So throughout this week, I have continued to read the book Computers: the Life Story of Technology by Eric G. Sweden and David L. Ferro. I have finished the book and I must say that I am surprised at how much I liked this book. I usually am not very interested in reading stories, but the story of a technology seemed to catch my attention. In the second half of this book, the Sweden and Ferro really make a fast transition into the world of the personal computer. The personal computer seems to really owe its existence to Ted Hoff, who started Intel and created the first microprocessor. This new category of processors allows the size of a computer to be reduced quite dramatically, which led to the idea of people owning their own personal computers. It would be Edward Roberts who actually created the first “personal” size computer though, naming it the Altair 8800. After that, the proverbial cat was out of the bag and soon after many other personal computers began to spring up. One of the biggest affects of the personal computer seems to be the extremely fast expansion of the software industry. The seemed to be largely due to the fact that computer builders wanted to be able to sell computers to people who weren’t extremely knowledge about them, and those people also wanted to be able to take advantage of them too. This quickly led to companies being created to create programs and operating systems that made using these small computers much easier. Out of the many companies that tried and failed to continually produce software for these computers, two companies were started that are known of today as powerhouses in operating system programming: Apple and Microsoft. After the software explosion, the next thing to come along and take computer users by storm was the internet. Beginning with the simple need of increasing connectivity between different computers in the military, what they called ARPANET quickly was expanded upon in the commercial world and turned into numerous networks, which then would ultimately connect to each other to become the “network of networks” known as the internet. In only a matter of about ten years or so, the internet went from a couple military computers connected to each other to the world wide web we all know of today. After this, computer were anywhere and everywhere and, for better or worse, seemed to have become required in order to go about our daily lives.
Throughout this story, the authors continually try to depict how much computers would become integrated into the lives of every single person. Sweden and Ferro show in the first half of this book that the computer began to aid people in numerous ways, but in the second half of this book they really prove that the creation of the microchip has created a world in which we can not go through one day without using a computer. It is even stated in the book, “Even non-computer-oriented people still use watches, stereos, television, automobiles, and other electronic equipment, all equipped with embedded microprocessors.”(pg. 132) This wealth of technology also seems to be creating quite a rift between the people who can afford and the people who can not. While computers and the internet are very good information gathering tools, they are also creating greater and greater divisions among people by dividing groups into the “information rich” and “information poor.” (pg. 132) There are such divisions right in the United States and all of the people who can not afford to access all of this information are being left behind. It is said in this book that computer literacy is beginning to be thought of by some as just important as regular literacy, and it is crucial in being a proper citizen and attaining a good career. (pg. 133) If this rift between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the world of technological information is not dealt with soon, it seem as though it will become permanent.
With the advent of the personal computer and the user friendly operation system, it seems that Sweden and Ferro have suggested a caveat pertaining to the security of such an easy to access computer world. As previously stated, people have become quite dependent on technology, and being so dependent on something can make people very vulnerable to certain attacks. Technology is a wonderful, but people seem to forget that all of the things utilizing current technology are still man made and man made parts will fail at some point. This is illustrated perfectly in this book when the authors describe an event that took place in 1980 involving a failed microchip. A microchip failed causing an alert that a Soviet submarine had just launched two nuclear missiles at the United States. (pg. 143) Thankfully the American commanders realized the alert was false, but before realizing that, numerous American bomber crews were alerted and their own nuclear missiles were armed. We came just an inch away from nuclear war, and it was all because a microchip that costs 46 cents failed. That is an extreme example of how our dependence on technology brings with it inherent risks that need to be considered, but many things could happen that are not that extreme. The microchip controlling a car’s computer could short out and causing an accident. Furthermore, the authors make it clear that with such easy access to computers and the internet, there are a lot of people now that do not intend to use them for proper purposes. Hackers are a big problem now that technology has grown so rapidly. Hackers are making malicious software and programs that are constantly moving about on the internet, and without proper security anyone could acquire some type of virus or worm and create numerous problems for themselves. Computers and technology in general have taken over American culture and now we all act like we need it like oxygen in our lungs. For better or worse, American cultures now strive on technology, are created around technology, and will only grow more dependent on technology as it becomes more advanced.
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