Growth of the Computer Industry

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The computer industry has experienced an impressive growth within the past 15 years. In our case, laptops fall under the category of computers as well. Even though computers had first come out in the mid 19th century, there has been a huge augmentation of ‘advanced’ computers/laptops in recent times. From 1936 to 1980, computers weren’t mainly used by the public. The very first system was not even considered a computer, but a mere 30 ton numerical calculator that worked through 18, 000 vacuum tubes. “The first true computers were developed in the US to perform the complex calculations required for the building of the atomic and hydrogen bombs (WSW).” In the ‘60s and ‘70s, the computer was still very similar; it was very large in size and not useful to the normal citizen. It wasn’t until 1981 when IBM came out with their Personal Computer. The computer was so vital to society; it was named “Person of the Year” by TIME magazine in 1982. At that time, people believed the computer would revolutionize the way people think and they were absolutely correct. In TIME (1982), Charles Lecht quotes, "Computers help teach kids to think. Beyond that, they motivate people to think.” From a public point of view, it seems as though that Mac and PC are the leading competitors. Because there are only one or two other operating systems in the industry, we can categorize this industry as oligopolistic. As we discuss the computer industry, we will mainly focus on the large and big-name companies in the United States. These include Microsoft, Apple, and Google. To begin, Microsoft supports about 54,000 jobs in the United States. These jobs include Sales, Software Engineering, Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, and many others... ... middle of paper ... ...evolution in the field of technology. Works Cited: An Illustrated History of Computers http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HistoryPt4.htm TIME Magazine http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/personoftheyear/archive/stories/1982.html Intel http://www.intel.com/learn/practical-advice/before-you-buy/evaluate/pc-vs-mac Devdaily http://www.devdaily.com/business/revenue-per-employee-computer-services-industry Bloomberg-Businessweek http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2004/nf20041012_4018_PG2_db083.htm World Socialist Website http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/nov1999/micr-n11.shtml Bukisa http://www.bukisa.com/articles/264872_the-downside-of-technology Family Safe Media http://familysafemedia.com/pornography_statistics.html#anchor4 Business Course http://waddahjerk.com/2010/08/the-global-computer-industry-goes-green.html

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