Age of Computer Essay

Eras in the history of art and architecture may be high-minded by styles such(prenominal) as Renaissance, Gothic, Impressionist or Surrealist, and so on.Techniques too have marked diametric eras over the centuries from the primitive tools of the St matchless Age, to the Industrial Age marked by steam and electrical forcefulness and the discovery of turbines, and engines.Today, we have entered a fresh era the calculating shape age an age which owes everything to inventors.Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, is considered to be the great-grandfather of the calculator. Over 150 years ago, in 1840 to be exact, he invented a sophisticated calculating machine, and called it the analytic Engine. As with many inventions, his creation was far in advance of its time.It took a nonher 100 years in front the outset estimators were built, and as you know, they were large and incredibly heavy. Take, for instance, the famous Mark I. It was the innovations first electro-mechanical computer and was practised during World War 2 by the U.S. navy blue. In comparison to 20th-century systems,it could be likened to a battleship 2.6 meters high, 16 meters wide, 2 meters deep, and weighing a massive 5 tonsThe machine the hardw ar could not develop without the software to match, of course. In this respect, two women mathematicians played key roles.adenosine deaminase Lovelace Byron, daughter of the poet Lord Byron, wrote in 1843 what straight off wed call programs for Charles Babbages Analytical Engine. She was a pioneer and is considered to be the very first programmer in history. Thats why 130 years later, the U.S. Department of Defence gave her forename Ada A-D-A to one of the most important computer programs in the world. It is used not unless by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force but withal by big industry, universities, and other centers of research.Grace Hopper, an Ameri fecal matter woman, invented in 1952 the very first compiler of all times, a prog ram which translates a computer programming language so that it can be understood by computers. It was a sensational breakthrough which opened doors to automatic programming and thus directly to contemporary personal computers (PCs).Today, computers are at the center of thousands upon thousands of other inventions. They are the heartbeats of the red-brick world. Computers are every-where from kitchens to concrete mixers, from planes to pockets. They listen. They speak. They act. Never in world history has one invention had such an work out on humanity as a whole. Without the computer age, in that location would be no global awareness.Internet, in particular, has created a brand new environment. A new culture has been born salve, rapid, and universal where wad care their knowledge and expertise. Information and communication techniques have been turned upside down, distance has been eliminated, frontiers abolished. A tremendous interactional potential is burgeoning on our planet Earth today. Like it or lump it none can break off itI would like to mention something concerning Internet. The inventors in 1990of the World Wide Web (WWW), which revolutionized the contemporary computer world, did not become millionaires. British Tim Berners-Lee and Belgian Robert Caillau, both researchers at European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, did not make any money through their invention of the WWW. They refused to apparent it. They feared that in so doing, the use of the Web would prove prohibitively expensive forecloseing its use worldwide. Thus, they passed up a fortune so that our world can learn and communicate today, and we should be grateful to them for their foresight.The invention of the computer with its multitude of programs and new instruction technologies is transforming the traditional perception of an inventor. A more positive image is emerging. No longer personified by an ridiculous crackpot, a crackpot male genius working alone i n attic, garage or basement, todays inventors resemble more and more millions of other scientists, industrial researchers and entrepreneurs in workshops or laboratories surrounded by a computer station. All use the mouse instead of a pencil, and their drawing boards are computer screens.Women inventors have also contributed to this change in the traditional image of the inventor, particularly in certain palm such as chemical science, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, not to speak of computer software.In the USA, for instance, the number of women inventors with secures in the field of chemistry increased three-and-half times during the period from 1977 (2.8%) to 1988 (9.9%). It would be interesting indeed to see what further increases have taken place over the past 10 years.Another popular fallacy is not only that the macroscopical majority of inventors are eccentric and male, but they are also perceived as being raZther past The truth is that, thanks to the computer, people are actually inventing more and more at an increasingly unseasoned age. In Silicon Valley, a 30-year old inventor is considered already long in the tooth, and many newcomers to the originative world are in their 20s. Some predict that in a few years time,therell be a new times of 14-year-old millionaire inventors appearing in Silicon ValleyUnfortunately, this new generation of inventors women and very young people is insufficiently present among representatives of most inventor associations worldwide. These are still pass by people who, although totally dedicated to their work, were neither born nor grew up in the computer age. thusly they find adaptation difficult. Information technology frequently passes them by. This is often a cause of very real problems.lighbulbInternet.jpg (1394 bytes)Lets now consider some of the ways inventors can make use of the new technologies of the computer age.We all know that inventors need a lot of information. Technological information contained i n patent documents is essential at the very earliest stages of invention. It can avoid duplication in research work. It can provide ideas for further development of existing technology. It can also give a glimpse of the proficient activities of competitors. That is why Patent Offices have put their patent documentation databases on the Internet. Access is not only fast, but easily accessible, and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.Its