Discussion Activity 4

Topic 4 looks at computer hardware, what its primary uses are, and the various components that make it up. It gives a great historical perspective on where we’ve been and where we are today — as well as looking at various forms of computers. It goes along really well with our discussion in class today related to the concept of “faster, smaller, cheaper …” and really hits the point home. We have talked at great lengths about the impact on our lives digital media and technology are having … the DA this week asks you to think about this and project out into the future. Take the time to get in there, read the material and resond to the DA in a complete way. Things are getting set to tighten up a bit.

Discussion Activity Four

Every year notebook computers and personal digital assistants are decreasing in size and becoming more embedded in our daily lives. What effect will the continual decrease in the size of computers have on our lives and on society? Is this advancement making us more dependent or independent? What impact will it have on our work?

45 thoughts on “Discussion Activity 4

  1. The physical size of computers has always been decreasing, from the size of a room to one that you can fit in your hand today. How small can the computer get? There must be some extreme point at which the computer will be at its smallest size. Eventually they will be paper thin, as shown in the class video, but expandable so that they can have multiple programs visible at once such as a voice chat, a document, and a video. This is already becoming the trend with the nanotechnology being developed around the world. They can be paper thin and flexible, it is just a matter of driving the cost of producing the machines down. Our everyday lives will revolve around this minute machine, and society will be connected through them as well. We will be able to transfer digital media and information to anywhere in the world at the blink of an eye.
    This advancement is making us more independent and dependent at the same time. We can already work from home through the use of the internet and video conferences, and in the future it will be totally useless to have the thing known as an “office”. At the same time, the more we rely on the computer, the more dependent we become on the people who we communicate with while using them. We will expect everyone to be able to get in touch with us at the press of a button. If your co-worker does not reply to your message in less than 5 minutes, it could be a total disaster. We will depend on these tiny computers to meet our ever decreasing deadlines. Reports will be compiled in minutes or even seconds, and the time it takes to make up a presentation will be ridiculusly small. With this in mind, managers and “higher-up’s” will expect us to be more efficient for the same wages we are getting paid today. We will no longer have a week to come up with that progress report, only a few hours at most. It will make us a more efficient society, being able to get tasks done in much less time than it presently takes. Our work will be done in the comfort of our living room and mesh shorts, but for the real “important” things (such as a video conference) we might just have to dress nice.

  2. Without a doubt the decreasing size makes our country as a whole much more dependent on technology. For instance, most people today probably don’t remeber what it was like to type before today’s word processors like Microsoft Word. Even things as young as the internet aren’t even thought of as “technology” anymore due to our ever-increasing familiarity with it. As we become more accustomed to being connected at all times of the day, not mattering where we are, how can we not take technology for granted eventually?

    As dicussed in today’s class, apparently a new, flimsy computer “monitor” is being produced. For what reason? Beats me. Think about it, how would a flimsy screen be useful? The answer doesn’t seem clear now, but give it about 3 years. By then, the usefulness of it probably will be such that we won’t be able to imagine what we’d do without it.

    While I don’t think that dependence on technology is neccesarily a good thing, the efficiency and tidiness will improve our lives. For instance, soon remote controls won’t be lost anymore as our TV’s will be voice activated. Items of yesterday are being integrated together to become a superpowered handheld piece of machinery. In the coming years, my son/daughter may be able to go to a PSU class in the midst of a job interview. It’s good to get a jump on life, but who would want to give up the college experience? Anyone? Anyone in the class ever get excited to leave home for the first time or any other time?

    Being connected to my work at all times, though, doesn’t attract me. However, from the employer point of view, more things will get done in a shorter amount of time. Vacation hours should just become obsolete, since vacations as we know them probably will also.

    Yet, when you can fit as many magazines/newspapers/books into you coat pocket as is readily availiable, who can say that’s not at least interesting? That alone would reduce our amounts of trash around our campus. I remember what any room in the Thomas building looks like after a day of classes.

    I’m excited to experience the new things technology has to offer and see how we as a country will handle the responsibilities with attached with them. This subject reminds me of a saying that many unfortunate men have been forced to say throughout the years, “It’s not the size that matters, but how you use it!”

  3. As discussed in class, there is an obvious trend in technology. First and foremost, computers are rapidly becoming smaller and more advanced incredibly fast. Secondly we as individuals and as a society are swiftly becoming more dependant on computers. As far as the size and advancement of computers go, the general trend can be described with the statement, “technology doubles about every eighteen months.” That summarizes a law known as Moore’s law that was predicted back in the 1960’s I believe. No matter when it was predicted, the law was very accurate until recently. Recently the trend has not slowed down as one might expect, but in fact it has accelerated. Technology now doubles every 15 months or so. We buy computers now and they become obsolete to the point where we can’t use any of the new software out on the market in a year or so. Soon we will buy a computer and we won’t be able to use the software that comes out in a month. How will we solve this problem? It was suggested in class that computers might eventually be leased on a yearly, or monthly basis. Back to the physical size of computers though, right now PDA’s (handheld computers) can do much more than the personal computers that were around 10 years ago, and they fit into the palm of your hand. I guess the average weight of a laptop computer now is 6 pounds or so. Soon enough, laptops will be paper-thin and be able to do just as much as today’s’ supercomputers. In fact, with the increasing features in cell phones, I can see your cell phone being your computer. It will be able to do everything from reading newspapers, magazines, to editing of photos, videos, and of course you’ll still be able to use it to contact whoever you want. Wait a second not only will you be able to contact whoever you want, but anyone will be able to contact you. I view this as a huge problem. I enjoy technology a lot, that’s why I’m a computer major, but I also enjoy getting away from it all. That’s why I go rock climbing, backpacking, boating, and camping in areas where I can’t even get cell phone reception if I wanted to. Soon you’ll get cell phone reception everywhere so that won’t even be an option. All I know is, I’d hate it if I’m sitting around the campfire hanging out with my friends, and everyone’s cell phone goes off. Today its friends calling friends or parents calling children, but tomorrow it will be your boss, you’ll never get away from work and take a vacation of any kind. Hell, you won’t even go into work because your boss can send everything you need for work to you at home, or on the road or wherever you are, and he or she will be able to video conference with you now matter where you are or what your doing. You will be totally dependant on the technology for work as well as every other aspect of society. People don’t have the common curtsey to deal with today’s cell phones, phones going off in class, people talking to whoever when a doctor is trying examine them, talking when out to dinner, I dread to see what the next generation will do. Already I can see people glued to their cell phones, they are totally dependant on them. Being connected is very convent and a wonderful thing, people just need to know when to use it and when not to. If the society of tomorrow is to succeed, people will have to find a balance between when to use their connection and when its not the right time, as long as there is an option to turn my computer, cell phone, or other commutation device off, I’m all for it and look forward to the limitless possibilities of the future. We can depend on technology to make our lives easier, but we still need to know how to function without it.

  4. From the size of a large room or two to the size of my hand, computers have been and will continue to decrease in size for years to come. When will they be small enough is the question that people should ask. With all the nanofabrication stuff going on I believe that computers will decrease to microscopic size if not already possible. The idea of “faster, smaller, cheaper…,” should be expanded to include more convenient and user friendly to the general population.

    The continual decrease in the size of computers, like everything else, can hurt and/or help our global and local society. Microscopic computers(robots) could be used to help cure injuries and illnesses rather than undergoing long hours of surgery. Linking with nanofabrication, computers could be almost as weightless and small as a sheet of paper but able to access infinite amounts of ifnormation from the web as well as contact and/or use GPS to locate anyone in the world that one would want to find. More of the worlds general population would be able to communicate with each other at an instant with plenty of visual communication for those long distance relationships. If you can recal the video shown in class then you can get an idea of where I am going. I believe computers and phones will eventually become one, allowing web access, visual and audio communications with multiple people or chat groups and up dates on news, stocks, weather etc.

    Keeping in mind how convenient this would make computers one must also consider the fact that people won’t have a reason to travel or take trips to see family and friends anymore because you can “see” them by dialing them up for a video/phone conversation just as depicted in our little class video. I would definitely appreciate the convenience of this technology but my concern is that it will only increase the gap between those who can afford to keep up with our technilogical growth and those who can’t. People will become too dependent on the new way of communication, education and obtaining information that I fear future generations will only read about the way we comunicate today by accessing history files under some stupid program they pull up on their little fiber glass computer sheet. People will get too lazy to go out and explore for themselves.

