Critical Analysis Computers pg 1-83

After reading the first half of “Computers: The Life Story of a Technology,” by Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro I have learned that there were many early inventions in technology that has helped the development of technology in the modern world. America’s involvement in wars played a key role; the US army invested in a machine that is considered the first modern age computer called the ENIAC, which stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (pg. 3). Without the demand of higher quality technology through our government’s homeland security, the growth of technology may not have been as exponential as it is presently. This is the first case to imply America’s dependency on technology to survive. In saying that, the whole world has become dependent on technology as well.
Computers are only able to run if it is programmed correctly. The first programming languages were created through wires and plugs that had to be placed in different locations at different times to allow the computer to perform the task at hand. An IBM employee named John Backus, created a team called FORTRAN which stood for Formula Translators and sought to create a programming language that was not based on binary numbers and were more complex for computers during the 1950s. These languages allowed the computer to perform different calculations faster than previous languages. FORTRAN is considered to be 3rd generation technology and is among the first program languages. There are numerous of others; List Processing (LISP) and Algorithmic Language (ALGOL), to name a few, were created just a little after FORTRAN.
During World War II, nations found themselves funding more and more money into their research of technology and science. The nation with the best technology would win the war, survive and become stronger. Ideally, this concept has incorporated into America’s culture. Today everyone competes to have the best technology: the latest phones, laptops, video game consoles. You are considered to be an outcast if you haven’t got the latest technology in stores that same day. So analogous to surviving in the past when our nation was at war with half the world through having better technology than the opponent, it can be evident in our society today, a sense of accomplishment or even dominance over one another, to have the latest hardware and software.

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