Comparison (Argument) Outline Personal Computers Thesis: Personal computers today are by far superior to personal computers of 40 years ago. In today's society almost every American family owns at least one personal computer. The personal computer technology has grown greatly improving the personal computer industry. New models change every year. Each year more and more improvements are made. Personal computers today are by far superior to personal computers of 40 years ago. The operation of personal computers invented today is better than personal computers invented 40 years ago. Today's personal computers are easily set up. Just position on your desk and plug in a few cords. Push the power button and as if like magic you are looking at a display full of color. They are user friendly with "Plug-n-Play," you can just add devices and the operating system will automatically install the drivers. Just about every parent can purchase one for each of their children because of affordability. The memory is of the personal computer is upgradeable, instead of buying a whole new personal computer. On the other hand, personal computers 40 years ago were difficult to set up, difficult to operate, very expensive and only had 4K bytes of memory. You would have to run several cords and wires to setup all the components. It would only operate in a BASIC Dos environment and was so costly to upgrade to an expansion memory adapter, that it was less expensive to just buy the newest model. Drives on personal computers invented today are better than personal computers invented 40 years ago. Today's personal computers can be used with multiple media for entering programs. For example, compact disks, zip disks or a 3.5 inch floppy disk. The drives are condensed and fashionable in a tower or desk top case. They have dual density capability which runs high density, which holds 1.44 MB of data. The newest disks are called extended capacity and can hold 2.88 MB of data. On the other hand, personal computers 40 years ago used cassettes for entering programs. The cassette was placed into a tape recorder which was bulky and ugly. Some were designed to except an 8 inch floppy disk which only supported single density capability. The design of personal computers invented today is better than personal computers invented 40 years ago.
In the beginning, computers stored memory on reels of magnetic film, and the average size of a computer was as big enough to fill a whole room. Gradually, computers were built smaller and faster; however, computers were strictly used for business purposes, and only trained technicians were allowed to operate them. In this day and age, operating computers has become a daily exercise for the majority of the population.
Due to of the reasons stated, a personal computer is a much better choice than a Macintosh computer for most consumers. People with certain needs may be happier with a Mac. However, the majority of consumers will find reliability and satisfaction in a PC. An educated shopper knows what they are personally looking for, and hopefully those who read this essay can confidently make their own choice.
The only that progressed is how we’ve given the instructions used to tell the computer what to with the data: flipping switches by hand (machine code) which was an awful painful task, later computer languages (English words computers could translate into binary code) were created making programming much easier only needing to type lists of instructions. The sole reason personal computer exist right now is because back then computer terminals were uncommon, only inhabiting institutions but these fascinated nerds wanted their very own computers. However, there was a technological breakthrough required to make their dream a reality. The microprocessor chip invented by Intel, consisting millions of transistors etched in silicon replacing the once needed valves helping miniaturize huge mainframe computers into the personal computer we know
The subject of this term paper will be about computers in the 1950’s. The divisions that will be covered are; the types of computers there were, the memory capacity of computers, the programming languages of that time, and the uses of the computers for that time. Information will be gathered from the Internet, from books, and from magazines, and from the encyclopedia.
With the growth of technology it allowed for the growth of available information as well as advanced ways of communication. The initial intention of computers and technology was to serve the working or business class, to help companies create better products for their consumers. Next, the tools that were previously only used to facilitate businesses then started becoming more domestic, little by little people and families began owning desktop computers in their homes .By innovating t...
The personal computer underwent drastic changes with the introduction to advanced computing software and hardware. The evolution of computers did not develop on its own; key influential figures such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates led the revolution of technology. These well-known individuals competed with each other by continually innovating and creating more and more advanced technology. Computer technology moved forward when Intel created 64-bit technology and advanced kernels to compliment the upgrade in processing power. Not only is the evolution of computer technology in itself relevant for modern study, but the adoption of computers for use in other fields of study, such as engineering and architecture, was produced through this revolution. The evolution of a simple concept expanded the proficiencies of the personal computer due to competition between companies at an attempt to control the market. Through fighting each other for dominance over which company was the best, computer companies changed the way society interacted with each other and implemented the personal computer into other forms of study such as Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); this was made possible because of the development of computer hardware and software. The greatest contribution to the innovation of the personal computer was not changed by a single person, but was byproduct of competitors in the technology world. The most recognized battle between companies over innovation in technology would be Apple verses Microsoft.