    Lastly, work and education will be on a continuous no vacation basis. I mean you could shut everything off but when you turn the crap back on you’ll have a ton of “spam” of crap from your boss and teachers etc. I already hate when I check my webmail and I have a million fricken messages for different reasons so I’d definitely hate getting bs messages from my boss and/or a professor giving me my work to do and telling me to put it in a drop box by yesterday. I say yesterday because if you turn this stuff off and then turn it on the next day you will have missed a days worth of work in less than a 24 hour time period.

    Despite the down sides I still can’t wait to see how small, fast, cheap, convenient and user friendly computers, PDAs, cell phones etc. will become. I know I’d have fun with them but I’d still get board with all that technology after awhile and want to use it to help me get a flight to Australia or Japan etc. just for a cool vacation. Then I can just send up to the minute footage of it to whom ever I want anywhere in the world. How cool would all that be?

  5. “Faster, smaller, cheaper,” your not kidding. Ever since the first computer was invented they have been getting smaller and fast and more powerful. I think that the first computer was the size of a room and could add and subtract. Now there is a computer that can fit inside my wrist watch that can do calculations that I could never do.
    Take the video we saw in class, by 2010 they will have news papers, magizines, whatever you want right at your finger tips all on one device. That will do a lot in the way of saving natural resources, like paper. Personal devices that can conect no matter where you are on the planet. Instant connect through video screens and the basic telephone no longer in exsitence.
    As for bussines and the world getting smaller, there is no other way for the world to go but smaller. If I am a bussiness man in the U.S, I can be on a video conference with an assioate in China or New Zeland instantly, while I am driving to work. Of course we are going to become more dependent on things of this nature. When I am in bussiness and I need an answer right away I am going to excpect one. If my employees are given tools like those disscused then I would excpect them to get back to me very fast.
    I think that in the future the desktop as we know it today will no longer exsist. No more big bulky machines, there will be machiens that fit in the palm of my hand, or maybe even a finger tip that will do the same things. I am not sure if this is real, but I just read about a device that sends messages through reading glasses, little senseors on your finger tips write the message and you see it in the glasses, the you can send the message anywhere you want. I think that is pretty cool.

  6. Smaller computers have their advantages, such as mobility and weight. They also have some disadvantages that could serve as a problem in the future like storage capacity. Most affordable notebooks and laptops have about 30-40 gigabytes of storage. The more high-end ones have about 60-80GB. A lot of people today use more than one storage hardrives. Some hardrives on a Desktop PC have about 120GB. If Notebooks and Laptops do get smaller, than unless there is a way to shrink the size of the physical hardrive without shrinking its capacity, then there might be a problem. However I think there could be more than one way to store things on a computer. Maybe the use of server computers can be used as a storage device while being networked to a laptop. That way you still be able to store a massive amount of data from about anywhere. If you can hook up a wireless connection from a laptop to a server, I believe that you could solve that problem of storage capacity.
    The more portable something is, the easier it is to get information. I believe in the near future everyone will have a portable computer of some sort just as most people have cell phones. When the telephone came out it was a unique device that could transfer sound directly to another telephone. It was only a matter of time before cell phones were introduced. After the cell phones became more affordable it has become mainstream. Nowadays when you get on a bus, you always hear the ringtones of a cell phone go off. Pretty soon when we get on a bus we could be hearing “You’ve got mail” a lot more too.
    Many jobs these days require people working on computers. With computers becoming more mobile now, a lot of work can be done at home also. Of course that may or may not be a good thing to everyone.

  7. First asking the question what effect will the continual decrease in the size of computers have on our lives and on society? Our society and the technological aspect of it, is growing immensely. Looking in conjunction with Moore’s Law it is inevitable the size of different technology devices will decrease. Thinking realistically, this enables us to access our devices such as, computers, faster and more easily. Being able to carry our laptops/notebooks around effortlessly by throwing them into our briefcase or book bag with the conjunction of wireless capabilities being implemented is a great asset we were once denied.

    When looking at the question of where or not this advancement making us more dependent or independent? This allows us to look at two different ways these advancements are affecting our lives, not whether or not one way is best. I think these advances work within a balance. Yes we in fact will most likely become dependent on these devices in our everyday lives but at the same time we are independent within our society. We will no longer have to wait to get home or to the office to type up and send a proposal or e-mail, we will be capable of accessing our devices all the time.

    Lastly looking at what impact will it have on our work? I think it will just expedite the work force s progress. People will be able to work in a more time efficient manner within their lives, accessing work and personal life at the same time if need be. Instead of people constantly worrying about these technological advances and where we see our society and culture in the future, we should just embrace the fact the this is now and going to be a vital part of our lives and learn to appreciate it and work these advances in technology to our advantage.

  8. There was a time about 5 years ago when I thought to myself that technology simply could not move much further ahead than it already has. I was nearly convinced that we had moved so far, so fast, that it would all come screeching to a hault and we’d just have to say “that’s it”.
    Looking back on it now, I still totally relate to how i felt back then, but I see now that we’ve come up with so many innovative ways of designing these new, smaller, faster products that it seems very unlikely we will ever slow down or stop. Every piece of technology you own right now will be made easier to use and easier to move within 5 years from now – it’s not even a question anymore. If there is a way to do something out there, we have the minds to be able to achieve it now.
    Going back to one of the comments before this saying that the drawback from laptops is that they can’t store as much — I don’t really see that being a problem soon, because much like you said, I think we are going to have such connectivity soon that you will only need that actual device with you soon and you can simply use wireless connectivity to save any information you need. Just like the servers at school here, except you’ll be able to access it from anywhere in the world. I really don’t see that as being very far off. I can almost picture it now — Walking into best buy and purchasing a server for my house and just storing it in my basement next to the furnace, completely out of the way but entirely functional from anywhere I need to use it.
    If they are able to eliminate using hard-drives and such, products are going to shrink in size, because that does seem to be the one thing holding them back.
    I think this eventual decrease in size is only going to keep the world more connected, more demanding, but more informed and probably happier, in the end. There’s nothing I’d like more than to carry the power of my desktop with me everywhere i go, having more information in the palm of my hand than I could ever take advantage of in a lifetime.
    I do believe there are disadvantages to this – The social problems we face today due to computers could definitely worsen if these products are made to be attached to our hips like cell phone are now. But I feel like the fact that we are realizing these problems now is going to help the engineers and designers of these prodcuts figure out better ways to implement these tools into our lives — And really, that’s what these things should be looked at as to be safe. They are simply tools for living right now – soon to be as common as your toothbrush or your car – You won’t be able to function normally in this world without it, and so it HAS to be easily portable and accessible.
    Perhaps it makes us more dependant – but it’s dependancy on information, which is like depending on air, in my opinion.

  9. When I read the beginning of discussion activity four, the first thing I thought of was the first MP3 player I had about 3 years, maybe even 4 years ago. It was the newest wave of portable music. A creative labs nomad, it had 64 mb of memory; 32mb internal, and 32mb removable flash memory. This was great, I could get any ten songs or sometimes more put on this thing in any order, and I only had to pay two hundred dollars for it. Now the MP3 market has 20GB as the base model. That was merely an example of how I have observed a small part of this size decrease.
    The effect that a continual decrease will have on our lives will probably be something in the nature of more use. With the decrease in size and cost, more and more people will be using the newer forms of technology because they are more convenient with their size, and more affordable due to the decreasing prices. Every day that passes we are becoming more and more dependent on technology, and this advancement will increase our dependence on technology, but the technology is becoming more and more reliable in turn compensating for the dependence. As we’ve already seen work can be done almost anywhere. The decrease in size will make work easier to do at any place, at any time. This is a positive and a negative event. Because although it’s easier to do work, you may never be able to get away from it.

  10. The observation made by Gordon Moore in 1965, which led to Moore’s Law was that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented, due to that observation he stated that data density would continue to double approximately every 18 months. The observation that Moore had made has proven to be true, however it seems that due to the everyday advancements every 18 months has changed to every 15 months, which is making it difficult to keep the technology we have up to date.
    Due to fact that we as a society have over the years become completely dependent on technology it makes keeping up with the daily changes a challenge. When looking at where we used to be with computers, mainframes in the 1950s to notebook computers and handheld PDAs, shows just how far we’ve come as a society and how little time it has taken us to get here. Computers have become embedded in our daily lives due to the fact their found in every aspect of our lives from the scanners at the supermarket, to the PC sitting in our home office, to the cell phone in our pocket. With computers becoming smaller, it’s making it much easier for us to have all the information we need right in the palm of our hand. Since there has been a continual decrease in the size of computers we’re going to see that in the future there will be no place in our daily lives that a computer won’t be part of. Computers are going to be found in every aspect of society giving us all the information we need. We’re going to be able to read any book, magazine article, watch movies, communicate with one another directly, take photos and develop them all with the click of our mouse. When you look at where we’ve been and the progress we’ve made it’s obvious that we’re going to become a society driven on advancements in technology and based on computers.
    All of these technological changes are reshaping the workplace. These advancements are helping us and going to continue to help us stay connected with one another, be more efficient, and in the end save time. Currently we’re able to have business meetings without traveling and communicate with one another instantaneously. In the future we’re going to be able to do more work from our homes, due to the fact everything we’re going to need will fit into nicely in our briefcases, no offices needed. More work is going to be accomplished on a daily basis because it’s becoming easier to get work done since everything we need to do our jobs is going to only be a click away. Getting work done is no longer going to be stressful due to useful changes in technology.
    Looking at the technology we have to today we need to understand where we’ve been and see where we’re heading. We see that technology is always going to be changing and advancing and we need to learn to appreciate it and take advantage of what we have, because it’s always going to be a part a fundamental part of our daily lives.

