Personal Computer Hardware
Although I am accustomed to using computers on a daily basis, I am merely a novice regarding the specific knowledge of the hardware and software components of personal computers. Upon reading the article, I was familiar with many of the various parts and phrases mentioned (input, output, internal buses), although I was not sure as to the specific function(s) of each part described before reading the article. This article contains some basic and detailed information about personal computers that should be taught to students in both high school and college to a greater extent, even to the students that do not intend to major in computer science or any other computer science related academic fields of study.
Moore's Law
This article can lead one to wonder what the future of computer technological advancements is capable of producing, considering that only so many transistors can be reduced to an atomic level size. The fact that other laws have been established that were greatly influenced by Moore's Law, such as Kryder's Law and Butter's Law, is an example of the precedent that Moore's Law created. Considering the influence of Moore's Law among recent computer technological developments , one may wonder how influential the law could be after the doubling of transistors in integrated circuits has reached its limit. Even if the inhibitions of computer performance, such as efficiency, bandwidth, and storage in a CPU eventually cause stagnation, and if computer technological advancement can cause predecessor computer technologies to be rapidly obsolete as the article states as a possibility, Moore's Law could still possibly lead to other laws predicting the future of computer technology.
Computer History Museum Website
This website provides an interesting and condensed history of computer technological development for neophytes to the general history of computers, as well as some interesting information about the individuals that have contributed to computer history. One section of the website that I found to be very informing was the Timeline of Computer History, which describes and shows the various developments of major contributing companies and technological inventors. This section is interesting because it describes how certain companies such as Hewlett-Packard and AT&T were established and how they developed, and how the U.S. Census Bureau utilized the first commercial computer in the early 1950's. The timeline even provides information about innovations such as the first digital drawing system, known as SuperPaint in the early 1970's, as well as the Amiga 1000, which was a computer released in 1985 containing advanced audio and visual abilities. I appreciate how this website lacks pretension, yet still is able to provide information that is interesting and easily available to anyone interested in the general history of computer technology and innovations. I believe that websites such as this could allow more students to become informed about the basic and general information of computer history, by providing important visual information along with important written information.
James, I hadn't thought about the need for everyone to be taught the information contained in the PC hardware article until you mentioned it, but I think you are absolutely right. Just as it makes our lives easier when we are able to change our own oil or make minor repairs to other household equipment, a knowledge of the inner workings of our computers could save time and money.
ReplyDeleteI found the Computer History Museum Website amazing, too. When we think of computers, and electronic gadgets, we think "modern, cool, high-tech," and we are right, to some extent. But is amazing to see for how long people worked to develop such machines. It is a humbling experience, a call to wake up to the reality that soon, what we have today it will be obsolete. Imagine how "cool" the abacus owners felt few thousands years ago.
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