In fact, the first computer ENIAC ( stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), that was announced in 1946 was a behemoth.
It contained:
1) 17,468 vacuum tubes,
2) 7,200 crystal diodes,
3) 1,500 relays,
4) 70,000 resistors,
5)10,000 capacitors,
6) and around 5 million hand-soldered joints.
It weighed 30 short tons (27 t), was roughly 8.5 by 3 by 80 feet (2.6 m × 0.9 m × 26 m), took up 680 square feet (63 m2), and consumed 150 kW of power.
ENIAC was designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory, but its first use was in calculations for the hydrogen bomb.
When ENIAC was announced in 1946 it was heralded in the press as a "Giant Brain". It boasted speeds one thousand times faster than electro-mechanical machines, a leap in computing power that no single machine has since matched.
Now let us go to the main focus. The size and the power featured by ENIAC are all the typical traits of a Mainframe Computer System. In fact, ENIAC was the first mainframe computer ever created.
Facts about mainframe computer:
1) Huge in size, they can take up to a whole room of space.
2) Very expensive, can cost up to millions for a single system.
3) Very expensive to run, considering the size and performance of the computer system.
4) Have the ability to host multiple operating systems.
5) Very powerful, has high processing speed and huge storage capacity.
6) Highly secure and reliable, due to the "graceful degradation" property(to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of (or one or more faults within) some of its components) and the allowance of services during operation.
7) Have the ability to support multiple users, crucial for organizational operation.
8) Can add or hot swap system capacity non disruptively and granularly.
9) Have peripheral processors, which manage the I/O (input and output) devices, leaving the CPU to deal only with high-speed memory.
10) Often nick named " The Big Iron".
ENIAC - The First Mainframe, Maintained BY "ENIAC Girls"
IBM 704
IBM 360 Model 50
Modern IBM T-REX Mainframe SystemThe mainframes are indeed impressive in terms pf power and size. However there's some drawbacks that prevented them from being used by daily computer users like most of us. The truth is mainframes are just too bulky to house and too expensive to operate for the average folks.
So, in order to deliver the computer technology to the mass, computer manufacturers had to come up with something that can fit easily into our daily life. As a result of this demand, eventually microcomputer was born.
However there's a catch, the transformation from mainframe to microcomputer didn't just happened overnight. There's one important transition stage where one type of computer was introduced - the minicomputer.
The first successful minicomputer was Digital Equipment Corporation’s 12-bit PDP-8, which cost from US$16,000 upwards when launched in 1964. The existence of the important precursors of the PDP-8 include the PDP-5, LINC, the TX-0, the TX-2, and the PDP-1 suggest that minicomputers were invented a few years back earlier though.
Minicomputers were also known as midrange computers. They had relatively high processing power and capacity that mostly fit the needs of mid range organizations. They were used in manufacturing processes or handling email that was sent and received by a company.
They usually took up one or a few cabinets the size of a large refrigerator or two, compared with mainframes that would usually fill a room.
Facts about minicomputer:
1) Utilizes transistor and core memory technology.
2) Sits in the spectrum between mainframe and microcomputer in terms of size and processing speed.
3) Runs full multi-user, multitasking operating systems such as VMS and Unix.
4) Commonly used as servers in network environment and hundreds of personal computers can be connected to the network with a minicomputer acting as server like mainframes.
5) Single user minicomputers are used for complex designing tasks.
The First Commercially Successful Minicomputer - The PDP-8
IBM Series 1 Racked System
Modern IBM i5 FamilyThe minicomputers were very successful during 1960s to 1970s. However their reign ended when microcomputer emerged during mid-1980s to 1990s.
The change in the trend was made possible with the lowered cost of microprocessor based hardware, the emergence of inexpensive and easily deployable local area network systems, the emergence of the 68020, 80286 and the 80386 microprocessors, and the desire of end-users to be less reliant on inflexible minicomputer manufacturers and IT departments/“data centers” — with the result that minicomputers and dumb terminals were replaced by networked workstations and servers and PCs in the latter half of the 1980s.
During the 1990s the change from minicomputers to inexpensive PC networks was cemented by the development of several versions of Unix to run on the Intel x86 microprocessor architecture, including Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD. Also, the Microsoft Windows series of operating systems, beginning with Windows NT, now included server versions that supported pre-emptive multitasking and other features required for servers.
As microprocessors have become more powerful, CPUs built up from multiple components — once the distinguishing feature differentiating mainframes and mini systems from microcomputers — have become increasingly obsolete, even in the largest mainframe computers.
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically smaller when compared to mainframe and minicomputers. Many microcomputers (when equipped with a keyboard and screen for input and output) are also personal computers (in the generic sense).
Facts about microcomputer:
1) Physically considerably smaller than mainframe or minicomputers.
2) Has a microprocessor as its central processing unit.
3) The most common type of computer in existence today.
4) PC and PC-compatible computers have processors with different architectures than processors in Apple computers.
5) These two types of computers also use different operating systems.
6) PC and PC-compatible computers use the Windows operating system while Apple computers use the Macintosh operating system (MacOS).
7) The majority of microcomputers sold today are part of IBM-compatible. However the Apple computer is neither an IBM nor a compatible. It is another family of computers made by Apple computer.
8) Comes equipped with at least one type of data storage, usually RAM but most are equipped with secondary non-volatile data storage.
9) Normally serves single user.
10) Can be modified to serve multiple users.
Altair 8800 - The First Commercial Microcomputer, Packaged With Microsoft System
Sinclair ZX80
GE TermiNet 300
Modern Day's Acer Predator SystemTimeline of Computer Evolution : From Mainframe to Microcomputer
Image Showing The Evolution Of Computer1940s - ENIAC, the first mainframe computer was invented.
1960s-1970s - The minicomputers replaced the mainframes in most application. Being smaller and cheaper to operate but still powerful enough to do the job.
1980's and 1990's - The minicomputers gave way to microcomputers due to the lowered cost of hardware and emergence of new network technologies.
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