  11. Technology in the computer industry has come a long way in about 20 years. Everything is getting smaller but becoming more powerful and faster. Computers started out being so large they would fill the complete room, which had to be very well air-conditioned! Now, they can fit on top of a desk, on a shelf, or even in the palm of our hand. It is incredible and keeps getting better, I believe in the next 5 years we will have computers almost paper thin like the one shown in the class. Everything will be wireless and we will literally be connected to our job, family, sports, etc. all the time!
    I can remember our first computer. It was a Compaq Prolinea 386sx with a 40 MB hard drive! It ran on a windows 3.1 operating system and could play some of the coolest games at the time! Most of the games had to be loaded through dos and came on a 5.25” diskette. The cost of this bad boy was $1,199 for just the computer alone. Also, the monitor was 14” and took up the better half of the desk and cost $449. We bought a “dot matrix” printer to accompany our machine which cost $228! That was 12 years ago, now, computers have gone way exponentially compared to back then because for about $500 the average family can get a computer to get the connected to the world, email, play some games, and learn! When computers first came out, who would have thought that almost every family has one – at least one in most cases, or most college students have their own personal computer! I know my dad would have never dreamed of having his own computer at work, that was only something the secretary had and it sat right next to her type-writer.
    With the size of computers decreasing, they are helping to keep us connected constantly! We can now carry them in a brief case, backpack (although I wouldn’t advise it), and even our pocket! I could see computers eventually being nothing more than the width of a flat-screen monitor for desktops. Everything will be built into the back and we will have a mouse and keyboard as our inputs. As for laptops and PDAs, who knows how small those could become. I still can’t get over how thin the iBook G4 is! It seems unreal that in a machine that is about a foot long and six inches deep can still do everything that a large desktop computer can!
    This advancement in computer technology I think makes us both independent and dependent. Being independent in the way that we are able to get more work done at home or wherever we may be. Internet capabilities are all around us and even becoming wireless, we are literally a plug away from being connected. I think this makes us dependent on the technology just because what happens when it doesn’t work or the server has a virus. Most people panic and don’t have any idea where to start in order to fix their problem. As far as how it will impact our jobs, being connected constantly could be devastating to some however because they could just be too consumed in their work to worry about life around them. The work itself will get done faster with computers and the internet. Now we can have video conferences and never leave our room, we are always being reachable through email and devices like Instant Messenger, and we have the resources at our fingertips to find and learn new information!
    It is a fun time to be involved with IST and I am really looking forward to seeing what types of jobs I will be doing with computers in 3 years and what kind of computers I will be working with!

  12. I don’t really remember the really old laptops and how big they were and how they worked, however, I have seen pictures of them and acutally seen them in old movies. It’s acutally realy funny to look at them and then look at the machine that I’m typing on at this very second. Its amazing how things have changed in just a couple of years. From the picture that Cole showed us of the laptop from 1999 to the laptops now are even more impressive. Now with almost being able to have everything on our cell phones and just yet another amazement that I think many people just take for granted and don’t actually look at how far we’ve come in IT.
    If this rate continues and laptops get smaller and smaller and soon we will be able to run a “super computer” on a hand held device or in most reality our cell phones. I feel that this will effect our lives in an extremely positive way. It makes everyone that much more mobil. No longer does a person need to go home or go to the office to get on the internet and do the things that need to be done on a computer. I think that a lot more people will be able to do more things with their family and still get their jobs done becuase the can carry all the information and neccessities they need right in the pocket. I also believe that when this time does come and there is no need to sit down at a computer more people will go outside and do things rather than sit at home on the computer. Hopefully people will get out and at least walk around somewhere get at least a little exercise and make this country a little less fat!
    I believe that this impact is making us more independent. So many people are becoming more involved and know how to deal with computers and eventually everyone will have a cell phone that does everything a computer does and will no longer be dependent on the things that we use today. Also people will no longer have to go “into the office” as much because they can control everything right in their hand.

  13. Sorry hit the wrong damn button. But anyways.
    As far as how it will change people and their jobs. It will change companies dramaticlly. People will have all new technology to work with and companies will be able to grow and become more efficient. I also feel that peoples lives will be much better because they won’t have to spend as much time at work and this will cause less stress on themselves and their families.
    It’s amazing to look at everything we have now and how far that we have come so far. But “so far” is a huge saying when it comes to IT. The fact that sometime in the future you will be able to walk around with a computer in your pocket that can accomplish the same tasks that a desktop or laptop can do is amazing. I feel lucky to be alive in this time and experience all of this and see what is yet to come.

  14. As we all know, technology is continuing to advance as we speak. With these advances, size plays a major role. Computers now are getting smaller and smaller and are capable to perform more task than ever before. As the size of computers continue to decrease, people will began depending on them more heavinly than they already do. It will get to the point where people will be able to access information from the palm of their hands, without actually sitting in front any type of screen. It will get to the point where people could pull out a wallet size device and unfold it into any size, from a 13 inch screen to a large projector. With these continual advances, there will be no use of an office nor the modern telephone. You will be able to be contacted 24 hours a day 7 days a weak no matter what your location is. The project that Cole is working on is a perfect example of this. There will be no need for classes, everyone could just hit a button and comunicate virtually.
    As stated previously, these advances are making us more dependent. It will get to the point that people will not know how to perform basic task, such as researching in a library or even shop at a grocery store.

  15. It is a general trend that technological devices, such as computers, are getting smaller and smaller all the time. People everywhere will be able to take advantage of new technology anywhere there want to, instead of maybe having to stay at home because their desktop pc’s can do more than there laptops and PDA’s. In the near future, however; devices like laptops and PDA’s will be able to do anything our desktop pc’s at home can do. It will make us more independent as a whole. We won’t have to neccessarily go to work to do our jobs. We’ll be able to stay in contact with fellow employees and employers as if we were actually there at a meeting. I think people will be able to do work somewhere where they feel they can get more work done, somewhere where they don’t feel as stressed as they do at work.
    Overall, I think having smaller, faster, and cheaper devices will allow people to get out of the house and do things they normally might have to stay in a building to do, as well as allowing us to be more independent as a whole.

  16. The decrease in the size of computers and personal digital assistants will simply take up less space and weigh less which will allow people to pretty much have them at all times. Such technology is becoming so easy to carry around that I believe a PDA or IPOD in your pocket will be as normal as having a wallet in the years to come. So yes, we are slowly developing a dependency for devices like laptops, cell phones, PDA’s etc. I really can’t blame us for doing so because technology is created to make are lives more convenient. We should be dependent on it. Sure, technology fails from time to time but that is just something we must deal with when it arises. Bottom line is that our use of new technology is making us more independent when it comes to our personal lives. We have the ability to communicate, work, etc. whenever and wherever we want all thanks to constantly advancing technology. Naturally, this will cause some confusion between work time and personal time but it is really up to the individual as to how they want to manage their time.

    If we would just take a look at foreign countries and their advances in technology we can just see where this world is headed. Countries in Europe have the Plasma/Flat screen High Definition TV now for several years, and the price is starting to drop on them. In the States, HD TV’s have just recently become popular and are extremely expensive. The United States is usually 5-10 years behind in new technology with Europe.

    It really leaves me in awe with the technological advances that keep emerging in this world. The video in class about “the newspaper that does everything for you”; that just makes me anxious and excited for the future and how i will be able to complete my everyday actions with a device that i can fold up and put in my pocket.

  17. This article was really interesting cause in my MIS204 class we read almost identical and had a similiar debate. After the class learned about storage and CPU we were in awe to see how much smaller computers havent gotten, yet how much more resourceful.
    As we learned in class by Moores law every year and half the number of transistors per square inch will double. And as we saw, the old laptop was HUGE! Its really cool to think how far theyve come, but kinda scary to think how far they can go. In no time, it will control ourlives. I think that as the size is decreasing thee easier it is to depend on your computer. I remember my dad never took his work to the beach, now its so easy for him too, he has for the last few years. I think as size decrease the dependency on computers increases. It makes it easier to grab and go. Its all about convience. Computers are becoming more and more convienent. I think this will lead to much laziness then us Americans already have.

