siliconindia | | May 20199If one is looking for more portable gadget, tablets are to the rescue, with radical operating systems making them faster and more convenient to usealso have the convenience of not car-rying any external device and storing the data on cloud storage with unlim-ited storage available.Similarly, if we talk about comput-ers, the journey started with first gen-eration computers invented in the year 1940. This computer was tremendous-ly huge with unsophisticated internal circuits. After 16 years, the second generation computers were invented, which were comparatively faster and generated less heat making it a little more efficient. Then entered the third generation of computers, which was undoubtedly smarter than the first two, it was built with an efficient op-erating system and was equipped with input-output devices. The fourth-gen-eration computers were in-built with an Intel integration circuit system and microprocessors were introduced. Some other advancements were also seen such as Graphical user interface and startling developments in laptop competence and hand holding devic-es. The fifth generation of computers is still undefined, as there are multiple routes that technology is taking toward the future of computer development.Likewise, the portable computers came in existence in early 1980s. The grid compass, it was a 5kg heavy de-vice with a 320 x 240 display screen. Then in 1990s IBM and Toshiba launched ThinkPad and libretto which was an upgrade of the grid compass but were still heavier in weight and not so attractive to look at. In the year 1999 Apple launch iMac which brought a revolution in the industry due to their philosophy of `the shiner the better'. But that was not the only USP, it was also the first laptop to sup-port Wi-Fi connectivity. Since the early 2000s, laptops are constantly becoming smaller in size and lighter in weight, making it easier to carry with groundbreaking features and technology. In the year 2010, the first iPad was launched which was bigger and heavier compared to the tablets available today but looked sur-real at that time. Over the years tech-nological advancement has only left us astounded, everything that once seemed beyond imagination is now available and it doesn't stop here there is much more to see in the future.Even the audio devices have a rich history, the evolution started in the 1800s from music boxes which produced sound by placing pins on a revolving cylinder or disc. Then phonograms were introduced, it used vibration waveforms to create music. In 1900s first jukebox was invented which created tremendous buzz. After which came the magnetic tape sound technology along with the introduc-tion of cassettes. In the late 1900s, boom box came into existence, it was portable with AM/FM radio compat-ible. Another big change in the 20th century was the introduction of Wal-kman with cassette compatibility and CD compatibility.In the beginning of 21st century the first portable media player was launched and after the iPod genera-tion explosion, came many innova-tions. Even now, we have wireless headphones with inbuilt memory to store music; it can't be more porta-ble than this. From cassettes to CDs to MP3 players, and now, in the headphones itself.Another great instance about the wonders of evolution in the gadget industry would be VCRs, the large boxes used for watching videos which was converted to smaller DVD play-ers. In today's world all you need is a plug-in device and you can stream movies and videos from across globe. Even an application installed in your smartphone can assist you with the lat-est shows and videos.Now, even a laptop as light as 0.92 kg is available in the market with rev-olutionary features and world class technology. If one is looking for more portable gadget, tablets are to the res-cue, with radical operating systems making them faster and more conve-nient to use. Even the smartphones these days are well equipped to re-place laptops and tablets for most of the tasks.Each day our phones, laptops and tablets are becoming smaller, smart-er and more portable which makes the lives easy and hassle-free. The developments mentioned above only gives an assurance of how ever since the birth of technology it has been evolving and becoming more portable each day. Manvendra K Chandola
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