FREE ESSAY ON THE AGE OF COMPUTERS

THE AGE OF COMPUTERS

Believe it or not, but the age of computers is upon us. I believe Computers are not only
here to stay, but in my opinion computers are the wave of the future. Only a device like
the computer can change the way we work, live, and think. I see computers taking us
places where no man has gone before. Twenty years ago people were just not up to date
with computers back then. I mean if you ask someone about a computer, they probably would
say something like, what in the world our you talking about, or what the hell is a
computer. Today just about anybody you ask, can tell you something about a computer.
Papia Bhattacharyya , says: Technology has bounded onto the center stage in the last few
years(59). The earliest existence of the modern day computer's ancestor is the abacus.
The abacus dates back to almost 2000 years ago. It is simply a wooden rack holding beads
which are strung on wires. The next step in computers took place in 1694 when Blaise
Pascal invented the first digital calculating machine, which was designed to help
Pascal's father who was a tax collector.
Now we look at Charles Babbage, who many say is the father of computers. Charles Babbage
was a professor of mathematics. In the 1800's Babbage designed an automatic calculation
machine. This machine was steam powered and could store up to 1000 50-digit numbers.
Charles Babbage was so ahead of his time, that the machines that were used back then were
not even precise enough to make the parts for his computer. Gulliver, states:
The first major use for a computer in the US 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 (Gulliver 82). 
In the 1930's punched-card machine techniques had become so well established that Howard
Hathaway Aiken, together with engineers at IBM, came up with the automatic computer
called Mark I. The Mark I ran by using prepunched paper tape. The Mark I was slow, and
required 3 to 5 seconds to perform multiplication. But the computer was fully automatic
and could complete long math problems without any human intervention. 
John P. Eckert, and John W. Mauchley in 1942 decided to build a high-speed electronic
computer to do the job. This machine became known as ENIAC, for Electrical Numerical
Integrator And Calculator. Dolotta explains: 
ENIAC used 18,000 standard vacuum tabes, occupied 1800 square feet of floor space, and
used about 180,000 watts of electricity. ENIAC is generally accepted as the first
successful high-speed electronic digital computer and was used in many applications from
1946 to 1955 (Dolotta 50). 
A new look at the wonderful advancements in the world of computers, at this stage in time
many things were beginning to happen with the computer. Shallis says:
In 1971 Marcian E. Hoff Jr, an engineer at the Intel Corporation, invented the
microprocessor and another stage in the development of the computer began (Shallis 121).
In the 1980's large scale integration, in which hundreds of thousands of transistors are
placed on a single chip, become common.
Computers are taking us places where a lot of us thought was not possible. For instance
the so called virtual reality is now being tested. This is a way to make reality come to
life on a computer monitor. One wears these special electronic glasses and an electronic
suit, and fastened to the suit are sensors, which send information to the main computer.
The computer works with the data, and gives a three-dimensional view, as one looks
through the electronic spectacles. If you wanted to be soldier, all you had to do was
simply change the scenery on the main computer, and you would be in the battle field
fighting. Today many kids have computer games that will just blow you away, computer
games so realistic, they can damn near scare you to death. 
From Charles Babbage, who to many is consider the father of computers till now, computers
have grown from a standing start, into one of the biggest industries in the United
States. Papia Bhattacharyya states, Everyone wants to, and may perhaps eventually have to
be a knower to survive(59). I see computers in the future taking us places where no man
has gone before. Truly it is my belief and opinion, the computer is one of the most
incredible inventions of this time period or any other. 
Work Cited
Bhattacharyya, Papia. BAD ASSOCIATIONS. Reading and Writing Short Arguments.ED.
William Vesterman. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Press, 1997. 58-61.
Dolotta, T.A. Data Processing: 1940-1985 New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1985.
Gulliver, David. Silicon Valley and Beyond Berkeley, Ca: Berkeley Area Government Press,
1981.
Shallis, Michael. The Silicon Idol. New York: Shocken Books, 1984.
Bibliography
Work Cited
Bhattacharyya, Papia. BAD ASSOCIATIONS. Reading and Writing Short Arguments.ED.
William Vesterman. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Press, 1997. 58-61.
Dolotta, T.A. Data Processing: 1940-1985 New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1985.
Gulliver, David. Silicon Valley and Beyond Berkeley, Ca: Berkeley Area Government Press,
1981.
Shallis, Michael. The Silicon Idol. New York: Shocken Books, 1984.