Computers 3 Essay, Research Paper

Computers in our World

In the 1950’s, computers were a new race of machines and most common person did not know anything about them. Today, computers and new Innovation like the internet has changed the business world and even our daily lives. How did it change the business world and our own personal lives and is it for the best, that’s what will be discussed in this report.

Contents

Summary 1

Introduction 3

When were computers invented

Brief history of computers 4

First computer invented 4

Immediate effects of this invention 4

The business world and computers

The businesses now depend on computers 5

Computers are necessary for competitiveness 5

The rise of the Internet 6

Computers and our daily lives

Why do we use them 6

What are the advantages of owning a personal computer 6

Is there any disadvantages 7

Conclusion and Recommendations 8

References 8

How Computers changed our lives

Introduction

Large businesses now mostly depend on computers to stay competitive, they not only save time and effort, but sometimes they are used to do very complexe application that are necessary to this business. More and more companies have there own “Web Page” on the net. Some use the Internet only to display information about there business, others really go “all out” and use the Internet as another way for a client to purshase their goods and services. Either way, the Internet is getting larger and larger, therefore, businesses that want to stay on top cannot omit the Internet as another way to transact with their clients.

Although computers have become necessary in the business world, it also has become a “must” for certain individuals in their daily lives. With computers today, the things you can do are unlimited. Desktop computers, meaning computers designed mostly for home use, are getting more powerful than ever and its only a beginning. Like in the business world, the Internet is rising and getting more and more popular, therefore, all sorts of “virtual companies” have come out on the Net and once again, it is only a beginning.

Were did this all begin, when was the first computer invented and how did it become what it is today, well see that a little bit later. Although computers started out by being simple calculators and later on complicated Main-Frames that used punch cards for input devices, today’s computers are much more powerful, and they seem a lot more easy to use and to understand, but are they really?

Although this report examines the effect of computers on the business world and on our daily lives, it is important to know when and where they come from. Therefore, the report covers three main topics :

1. When were computers first invented

2. The business world and computers

3. Why we use computers in our daily lives and why as it become a neccessity

When were computers invented

Brief history of computers

The history of computers began during World War II, when a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, invented a general-purpose electronic digital calculator know as ENIAC, or Electronic Numerator, Integrator, Analyzer, and Computer. Consisting of 18 000 vacuum tubes, occupying most of a large room, and adding 5000 ten-digit decimal numbers a second, ENIAC was a revolutionary development, light years ahead of any other calculators.

However, ENIAC was not a computer in the strict meaning of the term. It could not store a program, in other words, it could not store a list of list of instructions that tells a computer what to do. Although ENIAC wasn’t a bona fide computer, it quickly led to the invention of one, and today’s computers are its direct descendants.

First computer invented

After the invention of ENIAC in 1944, another contract was issued for the design of the Electronic Discrete Variable Computer, or EDVAC, a computer that would be used to store programs in it. It may seem simple now, but at the time, it was merely impossible to think that you could store commands in a machine, for the longer of time, man had always controlled machines from the outside, your tuned some knobs and set some switches and the gadgets did your bidding. Therefore, with “program-stored computers”, it was the opposite.

As it tuned out, EDVAC wasn’t completed until 1952. The computer was stored in a large room were it occupied all the space available. It used punched cards as input devices, therefore, it did not work exactly the same as our desktop computers, but with the invention of ENIAC, other more sophisticated computers would eventually come out and all this would eventually bring us the Pentium computer, which is the computer that we use today, for every day things like word processing, database development or simply to play games with your friend.

Immediate effects of this Invention

With the invention of a program-stored computer, some businesses would try to make a profit out of it and they did it. Who hasn’t heard of IBM? The direct descendant of Herman Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine Company, it is the fifth largest industrial corporation in America and the world’s biggest computer manufacturer. To a large degree, IBM is the computer industry, and almost every other computer company in the world swims in its ocean. It commands abut 40 percent of the international computer market, producing approximately three fourths of all medium and large-size computers and one fourth of all personal computers.

IBM started out in 1914, it was ran by Thomas J. Watson, Sr.. But it is really after 1950, when IBM was ran by Watson’s elder , that IBM took a step over every other computer business and became the company that we know today. With the invention of “intelligent” computers, IBM was about to enter an era of success that has not stopped since.

The Business World and Computers

The Businesses now depend on computers

It is not a secret that businesses now depend on computers. Not only business, but any large organization who want to keep their “edge” in today’s world has to have a computer system. Businesses usually keep a list of all their employees and clients on huge databases, every report, note, memo or anything else that is of importance is stored on computers. Governments, use very expansive IBM mainframes to keep extraordinary databases of all its population. Schools and Hospitals are other examples of organizations that depend on computers.

Businesses depend so much on computers that it is hard to think how they were doing it before the invention of computers. Of course, with the use of computers, Business can be much larger and expand at an incredible rate if the demand is there. The amount of money spend each year by companies on new systems and maintenance of old ones is incredible, companies just can’t oford a major “crash” of all their computers, so they do everything that is possible to assure that they are working properly. Computers have become a neccessity for bussinesses, and as time passes by, they will depend even more on them.

