Computers

In the last ten years, computers have become a necessity in our lives. We use them to program cars, buy grocery stores, run factories and in almost any area of technology imaginable. We use them on a daily basis in our homes and offices to do tasks such as word processing to ordering clothes over the internet. With all the conveniences that computers have to offer, not many stop to consider the dangers of such a powerful instrument.

As the use of computers increases, the amount of human interaction decreases. The creation of e-mail allows messages to be sent and received without any personal communication between the sender and the reader. Instead of walking down the hall to speak to a co-worker, an e-mail can be typed and sent in the same amount of time. This causes communication skills to deteriorate and

E-mail and online chatrooms are also excellent mediums for harassers and abusers. These harassers are persistent and unrelenting, stalking their victims from network to network over long periods of time. In some cases, the harassing

The internet has become a great virtual library of information. Knowledge is king until it is put in the hands of the wrong person. An example of this is sites that contain dangerous information such as the instructions on how to create a bomb. This may be useful to someone writing a report on explosives, but to the students at Columbine High, it cost many their lives.

Could one imagine what the world would be like today without computers? For one, I would not be typing this paper right now. Computers were actually developed in early history. The first major use for a computer in the U.S. was during the 1890 census. Two men, Herman Hollerith and James Powers, developed a new punched-card system that could automatically read information on cards without human intervention (Chaney 52). This caused many other people to develop computers for various tasks. Each new computer helped to perform a different function and make it easier. Eventually IBM made a computer that could perform various tasks such as: figure out equations, store data, and draw graphics (Chaney 53). From there the computer industry exploded. Now computers have changed many aspects of life.

Computers have had a major effect upon business. One area deals with the advertising industry. It has completely re-arranged the advertising business. Before computers companies used to advertise only on magazines, billboards, and T.V. The internet has spawned a new world for advertising. If anyone has ever been on the Internet; they know that it is a major contributor to this. Instead of companies paying around 1 million dollars to advertise for a 30 second commercial during the Super Bowl;

they could just pay a certain amount to be advertised forever on the net. People can also notice the changes of advertising on the T.V., also. Not until the last few years have people notic...

Computers are a part of our everyday lives, but about two decades ago, computers were just beginning to enter homes. Many people don't realize what the computer evolved from, and the speed at which computer technology has taken to arrive to what it is today.

The earliest know computer is the abacus, invented by the Chinese in 2600 B.C. Not many people consider this to be a computer, but by definition, it is. One of the more recent early computers was built by Herman Hollerith, who invented a machine that used a system of cards with holes in them. By using these cards he was able to calculate the United State Census. Hollerith's Computer Tabulating-Recording Company changed its name in 1924 to International Business Machines, IBM for short. This is the same IBM that is known today to many computer users. During the 1980s and 1990s, IBM was a large player in the personal computer market. It was as important as Microsoft is the to the world of computing today. The main term that was used was, "IBM-Compatible."

A large movement in computer technology was the use of vacuum tubes. In 1904 John Ambrose Fleming invented the first commercial diode vacuum tube. Thomas Edison already discovered this, but discarded the discovery as useless. Before the vacuum tube was discovered, computers were made of gears and switches. Now with the vacuum tube, it acted as a switch turning on and off much faster than standard switches. This also caused less wear and tear on the machine, prolonging the life of the computer, lessening the frequency of repairs.

In 1943 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator Analyzer and Computer) was built. It was the first all electronic computer, and required so much electricity that when the power was turned on, the lights around Philadelphia