The modern computer is the product of close to a century of sequential inventions. It is also the result of a corroboration that has spanned national and continental borders. And all through, this evolution has been driven by one need: to automate tasks. Mankind realized that rearranging inanimate matter could result in certain mechanical advantages. This is the essence of machines. Knowledge accumulated, and we came up with machines that could totally replace humans in some tasks. This discovery steadied up the evolution, since human limitations, at least on the physical level, were reduced. And now, we are using these machines to catalogue all the knowledge we have accumulated over the years. We are in the information age, and the computer has become a central determinant of our performance.
The effectiveness of the computer pivots on one major characteristic: speed. Every task that a computer does is first broken down into simple, logical steps. These steps are then converted into number values that so that the computer can understand. The manipulation of these numbers can be seen as a kind of arithmetic. A modern computer does thousands, even millions, of calculations, every second, in order to maintain a satisfactory level of output for the user. This is because it has to break down natural language into machine language. Text and numbers are easy for a computer to handle. Media like music and images require more sophisticated manipulation. To illustrate this fact, consider that in order for a computer to play an audio file lasting four minutes, it has to go through the same rigors needed to read a bible, from cover to cover, twice!
So fast are modern computers that they can now multitask. Multitasking is simply performing several tasks at the same time. An average computer can be accessing the internet, displaying a video, and processing some calculations at the same time. This dimension in computers has expanded the horizons, as far as their applicability is concerned. Computers, if well used, can drastically cut down on the amount of time required to accomplish menial tasks. Mainframes and mini-frame computers have taken this a step further, with one central computer being available for use by several people at the same time.
While operating at incredible speeds, computers have the added advantage of being very accurate. Actually, if fed correct data, a computer can always be counted on to produce the correct responses, unless there is a problem with its programming. This advantage can be directed correlated to the fact that now people can concentrate more on the big picture, instead of wasting time rechecking their information and statistics for accuracy. Progress in all sorts of human endeavors is thus much faster.
Computers have forever changed the field of communication. A mere couple of decades ago, trans-continental communication used to take days, sometimes even weeks, depending on the mode of communication. Nowadays, communication to any part of the world can be instantaneous, and requires only the click of a button. This is the significance of the internet. Through the internet, computers communicate with each other at dizzying speeds, spewing forth amazing loads of data, and saving billions of dollars in communication charges. This has even changed the way business is done today. With a minimum of resources, any business can nowadays operate on the international scale. Some businesses are already doing this, by outsourcing some of their interests across national borders. Billion-dollar decisions are now made in split-seconds, and effected with the click of a button. Little wonder, then, that some businesses are shooting up from obscurity into empires overnight.
The primary reason for inventing computers in the first place has been taken to a whole new level. Nowadays, computers have automated so many tasks previously done by humans that some jobs are nowadays the reserves of computers. Any repetitive task can be relegated to a computer. This is because modern computers can be instructed to perform new tasks, and will execute their instructions precisely, as long as they are equipped with the necessary accessories. With the evolution in computers, robots have been made to handle tasks that are either repetitive or dangerous for humans. This way, computers have increased the overall safety level of humans.
The first computers were hard to use. They needed specialized knowledge, since information had to be fed to the computer in special formats. However, with time, more convenient methods of communicating with computers have evolved. These methods approach natural language with each day. For example, computers can now recognize speech, and execute commands that have been fed to them verbally. Scientists are working towards optical recognition in computers, so that they can recognize faces, expressions and gestures. With such breakthroughs in technology, computers will soon be just as user friendly as the next person. A future when computers will respond to human emotions is foreseeable. At that stage, computers will be at their highest effectiveness, tackling problems with their amplified efficiency, while drawing little attention to themselves.
Of course, computers are not without some drawbacks. One of the most significant drawbacks with them is that they have now divided societies into two major groups: the computer literate, and the computer illiterate. One group has a distinct advantage in this information age. The other has to make do with traditional methods of tackling problems, or learn computers. Anybody who can not utilize the advantages of the computer is soon left behind by the rest of the society.
Another disadvantage is that computers have replaced many people in the work place. It can be argued that these replacements are part of human advancements, but the rates at which computers are replacing people have left many people reeling from the unexpected. It now requires a higher level of innovativeness to stay relevant in the changing landscape of technology. Very soon, most job descriptions will be the preserve of computers, and humans will just have to invent other job positions.
The ease at which information can be transmitted through computers has some drawbacks too. For example, some unscrupulous individuals have used internet channels to defraud others. The internet offers anonymity, and thus immunity from legal recourses. Billions of dollars are lost every year from these online fraudsters, and some of them simply disappear. Efforts are being done to tighten online security but somehow, fraudsters seem capable of keeping up with technological advances. Information flow through the internet can also compromise the security of institutions. For example, through satellite mapping, it is now possible to gather sensitive information on such premises as army barracks. Some terrorists have been known to use this while planning their attacks.
And finally, while computers are all good at storing information and processing it, the rapid increase and transfer of information is producing an information-overload scenario. This is where people are being confronted with so much information that they end up uncertain of what to make of it. Information overload is a real threat in these modern days, and can result in all sorts of eventualities, including mental breakdowns in people.
All in all, computers have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. And with each advance in technology, the disadvantages associated with computers reduce. Their usefulness becomes increase. A future when mankind’s activities will be inextricably interwoven with computers is not only foreseeable, it is inevitable.