Computer Science Homework Help. GC Changes in Technology Affected Many Aspects of Life Case Study
I’m working on a networking discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
The Future
COLLAPSE (Links to an external site.)
One of the best ways to look at what the future may hold is to look at where we were in the past. Eighty years ago (mid 1930’s) we had no TV’s, no computers in our homes (computers were extremely limited in what they could do being barely more than basic calculators and took up entire rooms), no freeways, phones were controlled by switchboards, we had party lines (two or more people shared the same phone line), many homes had an “Icebox” that required ice to be delivered to keep the food cold, the medical benefits of penicillin was just being researched, cameras were set up on stands, focused manually and required plates.
Fifty-five to sixty years ago (late 1950’s to early 1960) TV’s were black and white, we had three broadcast channels (no cable), TV dinners were all the rage, large businesses had computers, keypunch cards were used to feed information to the computer (each card contained one line of code, so thousands of cards might be needed for a single program), phones had rotary dials, you called your answering service and spoke to a person to get your messages (if you used a service), watches had internal gears and needed to be wound to work, calculators did only basic mathematical functions and weighed a few pounds, the use of a calculator in an exam was considered cheating, antibiotics are widely available, specialized medications are being developed to treat common diseases, cameras were portable, focused manually and required film.
Thirty years ago (mid 1980’s) TV’s were color, cable provided more options, including specialized content, personal computers were taking off, 512 kilobytes of information could be stored on a 5 1/4″ floppy disk, a vast improvement over using a tape drive, basic programs were available for the computers (including word processing and spreadsheets), the Internet was only heard of by the military and academics, answering machines were external devices attached to the phone, portable or cordless phones were about the size of a one liter bottle and weighed 3-5 pounds, portal phones had to remain within the range of the base signal, calculators were programmable and you might be allowed to use one on an exam (best to ask ahead of time), libraries were physical locations that organized books and journals using card catalogs, specialized medications are being developed to treat rare diseases, cameras were portable, had automatic focus and some developed film instantly (Polaroids)
Today TV’s are in high definition, shows can be requested, 100’s of channels are available, laptops and tablets weighing a few pounds have wireless communications and you might be allowed to use one on an exam (best to ask ahead of time), USB drives hold gigabytes of information, nearly everyone has a cell phone or other movile device weighing just ounces with message, texting and Internet capabilities.You can stream video, run apps and download other content. Information is readily available via the Internet and World Wide Web, library collections are largely digital and most articles and some books are available online. Many medications are available over the counter, cameras are digital and pictures can be printed at home or uploaded to the Internet, families stay in contact via email, online communications (chat, IM, VOIP, etc. ) and social network sites.
The Technological Singularity
What other technologies have changed over the years. How has society changed in response? What changes do you expect in the next ten years? The next 25 years? The next 50 years? Do you believe we are experiencing the Technological Singularity now? Why or why not?
