Computer Revolution Essay

Personal estimatorsThe individualized reckoner revolution was a phenomenon of immense importance in the 1980s. What the honest American commonly refers to as a PC, or personal ready reckoner, did non even exist before the 1970s. Mainframe computers had been the norm, and they were primarily relegated to business and scientific use. With the dawn of the personal computer altogether Americans were allowed potential access to computers. As competition and modernization increased, issues of cost became less and less of an inhibitor, and it appeared that a stark naked scientific populism had developed. Companies such as apple Computer became household names, and course such as software product and d consumeloading became commonplace. It was predicted that by 1990, 60 percent of all the jobs in the United States would require familiarity with computers. Already by 1985, some 2 million Americans were using personal computers to perform various tasks in the office. The push of th e personal computer to the average American has been enormousin access to its usefulness at the office, it has become a source of entertainment, culture, and education.AppleFounded in 1976 by Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, Apple Computer was to be the spearhead of the personal computer revolution. Apple had achieved moderate success in the late 1970s, but in the 1980s the high society developed its innovative vision of how computers could relate to the average person. By 1982 Apple became the first personal computer company to bedevil an annual sales total of $1 billion. In 1983 Apple sneak ind the Lisa. Lisa was to be the successor of the Apple II and was the first computer to widely introduce the concept of windows, menus, icons, and a mouse to the mainstream. The Lisa computer was phased out by 1985 and sur-passed by the Macintosh in 1984. Macintosh was faster, smaller, and less costly than the Lisa it retailed for about $2,500 and was encase as a user-friendly machine th at was economical enough to be in every home. Although the machine possessed less processing energy than IBM PCs, one did not need any programming capability to run for the machine effectively, and it became popular.Beyond SimplicityNot satisfied to be simply the easy PC, Apple in 1986 introduced the Mac Plus, PageMaker, and the LaserWriter. The infusion of these three, particularly PageMaker, an easy-to-use art page-layout program, helped give rise to a untried medium k immediatelyn as desktop issue. Creating this new niche made Macintosh the premier, efficient publishing computer. Apple expanded its hold on the graphics commercialise in 1987 with the mental institution of the Mac II computer. Its color graphic capability fostered the introduction of color printers capable of reproducing the color images on the computer screen. By 1988 Apple introduced Macs capable of reading DOS and OS/2 disks, thereby law of closure some of the separation between Macintosh and IBM PCs.IB MOn 12 lofty 1981 International Business Machines (IBM) created its first personal computer. Simply called the IBM PC, it became the definition for the personal computer. IBM was the largest of the three giant computer firms in the world, and the other two, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Xerox, had previously attempt to make efforts into the new PC market but failed. IBM initially was not convinced that the American public was interested in computers, particularly for their own home usage, but after viewing the early successes of Apple they were placed to enter the race. In creating the software for the PC, IBM turned to a young company called Microsoft to formulate MS-DOS.Market SuccessIBM PCs were immensely powerful, fast machines, and their entrance into the market legitimized the personal computer and created a new cottage industry. In 1983 IBM introduced the PCjr, a less expensive version of the PC. Despite strong advertisement PCjr was not a success and cost IBM quite a bit in re putation and money. Undiscouraged by these results, IBM pressed onward. By the mid 1980s, IBM PCs had inspire many clones that emulated IBMs functions at a lower cost to consumers. ceaselessly setting the standard, IBM in 1987 introduced the PS/2 and the OS/2, the first IBM 386 models. IBM alike established agreements with software companies such as Lotus to develop advanced programming for their company. Attempts were excessively made by the company to launch a line of portable computers over the decade. The success of these various portable models was passably limited, due to size and cost, as well as improper promotion. take down with several marketing setbacks throughout the decade, however, IBM remained the largest computer firm in the world. By 1989 IBM was producing personal computers that dwarfed earlier models in speed, capability, and technology.SoftwareAs the personal computer explosion continued to grow, it spawned more and more cottage industries. One of the large st new markets to develop was that of the software industry, and one of the largest companies in that industry was Microsoft, founded in 1975 by William Gates and Paul Allen in Redmond, Washington. In 1981 Microsoft created MS-DOS, short for Microsoft Disk direct System. Although it was initially licensed only to the IBM Corporation, by the end of the decade it became the industry-standard direct software for all PCs. The ability to corner this lavish, fast- growing market coagulate Microsofts software leadership position in the 1980s. Microsoft also began effect late in the decade on Windows and OS/2 software programs for PCs and introduced programs for Apple Computer. Another growing software company was Lotus ontogenesis Corporation, who created its innovative 12-3 spreadsheet programs. Desktop publishing software was advanced greatly thanks to the growth of Apple Computers graphics capabilities. non-finite other software programs, from playful (video games) to statistical ( accounting programs), began to saturate the market, attempting to feed the growing desires of the American public.Information SocietyComputers have touched most aspects of how Americans function. through with(predicate) their ability to link groups across great distances, they have made the world, at least theoretically, a smaller place. The computer was not the first technological advancement to impact the nation so greatly, but the speed in which it swept across the country and the pace in which change at heart the field continues to occur have been remarkable. As technology advanced, the cost of computers also momentously declined. Schools on all levels began to integrate computer literacy into their academic programs as it was seen that this knowledge would be as essential as reading in the next century. Sales for computer companies sky-rocketed as they rushed to meet demand. Computer magazine publishers, such as Byte, PC World, and PC Magazine were either natural in the 19 80s or grew substantially as interest around the issue grew. Backlash regarding the growth of computers and their infiltration into society also occurred. business concern of an unfeeling technical society where human contact has been replaced by machines has been balmy by some extreme critics. On the more moderate nerve are criticisms that computer technology will only improve the lives of those who could succumb the high costs of a PC. Thus, the computer, instead of unifying, could potentially increase the spread head between the rich and the poor.Machine of the YearIn 1983 Time magazine solidified the personal computers arrival into mainstream society when it named the PC its 1982 Machine of the Year. Times Man of the Year award was given to a prestigious man or woman that had made a significant mark on the world in the preceding course by adapting the honor for a machine, Time acknowledged the immense section this technology had made upon society. Computers, once availab le only to trained programmers, now became increasingly commonplace in homes across the country. They changed the way the average American received and processed information at work and at home. about critics scoffed at the fact that the magazine had bestowed a machine with such an of the essence(p) title, but Time defended the decision, stating, There are some occasions, though, when the most significant force in a years news is not a single individual but a process, and a far-flung recognition by a whole society that this process is changing the course of all other processes. That is why, after weighting the ebb and melt down of events around the world, Time has decided that 1982 is the year of the computer.