Critical Analysis- Computers:The Life Story of a Technology- Part 2

So after reading the last half of the book, Computers: The Life Story of a Technology, by Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro, I have come to the conclusion that it is much more interesting than the first half of the book.  Perhaps, maybe this is due to the fact that second half of the book tells a story of computers that takes place in more recent times. As a result, I found that it was easier to imagine these computers and relate to the processes of designing and building them. As the story progressed closer and closer to today, I found myself reminiscing of what it was like when our family got our first personal computer and what it was like to use it for the very first time. Soon after, another memory popped into my head that had me instantly laughing- the use of dial up to log onto the Internet. Today, this technology seems so mundane and outdated but just a decade or two ago it was cutting edge. Something I found really interesting was when and how the Internet was first developed. According to the book, the first form of Internet was actually referred to as the ARPAnet and was developed in 1969 by the military (113-116). I'd never realized that the first form of Internet even existed that early in the development of computers. It is hard to imagine that the network started out consisting of just four nodes and that by 2000, the network, which was by then the Internet, increased to more than 51% of US households (132). I'm sure today, being 10 years later, that number has increased even more. I was also intrigued to read about how Apple Computers and Microsoft came to be. Both of these companies have had such a big influence on the direction that computers have taken and their future. Since the increase in knowledge of computers in the last 10-20 years, technology has constantly changed which makes things obsolete even after only a year.  It will be interesting to see the results in the next decades coming. As a society, we do not know what life is like anymore without technology. It shapes our everyday lives and how we interact. We no longer use the telephone anymore, nevermind mail letters. Email on our laptops and texting on our smart phones have replaced the need to even speak. While this may be in many ways convenient, it is also very dangerous in that we cannot thoroughly communicate our emotions through text. Computers have also made us somewhat lazy, and we tend to take the easy way out.