Our life is filled with digital technologies. We constantly use the Internet to find out news or weather forecasts, make payment by bank cards through cash terminals that also work through the World Wide Web, watch favorite shows in the evenings and communicate with friends on social networks. But all these achievements have been widespread not so long ago. We present five digital technologies, without which it is almost impossible to imagine the life of a modern person.
World Wide Web
The first computer network appeared in 1969, it united 4 computers located in the US universities. All works were classified and financed by the Ministry of Defense since it was initially assumed that the network would be used for communication between military research institutions.
The World Wide Web became available to any user only in 1991. By this time, e-mail and the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol, which provided real-time communication, had already been developed.
The Internet is now developing at a rapid pace, but this would not have happened if there were no home personal computers with which users can consume and generate information available on the network.
Personal Computer
Today, you can a laptop in every home, but previously such technologies were not available to ordinary consumers. The problems of their wide distribution were the need for a large amount of knowledge, the high cost and the absence of the need for such a device.
During the 1970s, many computer models appeared but they were aimed at enthusiasts and were still difficult to master. Despite the success of Apple II, the first mass-production computer for a wide range of users was IBM PC, which appeared in 1981. The same computer contributed to the success of Microsoft – IBM PC was supplied with the operating system DOS.
The rapid development of personal computers has led to a reduction in their cost and wide dissemination, not only for educational and work purposes, but also for entertainment.
Wi-Fi
The name of the technology is derived from the shortening of the phrase Wireless Fidelity. The history of this technology began in 1985 when the Federal Communications Agency provided the opportunity to use certain frequencies of the radio spectrum without licensing. The first technology, which worked similar to the modern Wi-Fi was developed by Dutch companies NCR Corporation and AT&T, who presented a solution for optimizing the operation of cash systems called WaveLAN. The freedom of mastering radio frequencies led to the emergence of many standards that were not unified, which prevented a variety of equipment from interacting with each other. But in 1997, the international standard for data transmission was 802.11, and in 2000, a wide range of users used devices that supported the 802.11b standard, which provided a bandwidth of up to 11 Mbps.
The development of wireless technologies has prompted their introduction into home appliances providing a large number of people with Internet access in places where this is necessary: exhibitions, presentations, airports, railway stations, online pharmacies, and etc.
Now the fastest standard is 802.11ac, which allows you to achieve a fantastic 6.77 Gbps, and the first smartphone that supports this standard was Motorola’s Moto X smartphone.
Smartphones
Smartphones appeared on the pick of the popularity of mobile communication, they combined the capabilities of cell phones (calls) and handheld computers (organizer). An important feature of smartphones is the ability to install third-party programs that allow you to extend the functionality of the device.
The first smartphone was developed by IBM Simon in 1992. The device was large and heavy, costing about $1000, but it had a touchscreen, which is now the norm. The device did not become popular because there was no urgent need for such a gadget even in business areas.
It’s difficult to say at what stage smartphones went beyond business devices, but you can argue that due to the development of mobile networks with fast Internet access, they have gained incredible popularity among users, since they allow us to be constantly in touch, including social networks. Now you can even use smartphones for ordering medications from a Canadian pharmacy and others online stores.
Social networks
The idea of creating the Internet was communication, that is, the opportunity to contact other users. Despite the fact that the concept of a social network was first realized in the form of a bulletin board at the beginning of the World Wide Web, the usual kind of social networks in which users generate content and communicate with each other appeared much later.
The title of the first social network belonged to Classmates. It appeared in the distant 1995. It allowed finding classmates, co-workers and other familiar people with whom the connection was lost or its maintenance was difficult due to a long distance.
To date, this social network has registered more than 57 million people, which is difficult to call a large community, but it should be noted that the main inflow of users into social networks began with the active dissemination of the Internet. At this time, Classmates showed their low competitiveness and reluctance to adapt to modern trends, which gave the opportunity to grow rapidly and develop young projects.
Today, these achievements are taken for granted, almost everyone is constantly using computers, smartphones, online pharmacies, and Wi-Fi can be found even in the metro, which emphasizes the importance of modern technology in modern society.
And what digital technologies have become the most significant in your life?