THE USEFULNESS OF A COMPUTER

Technologically man has made tremendous advancements. From humble beginnings last century with Industrial Revolution we have come to the stage where we have invented and built so many gadgets that our very existence is threatened by them, like the atomic bomb. However, computers are a blessing to us. It is an enormously powerful tool for doing quick accurate computations.

We cannot deny that technology has improved the quality of our lives immeasurably. A journey to anywhere on the globe now takes merely a few hours by airplane, whereas it may have taken many years to do so before. We communicate with one another with increased ease and efficiency. All it takes is the pressing of a few buttons and we are able to talk to anyone almost everywhere in the world. A flick of the television switch gives us news, sports and entertainment in glorious colour.

Modern computer have infiltrated into all aspects of business, governments and even at home. City traffic is controlled by computers. Airline booking and air-traffic are also computer controlled. So it is too with many things where computers are virtually indispensable. Computers breakdown means also the breakdown of whatever system it controls. The computers has become almost all-powerful, such is our dependence on it.

There are many types of computers. Huge computers are employed by governments and businesses to perform complex tasks of calculating. Computers are particularly good at performing repetitive tasks at speeds for faster than any human or team of humans. Smaller computers like home or personal computers can also perform menial task much faster than a human being.

An average person may take a few minutes to multiply two numbers together, for example 3879 x 842 if he can do it at all. A computer can get it done in less time it takes to blink an eye! To sort out a list of twenty names in alphabetical order may take a person a few minutes. A computer can do it faster than the time it takes to read this sentence!

Then there are art programs that can use to create pictures on the screen. It is great pleasure to see the multicoloured scenery slowly take shape in front of us, knowing then we can add in anything or remove any part by a mere touch of a button. The control over the picture is complete. No more do we have to handle messy crayons, water colour or oil paints. Electronic pictures are far cleaner.

For more practical things, there are word-processors, data bases, spread-sheets and other business software available. These can effectively improve whatever business we may involve in. accounting is never simpler. Writing a letter is a breeze.

In near future, computer will be as common and necessary as telephone. Our lives will be profoundly changed. We will use the computer more and more to keep our financial accounts in order, to check our personal files, to communicate with other and to entertain ourselves. As long as we do not let it run out lives the computer will serve us well. Thus, it should remain as such, a servant to our needs. We must be careful not to let it become our master. It will not, unless we allow it to.

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