  18. I hit tab by accident.. sorry. Anyways, I think that its just nature to take something easy and start to use it and once you get accustomed to it you cant live without it. Just like cell phones. they started out small then slowly everyone got one. When I didnt have a cell phone I never thought much of it, now though I cant imagine being without my cell phone. Although this new technology might affect us physically, I think it will have great impacts on our work. It will save time and money. And for people who travel a lot with their job it can save their relationships with their kids and siginificant other. I think that it goes both ways, that it may increase dependibilty and laziness but also it will save money, time, families, and make things much easier. So its more on the scale of which is more important, and the opputurnity costs of each.

  19. I think it’s amazing how computers keep getting smaller and more powerful. I couldn’t imagine living during any other time. The effect that the continual decrease in the size of computers will have on our lives and society will be great. I believe that with this decrease in size, computers and personal digital assistants will be continually getting cheaper. As a smaller model is introduced, the older and bigger models will be less expensive. With the continuation of this trend, soon the majority of society will have the ability and money to purchase these products. One day, everyone in society will be expected to own computers and some form of PDAs. This will push the population to be an even more technologically oriented society.

    This advancement in technology is making us both more dependent and independent. It’s making our society more dependent because we our programming our lives and all of our information into these devices. If someone lost their PDA or notebook computer, chances are they would lose a lot of personal information, as well. Take my cell phone, for example. Without my cell phone, I would lose all of my friend’s and family member’s phone numbers, the ability to reach someone where ever I am, and the ability to be contacted at any time. This is only my cell phone, so if I had a PDA or another personal device that may contain my entire personal schedule and calander, I would be totally lost. Although, these advancements are also making society more independent. Since these devices will include most of ones personal information and contacts to family and friends, there will be less need for “human” personal assistants or phone books and house phones. They will give the average individual the ability to be much more organized than he/she may already be, or not be. They will include everything that a person may need to know including weather, news, personal schedules and calanders, and many other features. So obviously, this advancement in technology has many very different pros and cons.

    These developments will have a positive impact on our work. I think it will make a lot of things much easier for people to do including research and organization. But, a downfall of this might be the constant connectedness one may have to their work. While one may be able to do their work at any time and any place, they would also have the ability to be contacted by someone from their place of employment at any time. I think this may cause a problem in the future and eventually, society will have less and less free and personal time.

    As I said earlier, this is an amazing time to be alive. Things that are being developed today were not even fathomable fifty years ago. I can’t wait to see where society is headed and exactly what unbelievable inventions will be unveiled next.

  20. Impossible is a word not used very much at all in the technology field. Computers nowadays are getting faster, cheaper, and smaller than ever before. The video about how the one company imagined technology in the year 2010 was just mind boggling to think about. Imagine the paper flexible monitors to read your magazines and newspapers. Video phones to actually see what the person is doing and a kitchen that has a mind of its own. If you asked people if this would be happening decades ago they would be tell you impossible but the impossible is becoming possible.

    Computers continue to decrease in size and just imagine what is in the future. There are thoughts out there that say we will have a whole computer system inside our head. The size of the computer will have to be very tiny for people not to notice and to be surgically implanted. In the end it all comes down to convenience and the computers/laptops can now be taken just about anywhere in the world. People who could never afford computers can afford two or three now. The decreased price in computers allows almost everyone to have access to the programs and to the internet. More countries can now afford them to connect them to the rest of the world. As long as technology becomes cheaper and people keep buying and using it then it will be implemented in society.

    I believe this advancement will make us more dependent on the technology. Just think about what happens when you get a virus or your computer needs repairs. If you are missing your computer for days or weeks it feels like are disconnected from the world. I rely on my computer for a majority of important things such as communication, research, and writing. As the technology driven society continues to grow just think about what you are going to do if your computer driven home crashes. How will you cook? How will you get heat? We will begin to count on computers as almost our personal assistants and if something happens to them you feel lost.

    Computers help increase productivity in businesses and now people can never leave work behind there only a couple clicks away. Work can now get done quicker and more efficient. The only problem that could happen is when a virus sweeps across the computer systems then that means you should have some good back up storage or else you are in big trouble. Everything now can be basically be sent electronically and only takes seconds compared to the mail system which takes days. The decrease of size in computers continues to add to our convenience and can bring a whole new level to our lives.

  21. Personally, I am very excited to be in the world when this is all happening. We get to see and experience the advances technology has in store for us, it is all happening in front of our eyes. Plus, how cool will it be to grab these devices that are as thin as a piece of paper and be all like, check it out, I got the new iLittleFreakingComputerThingy with all this crazy software and other stuff on it, how cool am I? Obviously, the smaller these devices get, the more we are going to use them and the more they are going to become embedded in our lives. We will be able to take them anywhere. All the busy people, running around, not taking a moment to watch a leaf fall from a tree, will be able to do even more things at once, multi-tasking to the max. Mom’s and Dad’s will be spending quality time with the youngsters and be able to take out their tiny device and send their work in on time, wherever they are, whatever they are doing, it will be that easy. These advancements make us more dependent and more independent. With this technology on the move, we are continuously getting used to the newest and the best devices and software out there. If all of that just stopped and disappeared, people are going to freak out (even though people have survived for thousands of years without this stuff) and say, “How can I possibly give a presentation without my notebook, a projector, and keynote or powerpoint, I’m screwed!” But, at the same time, we are more independent, there is more we can do, each day the human mind is breaking down new boundries within technology and each day we are manipulating are selves to be able to deal with this technology. We are going places we never thought possible. I, personally, just hope that we do not use it to continue down the path of just putting more and more to do into our day, becoming busier and busier. I think we should use it for more important stuff, like personal pleasure, being able to make new forms of art and music, breaking more and more boundries of our imagination and the creativity that it holds. We do not have to rush around all the time, money is fun and powerful, our society is based upon it being godlike, but I think that we should do it to improve our soul. To reach the greatest levels of happiness, which I definitely think that new technologies can do for us, we need to get rid of this attitude of rush, rush, and more rush. We are just eating up our lives with stress and absolute crazyiness, it just doesn’t make sense to me, is money that important to you. Are you willing to give up yourself, your emotions, live life a little. Sorry, I sometimes go off on tangent when I think about things that bother me in the world we live in, but the future is technology, it is going to get smaller and smaller maybe one day it’ll be inside us, who knows? It has it’s positives and it’s negatives, like almost everything out there, I think it’s what we do with the technology that really shows what we are as a people, as a race, and as a society that really matters, at least in the big scheme of things.

  22. Notebook computers and personal digital assistants are decreasing in size and becoming more and more a part of our daily lives. This constant decrease in computer size will have a significant impact on our lives and society as a whole.
    Advances in technology have allowed for the creation of computer equipment which is virtually undetectable to the naked eye. The computer of the future will be viewed as an invisible computer that is built into devices that are traditionally not viewed as containing computers.Examples of this are toasters, refrigerators, cars, and microwaves.
    The typical personal computer of the future will be completely nomadic. The average person will be able to use the computer from anywhere, while traveling or moving, without restrictions based on location. The computer and PDA will be wearable. It will be attached to the body or integrated into clothing. A display will be built into glasses which accept transmission from a tiny computer. This tiny computer may have a projected keyboard with a laser light that can be projected onto any flat surface.
    One of the most alarming by-products of the trend toward downsizing involves our personal security and privacy. Envirnomental technology in the form of ubiquitous computer surveillence has attempted to bring multimedia computing effortlessly into our daily lives. The future promises a world of cameras and microphones connected to invisible computers which are attentive to our every movement or conversation.
    The ways that we communicate, travel and protect ourselves will change. Tiny cameras are now able to survey traffic and pedestrians. The cameras can report their scenes straight to police stations by use of
    sophisticated image processors that scan for crime. Police will be able to use sound pickups that transmit directly back to headquarters. These monitors can pinpoint gunfire and distinguish human voices crying for help.
    Ordinary citizens will also be able to call up images from cameras through the use of wristwatch computers. Unsafe areas of town can be watched. Parents can keep track of wandering children. Miniature computers will detect shoppers activities and make inferences about their shopping behavior. Cash register scanners will pour a flow of data about customers and their purchases to companies, thus guiding advertising and marketing.
    In the workplace, information will be readily available to all personnel. The need to travel for business will be curtailed as communication between companies and individuals will be fast and effortless. More and more people will work at home as information and communication are at the workers’ fingertips. Employees will be in constant touch with their superiors, making for better communication and efficiency.
    However, with the good comes the bad. Employees will be under constant surveillence. Work habits will be scrutinized at all times. Private conversations will be a thing of the past as microphones will pick up any chatter. Communication by computer will also be watched as companies will be able to break into everyone’s computer at any time. Since computers will be worn on the body, coworkers and bosses will be able to pinpoint our locations at all times.
    This advancement in the size of computers and PDA’s will make us more and more dependent upon computers. We will rely on them to tell us what to wear, eat and enjoy. Computers will be in our homes, at work, on the street and on our bodies. Computers will mediate an increasing number of the decisions that we have to make about our lives. Privacy will be a thing of the past, as laws will have a hard time keeping up with the technology. It will be virtually impossible to distance ourselves from the computer. Technology seems to keep growing and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

