Types of Workstations

Workstations were first used by engineers to design everything from airplanes to computers. But in the late 1970s, Allen Michels saw an emerging need among office workers and business executives for a computer more powerful than a personal computer with many different software functions. He founded Convergent Technologies, based in Silicon Valley, and introduced the Integrated Work Station in 1979. Today, workstations are designed for three markets: scientific and engineering, office automation, and education.

Scientific and Engineering Workstations.

Workstations are used to design everything from gears and pulleys to microchips and telephone networks. Workstations permit not only drawing and designing in two and three dimensions, but testing and simulation as well: an aircraft designer can create a computer simulation to test wind shear, or an electrical engineer can test a new chip design in a simulated circuit. Models of microscopic molecules can be viewed in three dimensions, rotated, and even animated using graphics super workstations.

Office Automation Workstations .

Workstations are used for a variety of tasks throughout the office. People who perform similar jobs or who perform tasks in cooperative work groups often use personal computers and workstations that are connected to one another. Senior management and executives use workstations with special executive information systems software to keep their fingers on the company's pulse. Doctors often have a workstation in their office that is connected to the hospital where they practice. When a patient needs to be admitted, the file and proper forms can be transmitted to the hospital admissions office in a matter of seconds, shortening the paperwork process and helping the patient obtain speedy and proper care.

Educational Workstations.

Many colleges and universities make workstations available for engineering students or for general use with a variety of personal computers in computing labs. Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple and created the Macintosh, introduced the first personal workstation for students, the NeXT Computer System. Although it is more expensive than a personal computer, it offers many more features. The NeXT has highly detailed graphics, sound, and even music. It has many built-in applications and special tools such as a library containing a dictionary, a thesaurus, a book of famous quotations, and the works of William Shakespeare. The newest NeXT computer uses a RISC microprocessor, which makes it three times faster than it was when it used a CISC microprocessor.

From the beginning, Allen Michels envisioned a workstation that would integrate many tasks and functions in an easy-to-use computer. This would come about through the marriage of a variety of hardware and software technologies, combined with new insights into ergonomics, the study of how to create safety, comfort, and ease of use for people who use machines such as computers. As computer engineers learn more about how we think and work, workstations will just keep getting more useful.