Tech Topic Connection

Computer systems are of the utmost importance in today's society and as time passes most people do not realize how quickly computers improve due to hardware improvements. The textbook Computing technology for all explains this defining Moore Law as, "Since the invention of the IC around 1960, IC's have doubled in circuit capacity about every 1.5 or 2 years" (Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S, 2019). Due to these doubling computers have seen hardware improvements every 2 years which has led to computers being the size of an entire room in the 1940's to computers being small enough to fit in a person's lap today. Computer hardware is an integral part of history but one point that is overlooked is programming where early computers where limited to simple programming due to the hardware limitations its explained here, "Early programmers entered a program into a computer as 0's and 1's by manually connecting wires or configuring switches. The currently running instruction and data values in memory could be viewed on rows of lights"(Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S, 2019). Due to these early limitations, it took computer hardware improving for users to be able to develop programming languages and be able to code worthwhile processes for a computer to complete. 

The reason I choose to speak about computer hardware is because it affects everything that we talked about in the class application software is similar as it stands by waiting for user input and the hardware performs the actions required. Computer hardware improving over the years has made databases and database management possible, the ability to program apps that are responsible for accessing and maintaining a database wouldn't have been done so easily in the 40's with big switches. Due to our reliance on these applications and databases provided by improvements to computer hardware, network architecture, management, and security is very important as well. Users need to make sure they are able to connect to where they need to do business, or even just game but connecting is important internet service providers provide internet for multiple customer all of these computers connect via one server is a good way to think of this. Securing and managing these networks makes sure that the users are safe, and all of this is needed due to integrated circuits getting smaller and thrusting computers into everyday use for people around the world.  

I think we are up for a surprise when technology takes its next great leap the author Chris Edwards explains, "It is just over a decade since the last major change to transistor structure went into production"(Edwards, C, 2021). Today computers give users the ability to work, game, edit videos, and the uses go on for quite some time but who knows what computers will be capable of as we continue to improve technology. I for one am very excited about the future of computer hardware. Edwards talks about the transistor size issue for current producers as, “The fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) emerged when the planar transistor structure that had served the industry well for several decades hit a physical limit” (Edwards, C, 2021). In the same article he also talks about how producers are looking to address the issue and one solution is simply reworking the transistor and wrapping around the entire three side rather than the top of the transistor only. Simply said, nobody knows how advanced technology will get and how simple solutions at the time may change the world forever, but I think that the best part about computer hardware.  

Resources: 

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks. 


Edwards, C. (2021). A Switch in Time: The introduction of the nanosheet transistor is just one step in the continuing attempt to stick to the spirit of Moore’s Law. Communications of the ACM, 64(10), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3479979 

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