9-22-04

Themes:
how information is organized has changed over time
how technology has created needs
computers were used in ways very different from what was initially expected
how have computers impacted the business world
for computers to reach their maximum potential may involve tradeoffs in other areas--privacy, etc.
computers have impacted everything

• sweeping nature of the technology'
• computers turn up in unexpected places
• have made the world a smaller place
• the kinds of communities we have and how they work
  

creating the web was a grass roots effort involving collaboration of many different groups
do new ideas come from the bottom up or the top down?
motivations: making money, science, see what you can do, utopian vision
computer liberation--the idea that computers can be used by and empower ordinary people

Development:
1. before the digital computer:
some specific needs for information requiring lots of data handling
human computers--first one at a time then work together
manual data handling systems developed, but didn't need something as complex as a computer
2. mainframes: digital computers before the PC
specialized and incompatible and run by experts
good for large complex mathematical calculations and large data bases
3. computers get into the hands of ordinary people
key is easy to use applications--software more important than hardware
4. computers become a way of sharing information

what computers do for us has changed radically