  23. The continual decrease in the size of computers is the result of the demand for computers and technology. No one would want to devote a whole room in their house, or carry a digital assistant the size of a briefcase around. Technology has become more advanced so that everyone can have a computer in their home and have a PDA that fits into their pocket. The continual decrease in size of these technologies will make it easier and easier for more people to have these items with them at all times, thus leading to a dependent society. People are already dependent on their PDAs to store meeting times, phone numbers and other information, and people need to carry the PDAs with them at all times. Without it, they would be lost. These items have become more mainstream, where they are more affordable, and now all people, not just wealthy people, carry them around.
    Computers have already decreased immensely since they first came out. My desktop computer barely takes up space on my desktop. As they become smaller, it will be easier for people to have space for them in their homes, not just in the office, but the kitchen or other rooms in the house. Households won’t just have one computer, but people will have more room so that everyone in the family could have one if they wanted.
    The advancement of smaller technology has increased our dependence. Right now, I am dependent on having a computer in my apartment so that I can complete this assignment. Without having my own computer, I would be inconvenienced by having to drive to campus, park, and use a computer lab. Our dependence makes it all that much harder to get things done, when the technology does not work. At offices, everything in that office is somehow dependent on computers. In most work environments, each employee has their own computer, an advantage now that they are so much smaller. Everything that employee does, word processing, spreadsheet, database, CAD, is all relying on that computer. Most employees are trained to do their work with the aid of these computers, making the work easier and get done faster. Most employees would be lost without their computer. Imagine the time it would take for an architect or engineer to draw everything out by hand, when they have become so dependent on using their CAD program on the computer. The size of computers allows offices to have hundreds of computers, not just one.
    Even though our lives have come to depend on computers, they help us to get things done quicker, faster and easier. The decrease in size has allowed technology to become portable and has allowed technology to come it to everyone’s home. Employees can work from home, students can work from their apartments or dorm rooms, people can get work done while commuting on a train or airplane. The smaller computers and PDAs get, the easier it will be for everyone to own one, and will help people to get things done, whenever and wherever the can or want.

  24. With decrease in computer size the main problem, involving privacy, will be an even bigger complaint for society. Government will have access to more protective strategies because of small devices but on the other hand terrorists wouldn’t have to work so hard to retrieve “insider information”. There will be plenty of leaks for that. University’s, teachers and professors could encourage the use of these easier, smaller, more accessible devices to bring creativity to the table. Business’ could integrate small devices also for ease of use, simple communication methods, and potentially boosts profits. They could also allow for work at home offices and decrease spending. Consumers like the idea of smaller because it proves easy to use usually for both young and old and that’s society’s personal preference.
    But there will not only be technological changes, there will also come dramatic societal changes as well. For some, the computer and all of it’s capabilities increase our level of communication. Infact it will first initially drive us towards individualism which in turn leads to a more competitive and segregated environment among our peoples. This is not necessarily a bad outcome because technological advancements have already begun the process of individualism. Society can benefit once everyone realizes what the extremities are to these computers and computer paraphernalia. To make a long story short, we are already so much more dependant on technology because as a society we are dependant on communication which drives all society’s all together. And in all means necessary, technology will continue to adhere to any and all communication issues.
    The size of tomorrows computer will bring about drastic change; in the home, in school, in politics, in the workplace, etc. Issues on personal privacy will be at an even greater risk. In all aspects of society smaller revolves around outstanding security, comfort ability, simplicity and portability (And these are in which all of the ways a thriving business can succeed. Work as we know it will be more time consuming taking away the time put aside for daily rituals, such as communication outside of the workplace with family and friends thus causing this reaction of individualism).

  25. As the size and power of these notebook computers and PDA’s decreases the mobility of people and computing will increase. People will be able to do more things away from powerful PC’s and their office networks that they weren’t able to do before. As we saw in class in 15 years mac’s have gone from 26 lb word processors to 4 lb wirelessly connected complete computers. I believe that eventually more computing will be incorporated into the cell phone and much more computing will be via voice recognition.
    I think that this advancement is making us more independent and that society will be communicating almost entirely digitally in the future. Topic 4 discusses how offices are now using PC’s for most of their employees because they are so powerful today and relatively cheap at under $1000. Moore’s Law tells us that speed and power of technology is doubling every 18 months for the next 20 years. If this continues as expected then the possibilities are limitless. Also with the advancements in nanotechnology we can expect our computers to be handheld and have more storage, power, and faster wireless connections.
    I think our work will be much better. I think voice recognition will allow us to dictate papers in half the time it would take to write them. I also believe that increased secondary storage will allow us to individually store nearly unlimited information. I believe that advanced applications will allow us to make greater presentations for work in less time instead of the boring old Powerpoint presentations. Increased primary storage will allow us to work at a speed so fast that we won’t be waiting for computers to load they will be waiting for our next command. Larger, faster networks will allow many people to connect and share all information so that many will work at home and many business meetings will take place on the net. We have an exciting time ahead of us and I think that what we predict will probably not be as good as the technology to come; we will be amazed.

  26. According to Moore’s Law every eighteen months we will produce a computer that is faster, cheaper, and smaller. This has rung true since the introduction of the personal computer back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. As soon as I work up the guts to buy a new personal computer that is ridiculously faster, cheaper, and smaller than my last purchase, I turn around to find that a new super computer has been released.
    The continual decrease of these computers has allowed our society to be connected to the rest of the world at all times. It has allowed for amazing mobility of technology. As computers continue to decrease soon we will be able to place a super computer into our pocket. It is amazing the advance of computer technology over time and what is even more amazing is the speed of this advance.
    Eventually we will carry our personal computer with us everywhere. Soon it will become routine when as I leave the door to go to work I will pick up my keys, wallet, cell phone, and personal computer. This will allow us to be connected to the internet all the time. Soon we will never be able to tell our friend ‘sorry we just weren’t able to reach you’ because it will become so simple to contact someone.
    I think the advancement of technology has made us dependent on computer technology. It will continue to become more and more a part of our life, until we are not able to part from it. There is no escaping it because if we do not continue to integrate this technology into our daily lives we will be left behind in the workplace and even within society.
    As I stated throughout my blog, this advancement will greatly impact our work. It will allow us to be connected 24/7 and at any time of the day we must be reachable. It will become a nuisance in the workplace when we have our boss bugging us at two o’clock to fix something that has gone wrong. There are ups and down to this advancement, but either way we must advance with the rest of the world or we will be left behind.

  27. As computers and other electrical devices continue the trend of decreasing in size and price and increasing in speed, our lives will become a lot more dependent on these technologies. We are accustomed to being able to be digitally connected to everyone, anywhere, anytime. When technology becomes more mobile by decreasing in size, our lives will revolve around it. Accessability to information will be faster than ever before. I believe the notion that as technology makes everything easier that we as a human race will become lazier and more withdrawn from society is false. Instead, people will have a better understanding about the world around them through the technology that readily gives them information and motivate them to go out into that world and contribute to society.

    The advancement of these technologies is making us more dependent on the technology itself but more independent as individuals in this society. Prior to internet age, in order to access information, one had to depend on someone to go through cabinets and files until they found whatever it was they were looking for. Now, all one needs to do is type in a word into a computer and the computer will spit out the information. Dependency only shifted from humans to computers.

    Our jobs will become easier and more efficient as well. You would be able to live at home or travel to another country and still have all the access you would have if you were in the office. The trend will make a more educated and thus more powerful world.

    …cause Knowledge is Power!

