2012 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
1. Computing in Early Civilisations
Published in:
A Brief History of Computing
Abstract
It is difficult to think of western society today without modern technology. The last decades of the twentieth century have witnessed a proliferation of high-tech computers, mobile phones, text messaging, the Internet and the World Wide Web. Software is now pervasive, and it is an integral part of automobiles, airplanes, televisions and mobile communication. The pace of change as a result of all this new technology has been extraordinary. Today consumers may book flights over the World Wide Web as well as keep in contact with family members in any part of the world via e-mail or mobile phone. In previous generations, communication often involved writing letters that took months to reach the recipient. Communication improved with the telegrams and the telephone in the late nineteenth century. Communication today is instantaneous with text messaging, mobile phones and e-mail, and the new generation probably views the world of their parents and grandparents as being old-fashioned.