of the third generation of computers.
- The System/360 computers used integrated circuits rather than individual transistors.
- During the third generation, magnetic core memory was replaced with semiconductor memories.
- The notion of upward compatibility was introduced during the third generation. (This means that applications made for a given computer/system will work with the next model, just like an Excel 97 spreadsheet will work with Excel 2000.)
- Sophisticated operating systems were introduced, giving used unprecedented control over the computer.
-IBM’s System/360 and System/370 dominated the third generation computer market through the 1970s.