  28. First and foremost, as computers and digital assistants get smaller, my fingers seem to get bigger. Maybe this is not a problem for most people, but for me to properly use the inputs; I need to be able to press the damn buttons. My cell phone is about as small as I am willing to let it get, for if it got any smaller, I would be misdialing like crazy. The other problem with smaller devices is that the output becomes smaller as well! Even if I can press the buttons, if I cannot distinguish what the output shows because it is too small that does not help much. Sure, it is nice to be able to have a 1950s era supercomputer fit in the palm of my hand, but back then they still used full sized keyboards(albeit not comfortable or aesthetically pleasing), and decent sized output displays(I only use a 17in computer monitor myself).

    On the other hand, there are great advantages to smaller computers and digital devices. Now that we are no longer using punch cards in the PSU computer labs (Macs are a step up from those old machines… but only one step.), and notebooks don’t use bubble RAM anymore, and we have found good, reliable alternate memory storage devices like the hard drive of today, things are looking good. A Hard drive’s possibly storage capacity is huge, and takes up much less space than the equivalent amount of diskettes or compact disks required to store the same amount of data. Also, the improvements made to computer inputs, such as optical mice, and wireless peripherals, makes things much more hassle free. I can now operate my big clunky PC from across the room using wireless inputs. While on the topic of wireless stuff, high bandwidth wireless data transfer is also a big improvement, especially Bluetooth (interesting note, Bluetooth is actually recognized by Microsoft Word’s spellchecker as a proper noun) wireless technology. That stuff is tiny!

    All these improvements to the technology allow us to use high power computer-like devices anywhere, anytime, mostly just because they are more portable. Is this a good thing? Sure, at times it is. Being ‘connected’ (referring to our in class discussion on being ‘connected’) can be good, especially for people with important and or demanding jobs. But then again, it is kind of sucky because people who may want to get away from it all could be stuck doing work on the go.

  29. Decreasing in size in computer has become more embedded in our life. The significant decrease of the mass can greatly impact in our lives, society and workplace. Let us goes to see the effect in our lives and society.

    The impacts on our lives and society in changes in computer size. Firstly, continual decrease in the size of computer effect in out life. It makes us to have an easier life. Compare in the 20th century, people used to have a bulk computer case that took the whole room capacity. However, nowadays we could have a small palm, notebooks, which can process as the function in the Central Process Unit, would let us travel around with. With the notebook and we can read the newspaper, check and send mails and fax, search for the map, etc.

    As to prove, according to the Moore’s Law which states that given constant research and competitions among manufactures, processor speed will double every eighteen months. For example, in the case of sending photos electronically, in 1976, it was very inconvenient. In 1990, it might have taken house. But nowadays, a photo can be sent instantly across the quick network. This also proves that in the future time, the size of the computers that we are using today can be as thin as a piece of paper.

    Secondly, the continual decrease in the size of computer in our society. The decrease size of the computer can help us to boost the economy. For the bar code scanner install inside the supermarket. Whenever an item scan through the bar code, which is the indicator for the price, supplier and all the product items information, will then transmit the main computer system. The marketing company can then track the sales of the products and advertise the items to the targeted consumers. This can reduce the cost to launch the marketing research and also boost the society’s economy.

    The advancement makes us becoming more dependent on technology. This advancement of reducing size of computer makes us more dependent on them.

    Firstly, we depend on a lot of small high technology facilities. For instance, the cell phone we carry everyday. We have depended on it my putting all the contact number in it. Imagine when your cell phone is out of battery and you are in an urge to find someone to pick you up. At this moment, you might not recall a number to help you out.

    However, you might come out an idea that the over depend on computer will have a negative impact to us. But if we try to be more conscious and always think of the consequence before actions we can avoid the mistakes. This can always omit the careless fraud in the technology that affects the society

    Furthermore, it shows the positive impact on the continual decreasing size of computer can optimize our time and resources in our work.

    Firstly, we can benefit with the small size webcam. And we can use the web to do the net conference, which happened a lot in the big world-wide company. All they need is a web camera in front of the computer, and then we can gather up all the people from different locations. This can help to save time for us to travel around the world for a meeting in these companies.

    Moreover, in the work place the data can be stored in the continual decreased size of hard drive. As the time goes by, the reduced size of hard drive can store up more information with an affordable price.

    And in the workplace we can benefit with the volatile and mobile notebooks, which is designed for them to travel around. And they can use them do the net meet and exchange information instantly.

    Overall, the reduced size in technology benefit in our society, lives and workplace. Although we will be more rely on the technology, the beneficial of technology out values than the deficits side. We could continue to eyewitness the improvement in technology according to the Moore’s Law.

  30. I think the advancement of technology will make us more dependant of portable computers and phones. Our dependency on technology will increase due to the fact that we will grow accustomed to small, lightweight electronic devices that make our lives easier and keep us in touch 24/7 with the world. Just as cellular phones have become increasingly popular over the past few years I think that personal computers will do the same. Grabbing your personal computer on your way out the door in the morning it will be as common as getting your keys or a cup of coffee. Sometimes that is not our idea of a good thing though. Employers might require their employees to be connected in one fashion or another at any time of the day or night. Personal space and time will be compromised.
    We are even able to connect to the web wirelessly at an increasing number of places such as airports, libraries, bus terminals, universities, and restaurants. Local merchants now offer free wireless Internet in their establishments to entice patrons in, and to stay longer.
    I myself am dependent on my laptop computer, which I am using to write this blog. It’s a very useful tool that can be carried with me practically anywhere. I would hate to think what my life would be like without it. Virtually all of my homework and personal files are here in one convenient place. It is my entire scholastic life wrapped up in a lightweight package.

  31. Every piece of technology is becoming smaller and faster and these technologies as every new idea that works will be embedded into our lives. Cell phones are a perfect example of this; when cell phones first came out they were the size of fax machines (exaggeration), and people that were very wealthy or very strong could carry this new technology. Now, it is hard to find a person that doesn’t own and use a cell phone on a daily basis. People have become dependent on the new technologies and this trend will not be slowing or stopping anytime soon. Like that movie we saw in class about the women in the park reading the paper on the super thin computer, when that technology comes out, which stuff like that will in time, society will gobble that up and that will be the norm. We will then become dependent on getting news from that super thin computer or something like it. What could this do to society? I think it will effect the people that are having the problem of getting out because of computers and the internet in a harmful way (obesity, ADD, etc). These types of people get addicted to the technologies and can’t get separated from it. There are others that take technology and run with it, the ones who understand what it can do, for the good and the bad. The question is what kind of people are making up the society? We are becoming more dependent on these technologies to make our lives more convenient and to help us out at work, or is it helping us? You can get in touch with anyone at anytime now; imagine if we had that digital newspaper/super thin computer, you’re reading the sports section and your boss’s face pops up and gives you more work. That is a big fear people have of these new technologies, privacy. I believe there will be a way to safely implement these new technologies. People had the same complaints about the light bulb and electricity that people have about cell phones; they have to work longer hours, they don’t trust the new technologies and stuff like that. But they get to go home and read their books, listen to radio and feel safe because they can see in there house at 2 in the morning.

  32. Every piece of technology is becoming smaller and faster and these technologies as every new idea that works will be embedded into our lives. Cell phones are a perfect example of this; when cell phones first came out they were the size of fax machines (exaggeration), and people that were very wealthy or very strong could carry this new technology. Now, it is hard to find a person that doesn’t own and use a cell phone on a daily basis. People have become dependent on the new technologies and this trend will not be slowing or stopping anytime soon. Like that movie we saw in class about the women in the park reading the paper on the super thin computer, when that technology comes out, which stuff like that will in time, society will gobble that up and that will be the norm. We will then become dependent on getting news from that super thin computer or something like it. What could this do to society? I think it will effect the people that are having the problem of getting out because of computers and the internet in a harmful way (obesity, ADD, etc). These types of people get addicted to the technologies and can’t get separated from it. There are others that take technology and run with it, the ones who understand what it can do, for the good and the bad. The question is what kind of people are making up the society? We are becoming more dependent on these technologies to make our lives more convenient and to help us out at work, or is it helping us? You can get in touch with anyone at anytime now; imagine if we had that digital newspaper/super thin computer, you’re reading the sports section and your boss’s face pops up and gives you more work. That is a big fear people have of these new technologies, privacy. I believe there will be a way to safely implement these new technologies. People had the same complaints about the light bulb and electricity that people have about cell phones; they have to work longer hours, they don’t trust the new technologies and stuff like that. But they get to go home and read their books, listen to radio and feel safe because they can see in there house at 2 in the morning.

  33. I think that while the enhanced performance, size, and price of these mobile devices is a very good thing, the people that use these items often are putting themselves at a large risk. When devices get smaller, more attractive, and more mobile they become much more easier to lose or to have stolen. A person that uses a laptop or PDA and stores all of their information on that piece of equipment would be screwed if it was stolen or lost. Not to mention, the theif would now have all of their personal information.

