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Information Technology

Computing in 1951. U.S. Air Force technicians evaluate the UNIVAC computer system which took up 352 square feet of floor space
and ran at a then-astronomical rate of 2.25 megahertz. U.S. AIR FORCE/GETTY IMAGES

lars. Information is processed quickly using multiple from $500 to $2,000. Because of dramatic improvements
processors. Few supercomputers exist because of their in computer components and manufacturing, personal
cost. computers do more than the largest computers of the
Mainframe computers are large general-purpose com- mid-1960s at a fraction of the cost.
puters requiring special attention and controlled atmos- Minicomputers came on to the scene in the early
pheres. They are used in large corporations to calculate 1980s in small businesses, manufacturing plants, and fac-
and manipulate large amounts of information stored in tories. Minicomputers are multitasking machines that
databases. Mainframe computers are high-speed, multi- connect many terminals to each other and a mainframe
purpose machines that cost millions. computer. As such, they are able to process large amounts
Microcomputers were introduced in 1975 by the of data. Minicomputer systems (desktop, network, laptop,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). These and handheld devices) range in price from $15,000 to
desktop computers were designed using a single-chip $150,000.
microprocessor as its processing element. Tandy Corpora- Since the 1950s, four generations of computers have
tion quickly followed MIT by offering Radio Shack’s first evolved. Each generation reflected a decrease in hardware
microcomputer in 1976. The Apple microcomputer was size but an increase in computer operation capabilities.
introduced in 1977. IBM introduced the first personal The first generation used vacuum tubes, the second used
computer (PC) in the fall of 1981, causing a dramatic transistors, the third used integrated circuits, and the
increase in the microcomputer market. The microcom- fourth used integrated circuits on a single computer chip.
puter is generally known as a PC. The cost for PCs ranges Advances in artificial intelligence that will minimize the

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 389