History of the Computer

In Media Technology and Society: A History from Telegraph to the Internet, it is obvious that the computer has been essential ever since World War I. Reverened Francis Bashforth created the first firing tables in order to understand he ranging of artillery pieces. These tables required numerous calculations, which were mostly done by guessing. During World War II, the military was having the same problems, but they were receiving more tables to be calculated. In 1940, there was a proposal stating that the Atanasoff-Berry Computer is going to be constructed to solve simple algebraic equations and utilize valves. However, the proposal was nowhere to be found, so Goldstine designed a proposal saying that the machine would be completely electronic. Winston states, “The machine was to be sixty times larger than the only valve calculator then in existence, the ABC, and was budgeted to cost twenty-three times as much” (Winston, 168). This was huge news for many people especially the military. The ENIAC created an advanced calculator which stored a great amount of information.  With Britain’s help the computer was created. Clearly, the author believes that the computer revolutionized calculations and many other projects. 

People are more glued to their computers today, but after World War I, the military needed the computers even more then we need them today. Even though computers have positively affected our society, individuals such as college students take advantage of the computer. Majority of a college student’s time is spent browsing the Internet for entertainment purposes. This makes it hard for student’s to get work done and leads to procrastination. Also, computers have created a lot of harmful technology. People are able to hack government websites and so fourth and could cause harm to our country. However, computers have increased efficiency and have provided countless benefits for our society. We are able to get information about anything in a matter of seconds. If we had to research something from a book at a library that would take to long and you would not learn nearly as much in the amount of time.  The computer has instilled more knowledge in this world. As technology and the computer grow, so does everyone else.