In-Class Essay - 12/1/2008

Ali Kilinc – 900235909

ENG 191 – 3:30PM – 20424

The Computer Revolution

The world has changed… Has it? Or do we just seem to accept a global view

of that we are all living in a generation superior to all other generations in human

history. This possibly misleading perception is almost always brought up because of

the computer revolution. It is true that technology has always played a role in the

lives of humans in the past, as it still does today. The effect of the current

technological overflow, the computer revolution, is apparent in the lives of billions of

people around the world.

Many horrid deaths resulted from WWII but not all was lost because of it.

Extreme blue sky spending1 in fields of science and technology in the military

allowed for computers to be born. During the nineteen-eighties a bright man from

Harvard names William Gates III (Bill Gates) envisioned that computers were not

just for multi-million dollar companies. He is the greatest revolutionary of our time,

and was the main facilitator of the computer revolution. The vision that “ordinary

people” could use, want, and would one day “need” computers came out of his

mind. Through his company Microsoft, and the competing company Apple

Computers, the PC (personal computer) was invented, and computers were for

everyone.

Computers definitely affect the lives of everyone in the twenty-first century. It

is apparent in the education systems of the U.S., Japan, Germany, and many others,

where teaching without them would seem ludicrous. The need for computers is even

1
Blue Sky Spending: refers to a budget without a limit, meaning that money is spent until
advancements or breakthroughs are achieved
seen in ordinary, day-to-day tasks, such as buying bread, or refueling one’s car,

where computers are required. For example, even a traffic light contains a

computer; otherwise, a police officer would have to direct traffic at every busy

intersection, wasting the tax-payer’s money. Basically, after the advent of the

computer, our lives have become dependent on it.

In other countries, computers have also affected living. For example, in India,

where millions of people would be unemployed, they can now have a job. Those

workers work at call centers that use only computers; they have a job because of

computers. Also, in Africa, where tens of millions of students would go without a

proper education, they can now have one. They can have an education because of

the OLPC2. This laptop allows them to have access to the information we all have

access to on the internet, and as such, gain an education.

The world has changed, and no one can deny it. There are many reasons to

the change, but the main reason is because of the computer revolution. It affects

everyone around the world, and it is a good effect.

2
OLPC: One Laptop Per Child program offers laptops to African students