    I’m not saying no one should use these items, but it is a concern that needs to be addressed. I know no one is going to steal my desktop if I look away for two minutes, but it is very possible (and likely) for someone to steal my laptop if I look away at an airport or somewhere else.

    I think these items have made us more independent and more dependent at the same time. We now do not have to rely on television or newspapers for our news and information, but instead we’ve shifted the dependence to a device that we take with us everywhere we go. This transition has definately made us more independent, but like noted before we are now more dependent because we store all of our information and work on one machine that if lost could cause us great problems.

    Overall, it is a good thing that these devices are expanding our world and making us more mobile, but with this increase in mobility comes a definate increase in risk.

  34. With the computers becoming smaller in size, the dynamics of it’s use changes as well.
    Humans will become in a sense a cyborg. Already computer hardware are being integrated into the human body. New chips, or small microprocessors that contain information pertaining to the body, will allow hospitals and EMS to be able to quickly identify any past problems for faster efficiency. In the future, possibilities are endless for medical use. For instance neurons will transmit data to the brain as well as a some sort of nanotech computer. Then problems can be identified even faster. Nanotechnology can evaluate the body or even regulate it. On the other spectrum, we will be able to use nanotechnology as a security device in humans. Issues will be raised but there is no doubt that it will be able to monitor specific individuals; i.e. convicts. Another example is with handicaps. Birth abnormalities will now be able to use computers to link up the body and mind together. Imagine a blind person using computer build eye that will be able to project images into the mind. Or perhaps a cure for Alzheimer’s; a storage or memory bank that will be able to temporary store an image like RAM.

    Dependency on computers is inevitable. Throughout the years the evolution of hardware has forced us to rely on computers more and more. Databases take over file cabinets and folders. PDA’s and laptops serve as a second brain for us; except we don’t have t o do most of the thinking. If anything computers will complement our thinking. The dynamics or versatility will now help us with navigation of road trips, ordering food, replacing human labor both physically and mentally, have processors so advanced they could compute human reason and why President Bush is an idiot, just kidding.

    It’s difficult to envision white collar work today without the use of some sort of computer. In fact blue collar work is pretty close as well. Physical labor will now become safer with automation. Processors will become so powerful that they will be able to predict the probability of human thinking or better yet customer thinking. Our keys to better productivity lie in technology and capital. But the only way to improve upon these is with advancements in science with the use of computers. Human minds can only imagine and interpret new devices. But with the assistance of computer hardware the average mind will be enhanced with a computer a thousand times.

  35. It has been seen that over time the sizes of computers have decreased in size by great amounts. The first computers filled up entire rooms and were slow and today we sometimes have 30 or more computers in a single room. This alone shows the great changes in the computer industry since the beginning. But just showing this doesn’t exactly explain why size has decreased so greatly over the years.

    The decrease in size is due to the advancement of the hardware for these computers. The first computers were run off of large vacuum tubes that took up a lot of space. Today computers are run off of microprocessors. Computer storage has also changed over the years, becoming more compact yet able to hold more information. The computers today have such improved technology over the computers of old that they are able to do more and do it faster.

    Computers today are faster and smaller than ever due to improved technology. Some of the greatest advancements in today’s computers lie in the internal structure of the computer. The hardware on the inside has become so small and advanced to allow us to put 30 or more computers in the same room. The advancements of the microprocessor and the motherboard have really had the most impact on the reduction of computer size. These parts and the integrated circuitry have allowed us to go from those 26 pound laptops of years ago to the three or four pound powerful laptops we use today.

    The size of computers is going to continue to decrease for many years to come. There is just no stopping technological advancements. It seems as though someone says, “that’s not possible” and the next day someone has proved them wrong and invented that product that ‘could never exist.’ Our society already can go just about anywhere and do anything that we want…computers and networks have allowed us to do this. With technology still being developed and products continuing to get smaller and smaller our society will continue to stay on the move and more people will succumb to technology.

    Now, advancements in technology, for the most part, have been good for our society. However, with each improvement, our society becomes more and more dependant upon this technology. We all ‘have to have a computer.’ It’s almost as though having a computer is one of the societal norms that everyone lives by. Well, do people remember what it was like back before the time of word processors? Everything was either written out by hand or done on typewriters. But now look at us, everything is done digitally and no one thinks a thing of it.

    The enormous decrease in the size of computers has already had an impact on the workforce. People no longer have to ‘be in the office’ to do their work. Laptop computers, handhelds, and PDAs have made it possible for employees to go on business trips and still have all of their work at the palm of their hands. People are able to spend more time with their families and go on those family vacations that they couldn’t go on before because they can take all their work with them.

    With computers getting smaller and more efficient our society is able to do more than ever before. This technology is only going to continue to improve and new products will be invented. It is almost scary to think of the possibilities that are out there; those ‘it’ll never happen’s’ are happening. The types of new products that are already on the market in foreign countries are amazing. We might not understand now why exactly we might need these products, but I think in a few years we will see that they make our lives easier. We just need to ask ourselves is, “When are we going to become too dependant?”

  36. With the decrease in size of computers, our lives will drastically be changing for the better. Although there are some setbacks, the advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages.

    Each reduction in size brings increases the number and kinds of practical applications found in our every day lives. House alarms, appliance, lighting and much more can all function to benefit and suit family needs. As well, computers are cheaper than ever before so they will no longer only be for the wealthy. Soon enough everyone will be effected by the advancements in technology. As well, the decreasing size of computers will be most beneficial to the medical field. Doctors will no longer have to operate and perform surgeries. With the development of nano-machines ( a mechanical or electro mechanical device whose dimensions are measured in nanometers), computers will be able to detect diseases, repair organs, and deliver drugs to certain organs. Nano-machines also might be used for the detection of toxic chemicals in the environment.

    As well, the decrease in size will help businesses around the world. Now employers and employees are always contacted and they will be using their technology to complete tasks efficiently and quickly. Of course, life will become hectic. We will always be connected to everyone else and constantly looking for ways to make our lives more productive with technology.

    Dependence is becoming a huge problem with technology today. People will no longer be willing to search their minds for answer to complex questions and problems. They will go to the closest computer (probably in their pocket) and quickly look up the answers. I fear that this change in technology will increase the laziness of society today. Yes, we can achieve so much with technology. However, we may also take a step back in our appreciation of every day life. With our lives speeding up, will we have the chance to slow down and actually enjoy life? Or will we just let it pass us by?

  37. Q: What does all technology make a push for? A: Smaller, faster, and cheaper. With this characteristic in place in our lives more and more items are starting to have computers. Think to 50 years ago, if you were to tell someone that a car would be checked by a computer instead of a person or that your meals would be cooked in a computer stove (microwave). They would think you were crazy. It is without a doubt that we will become more and more dependant on computers in the future, to fix our cars, heat our food, or even save our lives (hospital equipment). We as a society rely on computers, whether we realize it or not, so much in our everyday lives. The exponential growth of computers suggests limitless possibilities, as described in Moore’s Law. The infiltration of computers into almost every aspect of our lives will naturally trickle down into the workplace. This will effect our generation of the work force immensely. We will have to learn new programs in the workplace as often as every couple of months and adjust to new computer coming through. It’s scary how much we need computers.

  38. As computers and PDA’s get smaller and smaller we will gore more and more dependent on them. Everyone will be expected to have them and use them. People workplaces will be expected to issue equiptment to their employees in order to communicate. Technology will all be combined into this one small device: cell phone, PDA, Pager, TV, E-mail, Newspapers – all in one. As technology progresses these devices may become a single integrated circuit chip that may be imbedded into us similar to the move the “Matrix”

  39. Looking back at the reading from the past weeks and this week, it amazes me how far our technology has evolved in such a short period of time. It’s unlikely that during any other period in history that a society has been changed so irrevocably by technology as ours has in the past half a century or so. We have moved from gigantic computers that took up more than a whole room in the 1950’s to extremely advanced and easily portable PDA’s, and even notebooks. Just the other day I was watching Tech TV and they were introducing a new sony vaiyo notebook that weighed under a pound, I believe only about ten ounces, which still had a 3ghz processor and other top of the line hardware. This kind of advancement, in not only power, but size and portability, is sure to have a continuing effect on our society in the forseeable future.

    It seems to me that this decreasing in size can only serve to involve technology more deeply in every area of daily life. As technology becomes smaller, it becomes more easily transportable and can be incorporated into more parts of our lives that the bulky computers of old just weren’t capable of. Coupled with the shrinking size of advanced technology, is increased availability to the masses. Computers and even mp3 players and other forms of technology are becoming commonplace in more and more homes throughout the country. Nanotechnology, as was mentioned in previous posts, really demonstrates this trend of miniturization perfectly. Companies like HP have successfully created computer chips far smaller than a human hair. It’s hard to predict all of the possible applications of such tiny technology, but it certainly has amazing potential.

