A look at the Colossus computer at The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park.

Computers play a huge part in almost all of our lives, but how did these machines become so powerful and important? And what were some of the earliest models like? This collection of videos takes us through the Four Generations of computers, starting with Colossus, the world's first electronic computer (launched in 1944), and finishing with the BBC Micro (launched in 1981) and Fourth Generation Computers, looking at how technology changed throughout these years. Visiting locations such as The National Museum of Computing in Milton Keynes and The Centre for Computing History in Haverhill, we see an array of fascinating machines and learn about them along the way.

This material forms part of The Open University course TU100 My digital life.