Computers are necessary for Competitiveness

Either you have a small business or a huge one, computers are a “must” to stay competitive in today’s world. With the amount of application a computer is capable of, a non-computerized business cannot compete with a computerized one. Computers help the relation between the business and its clients. With a database application, a company can keep track of each of their clients, know which client buys what, know which client buys more and the list goes on. With the rise of the Internet, the opportunities are endless, a company uses the internet to display information about its goods and services, other companies take it one step further and sells its goods and services directly off the Net. Customers can give feedback about a service that he tried or a good that he bought by sending an e-mail to the company he bought it from.

Therefore, the Internet is not only a way for Business to increase there profits, it is a way for the client to be heard and companies can adjust to these comments.

Therefore, computers help businesses increase their productivity, but it also improves the relationship between the business and its client. Computers have become such a necessity that a starting business can’t ignore computers because it cannot last very long without it.

The standards set by big multi-nationals are pretty high when its about customer service and without computers, it makes it more difficult for business to give this service. Another main reason why you cannot omit computers in your business is cost. The amount of money that businesses saves each year because of computerization is incredible. Yes, computers are expensive, but a business cannot survive without them.

The rise of the Internet

The Internet, the World Wide Web or the Net, his rising at an incredible rate. Nobody can measure how fast it is growing because it is growing to rapidly. One thing is for sure, businesses don’t want to be left out and they are really starting to realize what opportunities this new communication method brings to them.

One of the biggest advantages the Net brings to industries is advertising. With the Internet, companies can inform their clients about new products coming out, new innovations that this company is thinking of, it can basically do what it wants. Another big advantage that companies have on the net is “e-commerce”, which means transaction with clients on the net. Think about it because it is only starting. Soon, clients will buy a lot of goods and services over the Internet because they will be “sheaper” and sent right to their home. It’s better for the client, and it’s better for the company. Think how much the company saves by selling goods on the net, the product leaves straight from a warehouse to the clients location, no alternative whatsoever. The Internet is going to revolutionize the way we transact with companies. There’s another reason why companies cannot afford to ignore this new way of communication. After all, the internet is the biggest invention since the printer.

Computers and our daily lives

Why do we use them?

Why do we use computers at home? There’s a million answers for that, but they mostly sum up to the same purpose; entertainment. Desktop computers are now very powerful, they are computers, but they can be used for a sound system, television and a lot of other things. You can scan pictures, incorporate them into a family album, a genealogical tree, you can do whatever you like. Almost every day, a new program comes out on the market and offers new applications that are focused on home use.

Although desktop computers are mainly for hobbies and entertainment, a lot of work can be done on those computers. Word processing, accounting, and other applications can be done on desktop computers. Desktop computers offer the possibility of doing work at home because the same work that is done at the office can also be done at home. Therefore individuals can use their home computers for entertainment, but personal computers make a very useful work tool when not at work.

What are the advantages of owning a personal computer

The advantages are endless. A student for example who owns his own computer can practice some work done at school in is own home. With a computer, access to the internet is really easy to have and having access to the internet at home can be the number one advantage of owning a computer at home. The Internet is the biggest library in the world, you can have access to basically anything you want, all the information is free and you don’t even have to get out of your own home to obtain this information.

Although desktop computers for home usage represents a very small percentage of the sales of computers for businesses, it is growing at a very rapid paste. New programs and application come out on the market and these programs all have the same purpose, help the user save time and facilitate the job that he’s doing, all these programs have different advantages. But with advantages comes disadvantages, that’s what we’ll look at next.

Is there any disadvantages?

Owning a computer has a lot of advantages, but there’s also disadvantages that comes with it.

First of all, there is the cost. If an individual want’s to invest in a brand new computer, it will cost him or her a lot of money to do so. The disadvantage with this is that it will cost him money to buy the latest computer on the market, and in approximetly six months, this computer will be obsolete because the technology evolves so rapidly that in six months, the latest computer will be twice as fast as the purshased computer. Therefore, the biggest problem with computers, is that they become obsolete two fast compared to price it was purshased at. There is no control on those price either.

Another problem with the rise in computer applications is that they are not all excellent applications or programs. Some are really worth buying, others could be trown in the garbage. Therefore it is important to be an advised customer, to ask about the software before buying it because at the price they are sold, you don’t want to make too many mistakes.

Conclusion and Recommendations

As mentioned before, computers have become necessary for a business to survive in today business world. A starting business cannot omit computers and if it really wants to succeed, not only those this company has to be computerized, but it would also be a very good idea that this company be on the Internet as soon as possible. Businesses really need computers to stay competitive because of the high standards the large multi-nationals. Not only is the Internet an excellent tool for a company advertisement, but it’s also a new way for the company to transact directly with the client.

As for computers at home, they are not necessary, but are a great tool for anyone who enjoys doing work at home or maybe is in search or a hobby. The advantages of owning a computer at home is evidently the number of things you can do with this computer, but there is the cost that comes with all these advantages. Therefore, an individual that wants to invest in a computer should know that it will cost him or her, and that this computer will eventually become obsolete.

References

Forester, Tom. High Tech Society. Great Britain, Europe Edition, 1985.

Rochlin, Gene. Trapped in the Net. New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1997.

Augarten, Stan. Bit by Bit. New York, Library of Congress cataloging in publication data, 1984.