Computer

A computer is probably the most well-invented machine.

People from all walks of life benefits from this invention. I remember my father telling us the first computer he encountered was as huge as our lounge. I really cannot imagine what it contained that made it so big when the computers we have today are getting smaller in size.

The first computer we had was white in colour. The components are somewhat similar to what we have today. There was a central processing unit (CPU), monitor, keyboard, mouse, and printer. Everything was contained on a special table with rollers at the bottom. The wires were nicely tucked away at the back of the table. It took up a huge space in the bedroom.

This machine gave us much joy. It had a floppy disk drive. The shop owner gave us several different floppy disks with one educational game in each. Our favourite was “Rabbit and Carrot”. It was a fun spelling game, so much better than the boring spelling books we had. When we got the spelling correct, the rabbit gets to eat the carrot and when we passed one stage, the rabbit and carrot dances happily. There was another game that we enjoyed a lot, perhaps more people have heard of this, “The Pacman”. This was not exactly educational but it trains coordination of the mind and fingers.

Computers were such an exclusive item back then. Our home was the only one with a computer in the whole neighbourhood. Only educated people would spend money on the machine for their household. Thanks to my mother who insisted that we should have a computer even though it was expensive and she had to save for several months before she finally got the tech guy over to set up our first computer. Doing assignments was so easy. Everyone else had to deal with their assignments by hand, I managed to do everything on the computer and print them out to be bound into a book.

Back then, printers were all pin-writers. Everything was black and white. Everything had to be printed in computer forms. That was okay. I just cut the prints and pasted them on the correct size papers. So my assignments were much scrapbook-like and because of creativity, it was more interesting than the rest.

As years go by, technology improved. Monitors come in red green blue (RGB) colours instead of the monotone or duotone. Now, we only use flat screen monitors. The colour quality improves even further making the formally eye-straining to the currently eye-soothing screens. We can even connect our computers to the latest Smart TV making it possible to enjoy gameplay and movies in the comfort of the sofa, instead of an office chair.

Computers have become more and more portable. The first generation portable computers are called laptops. It is an all-in-one machine in a clam shell format. There is one additional component, which is the battery that makes it possible to operate the laptop for a specific length of time even when electricity is not available. With such inventions, we can easily bring our work to small spaces and even on the airplane.

This date, computers have become more convenient. Technology made it possible to have a full spec computer with just the size of a television. There is no need to have cables dangling around anymore. The only cable needed is the cable to power the monitor.

Portable computers have advanced even more. They come in the size of a book, a very slim book with full operations of a computer. Everything can be operated the same way with wireless connections readily available for keyboard, mouse, and much more. We can even merge several tabs together to make a larger screen. They are unbelievably versatile.

The best invention is probably smart phones. Smart people have incorporated computers into a phone. Now, we are able to enjoy the convenience of a computer on a phone that can easily fit into our pockets and handbags. Life made simple and yet complicated. Technology has brought us joy but we have to be smart in using them. We should pull ourselves out for some alone time every day, away from technology, away from disturbance. Stay rooted.

Though computer plays an important part in our lives, it is just a tool. There are things that the computer cannot do, that we have to deal with on our own.

 

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.    

Emo Philips, American stand-up comedian, 1956-present