Ivan Figueroa

English113
MWA2

Computers Have Changed Our Lives

Not even half a century ago the world relied solely on books for their

information. It may have not been accurate since new data would be found regularly

and it could have taken months for it to reach a certain destination. The beginning

stages started in 1937, it was not until 1958 when true improvement was made.

Microsoft was founded in 1958, which was not a big deal at the time until the late

90s early 2000s when it really took off. Windows 98 and XP were the two that made

having a computer worth it. They had simple programs such as windows explorer,

navigation panel and the introduction to internet explorer.

A common misconception of those who are passionate about computers

would be called geeks, but to me those enthusiasts are the ones who make

revolutionary products and programs. For example, Bill Gates, he is the richest

computer enthusiast. Around the time he started introducing computers the

mainstream public, those who worked with him werent in it for the money, rather

trying to revolutionize the world. The point is if he was not passionate about

computers and all that they could accomplish, and if windows was never started

what would the PCs of the world be like today? He created an industry of his own

and gave it a purpose. Life would not be easy as we are accustomed to without the

hard work that those geeks put in.

In todays world, we mainly rely on computer one way or another. Whether

theyre in your car, your pocket or in an office theyre all around us. Without them
we probably wouldnt have great advancements, in small way we often forget such

as surfing the web, a calculator, and making calls. Although we may take these for

granted during everyday life this are something we may all use.

Surfing the web has been one of those things we mainly have taken for

granted. When we are on it we are usually bored or have work to do. If we have a

research paper to do we can simply look up our topic and within seconds you get

thousands of articles and information about it. It takes .6 seconds for me to get 981

million results, but if I was to do a search paper on computers 50 years ago I

wouldnt know what is was or if I did I would have to read a lot of books to grasp

what it is. A Major accomplishment weve had is getting a man on the moon in 1969

with the hard work of the engineers at NASA. The limited power of their systems did

not stop them from achieving it, but what is amazing is that their computers were

no stronger than an average calculator. This program then lead to the practice of

software engineering which enabled them to program the systems.

The first time I used a computer was roughly around the time I moved back to

the United States from Mexico. We had just moved into a new apartment, and if I

remember correctly we bought the computer at the old Gateway store in Coronado

mal, at the time I was super excited because I saw a lot of electronics, but was

unware about what they did. I was about 5 or 6 years old, but that specific memory I

remember very clearly. I remember only playing the stock pinball game that almost

every computer had, and it would entertain me for hours because I still didnt know

how to work the internet; which was still dial up then. My mom later enrolled my

sister and I into a community center where we were constantly on a computer , I

didnt know it then, but thats when my love for computers began. Although we

mainly listened to music and play games, little did I know at the time the impact
computers were going to have on my life and the knowledge I would acquire from

them in a few short years.

When I built a computer at first when I was telling my family and friends they

looked at me like I was genius, as if I was physically making all the parts. I explained

what Im really doing by putting together the components, such as putting together

the graphics card, processor, memory and hard drives to the mother board then

mounting it to the case, then they understood. The easiest way to think of building

a computer is like putting together Legos, but for adults! This is because all there is

to it is connect everything to the motherboard and wire power to all the

components. When it was all built and it was running I felt a huge amount of relief

because not only did I have what Ive been wanting to build it for a long time. I

learned to fix the hiccups and problems I had building my first system it was the

most satisfying thing when it was up and running and finally have something I

wanted for years that I built on my own. It wouldnt have been possible if it werent

for the people who pioneered computers to not only be a thing for office work, but

for entertainment and Im thankful to them.

Computers have important roles in today society and without them we would

have a difficult life. People should learn to care more and learn more about them

because most use them for simple task but are unaware of what they are capable

of. The ones who truly rely on computers would be those on life support and its a

amazing accomplishment to be able to save millions of lives due computers,

whether its in medical advances or life support. My future is to be a System

Administrator which is usually who keeps all the systems up and trouble free. I

would always encourage anyone if they have the chance to take at least one IT

class or look up a problem you have with your system before taking it to anyone
because you never know you might learn a thing or two you didnt before and feel

great about yourself because you fixed your own computer.

Bibliography
Saran, C. (n.d.). Apollo11: The Computers that put a man on the moon. Retrieved
from Computer Weekly: http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Apollo-11-
The-computers-that-put-man-on-the-moon
Unknwon. (n.d.). Timeline of Computer History. Retrieved from Computer History:
http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/