also free in the sense that it doesnt cost the inventor a single cent to consult such documentation Time-consuming travel to Patent Offices or libraries storing patent documents is a thing of the past. The inventor also has access to much more data than through a single database. Obviously, the ideal is one huge subroutine library, containing millions of patent documents from all over the world.The European Patent Office (EPO) has tried to create this world library of patent documents. I am glad to inform you that IFIA Web site allows surfers to visit this EPO site, and through it, to set off to the major providers of patent information in the world, whether they be Patent Offices or privateenterprises, such as IBM. A further advantage is the constant updating of all these databases by each of the providers. In brief, its sufficient to click on one address, the EPO address, to access millions of documents .lighbulbInternet.jpg (1394 bytes)For many inventors, the marketing stage often starts with a prototype to prove that the product works satisfactorily, and whats more, works safely. The greater a models perfection, the greater the chances of selling a license to a manufacturer. But a professional prototype, as ratiocination to the final product as possible, can rapidly become extremely expensive. integrity fantastic and catchpenny(prenominal) alternative to a physical prototype is a computerized model. Basically, it amounts to modelling the invention from all angles on a computer, with self-running commentary, demons trations and animation of all the inventions functions. The diskette or ZIP disk can be duplicated in as many copies as needed, and sent via regular mail.The computerized prototype can also be loaded onto a video tape and copies made. Busy executives prospective investors, licensees or buyers seem, however, to prefer a diskette which is easy to put into the computer, in addition to the fact that most offices do not have a TV and VCR. The video tape would seem more appropriate when presenting an invention at an exhibition or fair.On the subject of invention shows, let me stress in passing that realistic exhibitions exist already. One of IFIAs members, the Hungarian Association of Inventors, unconstipated launched an international competition of inventions come through March with a virtual jury, each member sitting serenely in front of his/her computer screen, somewhere around the world.lighbulbInternet.jpg (1394 bytes)With the computer age upon us, we are also moving slowly bu t surely away from the traditional penning system of filing patent applications to the newelectronic filing system a rapid and punk transmission system of text and image data.Patent Offices are now engaged in preparing the necessary tools to assist inventors and other applicants in this form of electronic commerce. Naturally, their Web sites will have to provide connect to reference material, technical guidelines and instructions on filing applications.The Patent Cooperation Treaty ( share), administered by the World ingenious Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, provides inventors and industry with an advantageous route for obtaining patent protection worldwide. Starting from January 1, 1999, the PCT is offering a reduction of US$ 200 (two hundred) for every electronic filing. Thats quite an hike to use this systemHowever, no system is perfect. It still remains a fact that Patent Offices are faced with serious technical issues related to information security. Namely How t o ensure the security and authenticity of the transmission and sub of unpublished therefore confidential data? The next question to arise is Who will be responsible in case of third- caller intrusions? The Patent Office? or the applicant?Because of the international nature of the patent system, it has been decided recently that all information security issues will be examined in the framework of WIPO.To best(p) understand some of the many issues involved, I would like to give two examples as described in a WIPO document discussed a few days ago in Geneva any exchange between applicants and examiners requires excellent levels of security and data privacy. Furthermore, many of these activities require some assurance of the identity of one party or another(prenominal). For example, if an applicant is exchanging information with an examiner, the examiner unavoidably to know that the individual is indeed true to provideinformation, (e.g. proof of identity), and the applicant need s to be confident that he or she is indeed in contact with a patent examiner and not a clever hacker. The exchange of priority documents provides another interesting example. If a priority document is to be exchanged in electronic form, it needs to be validated by the originating party. In other words, the document needs to be signed to demonstrate its authenticity, it needs to have a guaranteed time stamp associated with the transaction, preferably by a third party (to prevent presumed or actual forgery of dates and times), and it needs to have some guarantee of accuracy, so that a party obtaining the document can tell if tampering occurredlighbulbInternet.jpg (1394 bytes)Every now and then we hear some people say, Theres hardly anything left to invent. Everything has been invented already. What a silly remark You can be certain that inventors will continue inventing, and new discoveries will be made, right up to the very last minute before the world comes to an end But to return t o today, with the computer age, the possibilities of invention are deathless and in all possible fields.It has also been said that the computer will eventually invent the inventor. By that I mean that one day, the computer will replace the inventor. Up to a point, I essential agree but only to a certain extent. You can feed the computer with billions of data. One has even beaten a world chess champion. Nevertheless, the computer has no humanity, no imagination, no sensitivity or affectivity, and no inherent wisdom. Can it smell the perfume of a rose? interpret the color of a sunrise? Can it caress the cheek of a child? or savor the taste of Hong Kongs dim sum? Above all its a machine a fantastic machine but remember, its only a machine.So lets not make a new god out of the computer, as some tend to do. But rather use its possibilities to a maximum and through it, try quite simply to build a better world. That should be our motto.