Under the hood technology development
Posted: March 31st, 2011 | Author: Gadget Girl Accessories | Filed under: Blogging Geek, Generally Geeky | Tags: Computers, geek, geek stuff, technology | No Comments »Any development that we may think of today comes from man’s natural need to quantify things and the inevitable advances in technology that this will lead to. In early history, papyrus was used to keep track of numbers and language. One of the first counting machines was the Roman abacus. Unfortunately, some of the mechanical machines that followed did not yet have the technology to make the entire design work. Some of these machines were made out of wood (before metal manipulation appeared).
Many of the ancestors of our desktop PCs had a one-to-one correspondence with the human fingers and were based on correspondences with other quantifiable objects such as the Sun and other planets, trees and geographical locations. The astronomical clock invented in 1206, considered to be the first actual computer, was able to display the orbits of the Sun, the Moon and the zodiac. The changing length of the day could be re-programmed, manually.
One of the main conditions for a computer to work, however, is the read-write mechanism. Alan Turing provided the universal model for a computing machine, which had a very important influence on the computers to follow. As the Ancient Greeks well pointed out, it is possible to construct an entirely mechanical, yet functioning, computer. Modern-day electronics have made miniaturization possible, but most importantly, the growth in computing power.
In our contemporary desktop PCs, the firewall is a very important part, since many of the programs we use need bidirectional communication, which makes its users very vulnerable to virus attacks. Microsoft now has a firewall included in its operating system.
Another new computer development that is directly relevant for our PCs is its wireless functionality, since Internet access is now considered to be an important part of many people’s lives. The newer operating systems now have an incorporated Bluetooth system and Wi-Fi is something that any computer on the market should be able to support.
The touchscreen is a new and exciting addition to the desktop PCs and its development has already accelerated important fields in industry and research. With it, all of the developments appearing in graphics and sound, working memory and compatibility with other devices make the desktop PCs a key element in our daily communication, both in our personal and professional lives.
The new Sandy Bridge microprocessor are made to save a lot of power compared to the older ones and at the same time perform faster on graphics and applications. More specifically, the Sandy Bridge microprocessors will need between 17 and 35 watts of power to run and function at up to 2.7 GHz. They integrate a graphics and a CPU processor in one single microchip.
While 3G communication was already taken up by mobile phones, the 4G communication has won a lot of ground, especially in Europe. The microwave photonics technology allows for efficient wireless data transfer (up to 12.5Gb/second) and is also used in radio astronomy and radars.
Gaming has made a quantum leap due to the recent developments in graphics cards. Videogames are now a complete experience in themselves. Apart from that, they come with their own software that makes it easy even for children to find and install the cards they need.
An important question that arises for the buyer, however, is whether an older PC (more than two years old) is worth upgrading, given the pace of the computer developments, which are growing at an exponential rate.
