Chapter 3: Connecting to the World’s Information Lesson 10: Computers and Daily Life © 2010, 2006 South-Western, Cengage Learning.

Chapter 3: Connecting to the World’s Information

Lesson 10: Computers and Daily Life

© 2010, 2006 South-Western, Cengage Learning

New Ideas from Space

• GPS systems• Weather prediction• Heating/cooling for

homes• Hazardous chemical

storage• Air/water purification• Recycling

• Scratch-resistant sunglasses

• Laser treatment of arteriosclerosis

• Medical devices: pacemaker & defibrillator

• Computer hardware & software

Lesson 10 Slide 2

The space program led to a wave of inventions:

The PC Race

• The Space Race: What the rush to the moon in the 1960s was called.– This resulted in the need for NASA’s

development of smaller computers for space travel

• First Electronic Computers: were introduced in mid-1900s– Very very large! Some computers were housed

in Large Rooms and weighed hundreds of pounds!

Lesson 10 Slide 3

The PC Race

• First Electronic Computers (continued)– Could perform only basic functions: add,

subtract, divide, multiply– Could do this much faster than a human,

but compared to today’s machines – VERY SLOW!

Lesson Slide 4

The PC Race

• Advances in computers came slowly as demand grew:– Eventually, people started building smaller

computers– The milestones in today’s computing world

are outlined in next few slides

Lesson Slide 5

Computing History Milestones

• 1946– First large-scale electronic

computer (ENIAC) was created

• Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer

• ENIAC's design and construction were financed by the United States Army during World War II

Lesson 10 Slide 6

Computing History Milestones

• 1951– UNIVAC bought by U.S. Census Bureau

• One of the first commercial computers• UNIVersal Automatic Computer

Lesson 10 Slide 7

Computing History Milestones

• 1963– First computer mouse

• Developed by Douglas Engelbart

• Nicknamed the “mouse” because a tail came out the end

• The early mouse was a wooden shell with two metal wheels

Lesson 10 Slide 8

Computing History Milestones

• 1965– Minicomputers were

introduced• First computers to use

integrated circuits• Multi-user computer• Usually took up one or two

refrigerator-sized cabinets– Smaller than mainframes, which

filled a room

Lesson 10 Slide 9

Computing History Milestones

• 1969– Small computers helped astronauts land

on the moon

Lesson 10 Slide 10

Computing History Milestones

• 1977 – Apple PC introduced– Two 5-1/4” floppy disk drives and a monitor

• 1981 – IBM (International Business Machines) PC introduced– CPU was Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz– Available RAM was 16kb to 256kb

• Personal (single-user) computers were now practical for business and personal use

Lesson 10 Slide 11

Computing History Milestones

Lesson 10 Slide 12

Computing History Milestones

Lesson 10 Slide 13

• 1983 – Notebook computers were introduced– Early notebooks were made by

Tandy, Epson and NEC• TRS-80 Model 100 specifications:

– 3 MHz Intel 80c85 processor– 8 kb memory, up to 32 kb– Monochrome LCD screen (40 characters x 8

rows)– Weight: 4 lb.– Battery life: 20 hours (on 4 AA batteries)

Computing History Milestones

• 1984– Apple introduces the Macintosh

• Graphical interface used pictures and icons instead of text-mode and command-driven software

• Bundled applications were MacWrite and MacPaint

• The desktop included a trash can where you could drag files to delete them

Lesson 10 Slide 14

Computing History Milestones

• 1991– The World Wide Web debuted as a publicly

available service on the internet• Hypertext pages containing text, images, and

links that could be immediately followed with a click

– Tim Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist and MIT professor, is credited with inventing the Web

• Under development from 1980-1991– The internet is much older than the WWW

Lesson 10 Slide 15

Computing History Milestones

Lesson 10 Slide 16

• 1993– PDAs were introduced

• Personal Digital Assistant• First small, handheld

computers– Designed for use as a

personal organizer with communications capabilities

• The Apple Newton was an early PDA

Computing History Milestones

• 2001– Tablet PCs were introduced

• Notebook without a keyboard• Screen incorporates a digitizer

– Pen computing

Lesson 10 Slide 17

Computing History Milestones

• 2007– Apple releases the iPhone

• Handheld computer AND a phone with wireless internet capabilities

– Touchscreen allows fingertip input

Lesson 10 Slide 18

How ComputersImprove Productivity

• Productivity: a measure of how much work can be done in a certain amount of time

• We have lived for thousands of years without computers– So why have we become so dependent on

them now?– Because they increase our productivity

Lesson Slide 19

How ComputersImprove Productivity

• How do computers make people more productive? List your ideas in your notes – share with class (brainstorm!)

Lesson Slide 20

How ComputersImprove Productivity

• Can computers make people less productive? List some ideas in your notes – share with class (brainstorm!)

Lesson Slide 21

How ComputersImprove Productivity

• Can you get along without a computer, cell phone, or other digital tools? List ideas in your notes – share with class (brainstorm)

Lesson Slide 22

Impact of Computers on Society

• Imagine if all computers suddenly disappeared. As you go through your day, think how things would be different…

• School: heating, cooling, emergency, and communication systems all use computers– Digital clocks, lights, fire alarms,

attendance, grades, assignments from teachers…Lesson Slide 23

Impact of Computers on Society

• Transportation: without computers, most modern cars would stop working.– Traffic lights, warning systems, amber

alerts, pollution control, starter systems…

Lesson Slide 24

Impact of Computers on Society

• Home: Most appliances, clocks, and other electronic devices would stop working– Digital phones, TVs, radios, DVD players,

computer games/systems, Internet, email, instant messaging, home security systems…

Lesson Slide 25

Impact of Computers on Society

• Money and Shopping: Monetary transactions are routed and recorded by computers– ATM machines, credit card systems, debit

cards, computerized cash registers, elevators & escalators…

Lesson Slide 26

Impact of Computers on Society

• The Space Program: Without computers, spaceships would never get off the ground, satellites would quit working, the International Space Station would crash to Earth.– We might not discover new opportunities

in our expanding universe!

Lesson Slide 27