Necessity is the mother of revolution. The saying holds true for computers also because computers were invented as a result of main search for a fast and accurate calculating device.
The earliest device that qualifies as a digital computer is the abacus. The device permits the users to represent the number by the position of beads on the rock although abacus was invented around 600 B.C. It is interesting to note that it can calculate at an amazing speed.
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The first mechanical adding machines were invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642. Keyboard machine and concept of punched cards, came up around 1880. Business machines and calculators made their appearance towards the end of nineteenth century.
Charles Babbage, a nineteenth century professor at Cambridge considered came to be the father of modern digital computer. In 1842, he came out with the idea of Analytical Engine, which was automatic and capable of performing the basic arithmetic function of any mathematical problem of an average speed of 60 additions per minute.
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There was a rapid change in the field of computers in the 90’s slowly. The advent of a new era came up with software industries. It is not just the phenomenal rate of growth or even the large foreign exchange earning potential, the uniqueness lies in the utter reliance on Manpower. Software is nothing but ideas and solutions coded in computer by suitably qualified and experienced personnel. The never ending thirst for perception led to the development of the modern IT industry.
The formal sector is not confined to all these but it gave a new boom to numerous Engineering collages and polytechnics Besides offering 4 years- BE/B. Teach/B.Sc. (Engg.) courses many colleges, many universities have started offering application oriented courses, modular courses, part time courses and fast track courses, etc. Universities are also taking to corporate training thereby educating people from different streams at par with degree holders in IT related area.
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Tamil Nadu Government along with Sam Pitroda of World Tel, and Reliance have jointly laid a 3000 km of fibre optic cable to create a Tamil network which will offer all types of forms, land resources, person records etc., If successful, World Tel will expand the network to Gujrat, Karnatka and West Bengal. In Kerala all the villages are getting linked online to the district headquarters allowing citizens to compare the development practices of their villages with other villages. In Andhra Pradesh too every district headquarters is linked to Hyderabad via internet to enable the chief minister to contact district officials via internet.
In these days of global economy which is not only a cliche but a fact technology is considered as one of the important engines of economic growth. Trade barriers among nations are falling and computer revolution has developed opportunities far and wide.
The dot com world has reduced our needs to a dot, now everything is at our finger tips. If you want to talk to your old friend or make a business contact, just send your message by E-mail. Check out for new fashion trends or latest movie gossips. You name it and you have them all in the W.W.W. com world. You can ever register your biodata on website where you can search for a job or find a suitable match all through the internet.
Still there seems to be some lacuna in the cyber communication so digital money has come up wherein you can do payments on line with smart cards. Internet industries, enterprises and e-business operators can’t get by with a promising product alone. While the growth of computers are going on there is a silent parasite growing along with it the hacker. It is this community which has produced many memory resident virus programmes which conveniently manipulate data, rub our account numbers, use our credit cards, steal our passwords, log in names and use our internet hours free of cost; these internet snoops are smart enough to keep a track of your life style, personal preferences and habits through a single chip called spyware implanted into your keyboard without your knowledge. It even finds out which credit card you use to make each purchase online.
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There are companies that monitor your data like a close circuit T.V. and infringe the individual’s privacy. Steve Gibson, an American software writer has developed a software called opt out to detect and eliminate spyware that interrogates your PC to counteract these nefarious tendencies. People from different countries are coming up with rules regulations and punishment known as cyber law.
The time is reaching us when we will be able to obtain ration cards and railway tickets from every PCO and so there will be a reason for us to visit the net. Thus e-governance in India will not be a dream. Ironically the most digitally literate people are either above 55 or under 18. So people must be given laptop computers as retirement presents. The day is not far when these websites and network will rule the world.