Born in the eighties, I entered a world of big hair and bad style. In the technological realm there were tape players, VCR’s, and fresh on the market: personal computers. Apple was domination the computer scene with their introduction of the Lisa computer. But not for long, soon computer technology would jump to unimaginable heights. As I grew up the technology around me would continue to grow and advance – quite rapidly I might add.
"Technology is like fish. The longer it stays on the shelf, the less desirable it becomes." (1) Since the dawn of computers, there has always been a want for a faster, better technology. These needs can be provided for quickly, but become obsolete even quicker. In 1981, the first "true portable computer", the Osborne 1 was introduced by the Osborne Computer Corporation. (2) This computer revolutionized the way that computers were used and introduced a brand new working opportunity.
Computers have advanced to great heights since the creation of vacuum-tube based computers, the 1st generation of computers. These modern computers otherwise referred to as the 4th generation of computers, are commercially available for personal and business use. Almost every family in developed or developing countries has at least one personal computer in their house.
The early 1980’s were the real turning point in the prevalence of personal computers for home usage. What was once seen as an elite level piece of machinery used for military operations and mathematicians alike had now become one of many tools created for home use. A computer’s accessibility had increased tenfold, becoming available and attractive to casual users and enthusiasts alike, allowing for a rapid evolution of every aspect of a personal computer. Enthusiast level magazines such as “Byte”, a series of magazines published by McGraw-Hill dedicated to the technological advances of computer capabilities and their components, heavily influenced this trend in making home personal computers more popular. Byte especially pushed the educational value and entertaining qualities of a computer. Byte really painted the personal computer as a multi-feature tool whose utility expanded far past computations, and into a multimedia platform for equal parts creativity and logic.
Another example of the change in our technology over the last century is the change in the computer. In 1946, the first electronic computer called the ENIAC took up the space of a large room. Instead of using transistors and IC chips, the ENIAC used vacuum tubes. Compared to many computers now, the ENIAC is about as powerful as a small calculator. That may not be much, but it is a milestone because there would not be computers today if it were not for the ENIAC. As the years passed, the computer became smaller and more powerful. Today, more than half of the American population has a computer in their home. The personal computers today are thousands of times more powerful than the most powerful computers fifty years ago.
computers, introduced in the 1940s, were huge machines. However today's computers are not only thousands of
The biggest and easiest seen change that computers have had on today’s society can be seen in the workplace. Before computers became an office tool and were made available to the average employee, paperwork and sharing information in an office setting was done by many different individuals constantly filing and looking up figures. Now a computer can store large amounts of information that is readily available to virtually anyone with the click of a mouse button. One person can complete a job that in a time before computers would take many. Computers have made file cabinets and libraries almost obsolete. Businesses can share information nation or even world wide in a matter of seconds. For example, a word document file can be sent from an office in New York to an office in Los Angeles in under a minute, in the past this same information would have taken a week to be sent through the mail. Computers have changed the way that factories are run too. On an assembly line, before computers every job, no matter how easy or difficult, had to be done by an employee. Now, however, computers run machines and do most of these tasks.
Sadly, many people refuse to face the onslaught of computer technology. A 1994 survey conducted by Dell Computers indicated the 55% of Americans are phobic or resistant to computers (Column). In addition, many important people, including CEOÕs of major companies, are rumored to be computer illiterate (Column). The former CEO of IBM even admitted to never using a computer (Column). Fortunately, PC’s are becoming more and more user friendly as the technology improves. Fewer errors, less maintenance and quicker functioning should encourage many reluctant people to finally step into the new era.
The computer evolution has been an amazing one. There have been astonishing achievements in the computer industry, which dates back almost 2000 years. The earliest existence of the computer dates back to the first century, but the electronic computer has only been around for over a half-century. Throughout the last 40 years computers have changed drastically. They have greatly impacted the American lifestyle. A computer can be found in nearly every business and one out of every two households (Hall, 156). Our Society relies critically on computers for almost all of their daily operations and processes. Only once in a lifetime will a new invention like the computer come about.