    I believe these advances are serving to make us both independent and dependent at the same time. We are more independent in that we are capable of accessing such a wide array of information from more and more locations today. This information empowers us to make better decisions and be more efficient in both the workplace and in our daily lives. We are able to accomplish more in shorter and shorter periods of time at work, and able to work from outside the office via e-mail, chat technology and file servers.

    At the same time, however, this constant connectivity isn’t always appealing. I agree with Mike Hollen’s post, in that the idea of constantly being accessable isn’t always appropriate or desirable. He made a point about vacations, and the potential for them to disappear entirely when faced with advancing technology, and I think this is an interesting hypothesis. Is it possible that as technology advances, we will be unable to escape from it?
    I think the answer to this may be yes. Though technology is enabling us to be more independent, it is also forcing us to be dependent on it through societal channels. I can’t really imagine going a week without using some form of technology, whether it be e-mail, AOL Instant messeger, or just my cell phone. This trend seems to be only increasing in frequency as technology improves and becomes faster and more mobile.

    As it stands now, I don’t view this dependence as a negative aspect of technology. However, if technology weaves itself into our lives to so great an extent that we are unable to function in the world without it, problems will arise.

  40. As we all know, according to Moore’s law, every 18 months computer hardware and software alike becomes outdated. This means that at almost the same rate computers are getting smaller and more compact. The continued technology explosion shows no signs of slowing down. Infact if you follow the history or the computer, its hardware, storage and opperation systems it seems to be picking up more and more momentum everyday. However, these amazing accomplishments still raise a few questions. How will this incredible hardware turnover rate impact our lives and the way society functions? Will these great tools lead us to a new age of independance or cripple us to become completely dependant on machine? How will this change the way we work and play? Although not everything can be forscene there are some indications of what may come.

    The continued decrease in the size of computers and computer components is a wonderful thing. Soon computers will be able to travel anywhere you go, as easily as you care a stack of papers or a cell phone. The ability to improve everday life would be availble to many people, although there is the potential for disaster. If we are not careful computers could take over too much of our daily lives. If we become dependant on computers many bad things will happen. The fist problem is that there will be so many people who will constantly need education to understand how the computers work. Everytime something goes wrong with a specific operating system a large portion of someones life might be completely out of whack (example from class: when Cole talked about the refridgerator that orders your food, what happens if it breaks down). The work place would be made even more efficient by the growth of technology. Although people may be laid off because they have been replaced by networks, other jobs will be made available.

    I think that the decreasing size of computers and the increasing power and battery life they are gaining are very good. It will inprove our daily lives and society and will have a dynamic impact in the work place. However, I remain skeptical about how dependant we will become. 2 out of 3 aint bad.

  41. I think that the effects of the decreasing size of computers on society are pretty evident. In a basic sense, it will enhance and further develop all of the main functions of computers as stated in the article. With this decrease in size, collecting data will be easier than ever since portability will become the next stage in the computer revolution. The information stream will never stop and that brings in the second important funtion of computers which is storing. Storing will become the wave of business future since we as a society will need our own space to store all of our important information. Everyday our lives will continue to get more digitalized and as a result we need to become more adept at manipulating and retransmitting all of this data.
    This advancement is making us more independent from each other, but at the same time slowly making us slave to the technology. Personally speaking, I find it almost pre-historic to operate without a cell phone nowadays and if my battery goes dead, I feel like I am alone on an island. Just 5 years ago I would not have felt the same way. We learn to not only co-exist with the technology, but we learn to be subordinate to it as well. Its a trend that is very easy to see when you consider the evolution of all technologies and not just computers. Since computers and portability are advancing at a rate that even surpasses Moore’s Law, we also find ourselves in a world where the “haves” are widening the gap between them and the “have nots.” I think that as with anything, this advancement has its pitfalls that must be somehow compromised in order to be seamlessly integrated into our environment.
    I think that overall this increased portability will have a negative effect on our relationships and our health because we will essentially be creating a world of workaholics who can not escape their work because of this perpetual connectivity and portability. This will force people who value their leisure time (myself) into a world where working 24/7 is the only option to stay competitive in the work force. Productivity and efficiency will reach all time highs also.
    This decrease in size and overall advancement will truly test our mettle as a society because it is already having effects across the landscape of not just business, but society in general.

  42. Ok, everybody wants their cell phone to be smaller and have more goodies built into it. Everybody wants their computers to be incredibly fast while paying next to nothing for them. Same goes for PDA’s and laptops. We want it, so the manufactures do it. Every day we get more goodies at smaller sizes and paying less and less for them. Now, having this technology not only helps us get our day-to-day work done, but it also disconnects us from society and our families.

    When our bosses tell us to get work done, we (usually) do it by the time it’s due. If we need to take our work home or stay after hours, we (once again usually) do. With this newer technology, we can get our work done where ever we feel like. Now, we can go to any local Starbucks and hook our laptops up to the wireless connection that they provide and do whatever. The point being, with this newer tech. getting work done, as well as pure entertainment has no boundries any more.

    When was the last time you turned off your cell phone for 2 whole days? Or, how about the last time you went a week without IM or email? How dependent are we on this stuff that we’re always spending money on? I’ll be honst, I check that stuff every day, and when my cell phone was broken, I fell apart (it was broken for a total of 12 hours). Yes, we’re communicating with the world, but at the same time, we’re not going out and playing sports, or going to the movies and such.

    Smaller technology is an adiction! Pure, plain, and simple. We need it to survive (so we think) and work, but at the same time we’re slowly giving our lives to the very technology that we think we’re using. Kinda freaky, isn’t it?

  43. Computers ever since i was born have been becoming smaller and smaller. In 1984 compared to todays computers are amazingly different in the speed and size. The power has also changed dramatically as it told us in the reading. The max RAM in 1984 was 128 k and now its 2 GB. There is just a humungous jump in that. I remember my first computer and the thing was massive. The screen was about a foot in width and the screen definitly wasnt a flat screen.
    It was slow to todays standards but i thought it was the coolest thing when i was a kid. I used to play pong on it and it was alot of fun. Todays standards have become alot more digital and now there are IPODS and cell phones that can do everything you can do with a computer.
    The effect of computers on our daily lives will make us become more and more dependent. They are controlling our lives on so many different ways. If every computer crashed in the world we would be living in the dark ages all over again. Just think about it, if there were no computers we would have nothing all over again. Cell phones are keeping us more and more in touch with computers constantly. Everyone has one, including me. Since the size of these computers are so small and so conveneint you really have no reason not to have one at this point in our society.
    The impact on our work will me very small. To tell you the truth i really think small computers will not help the work place. I mean i know now that i play games on my cell phone in class rather then take notes with it. Im sure some people will use these small comptuers to help with work but the slackers of the world will use this to our advantage and play games in class and long lectures(not including Cole’s of course).
    In conclusion computers becoming smaller may not help our country as much as you would think.

  44. The fact that computers are getting smaller will change our lives and society dramatically. It’s wonderful looking back at my life and watch how technology from personal things like cell phones to impersonal things like graphics in movies have changed. I remember growing up watching Zach Morris with his massive grey cell phone, with the long protruding anttena. That was something that was not pratical to walk around with (unless you wanted to strap it to your back), now we have cell phones so small that you lose them in your pockets. Cell phones, which are so powerful now that they may as well be called computers. They have changed the scope of how we do business, how we keep in touch, and even play games.

    With cell phones as small as they basically will get– unless the distance from our mouth to ear changes– the processors inside them will just get smaller and more powerful. Already on my somewhat archaic cell i have internet/im capabilities, text messaging, a calculator, and a small recored collection.

    I beleive the future is not in the PC, but in mobile technology. Technology has evolved to make our life more convient while making us more money, ergo lionmenus, ebay, itunes…etc.

    It is my belief that most technology advances will come in the form of “faster, smaller, cheaper” lab tops, and cell phones, not pcs.

    This is going to effect our work by making our work more flexible. Every year more and more people work at home. When you don’t need to rent office space, you save money, and this just makes sense when you can do all the same things that you would do in the office at home. Video conferences will purely replace conference rooms. Cell phone calls will replace meeting at the water cooler. And chat rooms will replace brain storming sessions.

    Some may argue that you can’t replace face to face contact, and they may be right; but my rebuttal to that is that i beleive that the technology will improve enough that there won’t be much of a difference.

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