3.4. Computer (history)

The word “computer” was record in 1613, referring to a person who carried out calculations, or computations, this word continued with the same meaning until the middle of the 19th century were the word began to take on a new meaning, “to describe a machine that carries out computations”. Many people may think that the first ever computer to be developed would be in the late 1800 early 1900s but that would be incorrect, the first computer was actually made in 1801 by Joseph Marie Jaquard who developed a machine that used punched paper cards as a template to weave intricate patterns automatically. Though this may seem basic it was a important step in development of computers because it used punched cards to define woven patterns and this can be view as an early form of programmability, albeit limited. It was 1837 when the fusion of automatic calculations with programmability that produced the first recognizable computers. Charles Babbage was the first person to utilize this technology to design a fully programmable mechanical computer, his analytical engine. Due to limited finances and inability to resist tinkering with the design this device was never completed. It was not until 1880s that Hermon Hollerith invented the next big step in computing which was inventing the recording of data on a machine readable medium (more commonly known these days as the Hard Disk Drive or HDD), Prior uses of computers had been just an input system or controller and not used to store Data. It really wasn’t till 1936 till what you would call modern computers really came into existence.

Can anyone say that civilization would be the same as it is now without the development of computers? The answer is simple NO. If you think about, nearly everything in our everyday lives uses a computer in it from modern day cars to phones and most electrical devices. Even the devices that measures how much electric, gas and water we use run on computers. There is really no argument about weather computers has made life easier for humans because they have, but are they a good thing? If you look into it you can come up with both yes and no as an answer. In my opinion yes computers are a good thing but that is also because I was brought up in an age where computer use is second nature and is a requirement in most secondary high schools and in higher education. Though people in fields were computers have taken their jobs would answer no, the truth is computers are cheaper, faster and more accurate than humans. Computers do not need sick leave, can work 24/7 and don’t slack of. This of course is only true if they are programmed correctly, so saying that they cannot make a mistake is not 100% true, but is it really the computers fault or the human who programmed it. Computers also have what we call Human error, which is computers were built by humans so they are not going to last forever and will someday need to be fixed or replaced. There are also the advancements that happen in computer technologies which are increasing at an alarming rate, people could go out and buy the most updated computer to have it be bottom of the line in 6 months’ time. Companies do not need to worry so much about the advancements in computers so much but you will find any company that doesn’t have computer technology that have been updated at least in the last 5 years will find that they will be behind and will be looking at a large sum of money depending on the size of the company and what they want to be able to achieve.