1. Tomorrow’s Technology and You
Chapter 1
Our Digital Planet
ITGS: Mr. Crossman 1

2. Chapter 1: Objectives
Describe several ways digital technology plays a critical role in modern life
Discuss several key trends in the evolution of computers and digital technology
Describe the major types of computers and their principle uses
Explain how the explosive growth and evolution of the Internet is changing the way people use information technology
Explain how our information age differs from any time that came before
Discuss the social and ethical impact of information technology on our society 2

3. Creating Communities on the Living Web
MySpace
creates an online community experience for young people.
Founders - Tom Anderson & Chris DeWolfe
Facebook
Founder Mark Zuckenberg
Flickr
creates a community for people to share their pictures. 3

4. Living in a Nondigital World
Computers are no longer a luxury but rather a commodity.
Computers and their applications are involved in all aspects of our daily life. 4

5. Computers in Perspective
Every computer in use today follows the basic plan laid out by Charles Babbage and Lady Lovelace. 5

6. Computers in Perspective
The first real computers:
1939: Konrad Zuse completed the first programmable, general-purpose digital computer.
British government was assembling a top-secret team of mathematicians and engineers to crack Nazi military codes.
1943: The team led by mathematician Alan Turing and others completed Colossus, considered by many to be the first electronic digital computer. 6

7. Computers in Perspective
1939: Iowa State University professor John Atanasoff developed what could have been the first electronic digital computer, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC).
1944: Thanks to a one million dollar grant from IBM, Harvard professor Howard Aiken developed the Mark I. 7

8. Computers in Perspective
John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert helped the U.S. effort in World War II by constructing a machine to calculate trajectory tables for new guns.
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)
After the war, they started a private company called Sperry
Created UNIVAC I, the first general-purpose commercial computer. 8

9. Computers in Perspective
Vacuum tubes were used in early computers.
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes starting in 1956.
Mid-1960s transistors were replaced by integrated circuits. 9

10. Computers in Perspective
Integrated circuits brought:
Increased reliability
Smaller size
Higher speed
Higher efficiency
Lower cost 10

11. Computers in Perspective
1971: 1st microprocessor was invented by Intel engineers.
Personal computer (PC) revolution began in 1970:
Apple, Commodore, Tandy
Moore’s law – Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors that can be packed into a silicon chip of the same price would roughly double every two years. 11

12. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Desktop computers have also evolved.
Embedded computers
Special-purpose computer: dedicated computers that perform specific tasks.
Controlling the temperature and humidity
Monitoring your heart rate
Monitoring your house security system
Firmware - The program is etched on silicon so it cannot be altered. 12

13. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Personal computers and workstations
PCs serve a single user at a time
PCs are a tool for:
Enhancing productivity
Creativity
Communication
PCs can be classified as:
Desktop
Workstation
Laptop 13

14. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Desktop computer
PC designed to sit on a desk or table for extended periods of time
Common components:
Monitor
Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
Power cables 14

15. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Workstations
High-end desktop computers with massive computing power used for high-end interactive applications
As workstations become less expensive and desktops become more powerful 15

16. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Laptop/Notebook
Some components are left off to help keep size and weight down. 16

17. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Handheld devices…
PDA (personal digital assistant)
Blackberry
Smart phones
iPhone 17

18. Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Servers: Computers designed to provide software and other resources to other computers over a networks
Mainframes
Used by large organizations, such as banks and airlines, for big computing jobs
Communicate with mainframe through terminals
Multiple communications at one time through process of timesharing 18

19. Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution
Timesharing: mainframe computer can communicate with several
users simultaneously
Supercomputers: For power users who need access to the
fastest, most powerful computers made
Networks: connect devices together
1960s: Internet developed with backing of the U.S. government 19

20. Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution
The Internet explosion–over a billion people with Internet access by the end of 2005
Electronic mail
software
World Wide Web
Led the Internet’s transformation from a text-only environment into a multimedia landscape incorporating pictures, animation, sounds, and video 20

21. Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution
Web browsers
Programs that in effect, serve as navigable windows into the Web
Hypertext links
Tie together millions of Web pages created by diverse authors
Internet supports varied activities
eBay
Real-time multiplayer games 21

22. Into the Information Age
Events and ideas come together to transform the way people think, work, & live
Paradigm shift – a change in thinking that results in a new way of seeing the world
Agricultural Age – lasted until about 2 centuries ago
Industrial Revolution – advances in machine technology
Industrial Age – factory work promised a higher material standard of living
Information Age- people earn their living working with words, numbers, and ideas. 22

23. Into the Information Age
Living with digital technology
Computer literacy is already improving our day-to-day lives and careers.
Applications programs – software tools that transform general-purpose computers
Web applications – stored on the webso they can accessed and used by multiple computers with Internet access 23

24. Implications: Social and Ethical issues…
The threat to personal privacy posed by large databases and computer networks
High-tech crime and the difficulty of keeping data secure
The difficulty of defining and protecting intellectual property in an all-digital age 25

25. Living with Digital Technology
The threat of automation and the dehumanization of work
The abuse of information as a tool of political and economic power
Digital Divide – Majority of people have never made a phone call, or used a computer. Will the “digital divide” between information technology “haves” and “have nots” leave the “have nots” behind.
The emergence of biodigital technology
Computer chips helping them overcome disabilities
The dangers of dependence on complex technology 26

26. Into the Information Age
Web search strategies
Get to know your search engines
Be specific when you search
Know your plusses and minuses
Be selective
Organize your favorites
Protect your privacy
Be conscious of cookies and bugs
Remember that online shopping isn’t always better
Shop with care 27

27. Guidelines for deciding how to “do the right thing:”
Computer ethics
ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) - the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, delivers resources that advance computing as a science and a profession.
Guidelines for deciding how to “do the right thing:”
Know the rules and the law
Don’t assume that it’s OK if it’s legal
Think scenarios, when it doubt, talk it out
Make yourself proud
Remember the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Take the long view, do your part 28