The World of Computers

What do we usually think of when we hear the word
computer? Well most of us seem to fret or run away when we
hear that word but why? The computer is one of the best
inventions that anyone has ever come up with, why our whole
world is practically run by them. A computer is something
that no one should take for granted or kicks to the curb
just because one does not take the time to become computer
literate. In the following paragraphs I will explain why it
is so important to have computers in an educational
facility than just a plain old typewriter. The personal
computer today has dominated our culture so that the once
ubiquitous typewriter has been rendered practically silent.
 
 The importance of computers in our lives today is almost
an essential key part of the way our lifestyles have
evolved. We have computers every where from a PC in our
home to a computer chip in our car. There are so many
places computer applications can be used but I would like
to emphasize on how computers are used in work areas or
school environment vs. a typewriter. The typewriter is
still a great invention but seems to be being replaced by
the high tech age of computers. Of course not all of us can
afford the big bad computers with every option known to man
but most of us can settle for something down to the
ordinary level. And then there are some us who just rather
stay with their good and ancient friend the typewriter.
Computers are and will even soon evolve into something that
none of us will every dream of, from running our appliances
to even running our lives; assuming all of us can afford
it! In the following paragraphs I will explain and show you
why computers are a better choice than the old fashion
typewriter. 

 First I would like to talk about the differences between a
computer and a typewriter. A typewriter does have a couple
advantages for one its very easy to pack up and carry
wherever you go but if you have a laptop then you can
easily revert to it. But most of us can not afford a laptop
so some of us will just have to resort to the typewriter.
Another advantage of the typewriter is there are no
programs to learn or figure out. When I mean programs I am
talking about lotus or Microsoft word, which are most
commonly used today for creating spreadsheets and letters.
I don't want to dwell too much on the typewriter so one
more advantage is easy storage space compared to the
monitor and tower of the computer. Now that I have
discussed the advantages of the typewriter lets look into
the advantages of the popular growing computer. One main
advantage of the microcomputer is that it is friendly
usable. What do I mean by friendly usable, well for
instance in the software program called Office97 there is
an actual computer animated icon of a paperclip that you
can actually ask questions to and get a practical and
helpful response from. For instance if I was to ask the
paperclip about how to insert footnotes than it would pull
up a help menu on footnotes for me to browse and choose
from. This cuts down on research on how to actually format
the insertion of a footnote. In turn this will cut down on
wasted time flipping through English books and related
material on the subject of how to insert the footnote. This
program can help cut down on students' time that could be
used on studying for another subject or class. A student's
time is very valuable when it comes to studying for a
degree in a university or other type of schooling. Not only
does this save time for a student but also for a teacher.
Computers, when properly used, can free teachers for more
creative work with students. But when using computers they
should be used as much as possible in order for them to be
effective in our lives today. Before I go any further I
would like to dwell on the subject of how a computer can
actually save not only time but money by being used rather
than a typewriter in a university or other type of school.
If the university was to have typewriters all over the
campus this is what the scenario would look like. A college
student needs to type a research paper like the one I am
doing, so he starts by putting in the piece of paper into
the typewriter. He types a couple sentences then all of a
sudden he or she realizes that the paper is crooked in the
typewriter, well that person does not care to get marked
off for a sloppy job so they start all over again. Well not
only are they wasting time but paper! With a computer you
can wait till the end of the paper you are composing and
then check for things like spelling, grammar, and even
change the font on your paper to make it more presentable.
Can you see a student wasting three or four pages of paper
on a typewriter where as a computer only one, and that
one's not really wasted because it's the final draft. The
student would probably not have to invest in liquid paper
either. Another way the computer can help out a student or
teacher is if that letter or paper they are typing needs
some changes to it they can go back and pull it back up
because they saved it. Oops a typewriter does not do this,
well it looks like the student is starting to type the
paper all over again; too bad they didn't have a computer
or they could be out relaxing or studying for another
subject. So far as you can see the computer seems to be
dominating the typewriter by far. How else is a computer
used in a university? Well the Internet of course; you
didn't think I would leave that out did you. The Internet
serves millions of people each day from whether it is to
chat with others long distance or just to find out the
daily news. A college student can easily access the
Internet to find out information that he or she can use
towards a research paper. With a typewriter you really
can't do this as you can see the computer is so far way
ahead of the ordinary typewriter. The competition between
typewriters and computers has even put some businesses out
of business, for instance Smith Corona Corp, the king of
American typewriter manufacturing for more than a century,
filed for bankruptcy in July of 1995. The competition from
computers was just driving the Smith Corona Corp straight
into the ground. Of course this was an action that was
eventually going to happen because today's society is
always inventing something bigger and better than what we
already have. Who knows one of these days something might
put a computer out of business! Another great way that
computers are better than typewriters in a university is by
them being used by the administration staff. If the State
University were to use typewriters to record grades it
would take them probably until the next semester in order
for the student to get his report card. The university uses
something called a database to record all records of each
individual student that attends the State University. This
database can tell the staff who is doing what, how much one
student owes, and what to put down on the student's records
if requested by others. Unfortunately a typewriter would
take forever to type up all the information that a single
computer could hold on over thousands and thousands of
students. Can you imagine how much paper would be used in
order to achieve this outrageous goal! Some people believe
it or not still like to use the old fashioned typewriter to
do all of their daily needs. These people using the
typewriter may enjoy using their old beauty but they will
be aging just like their precious machine if they don't use
the technology of today. One of the last things I would
like to talk about is something called a spreadsheet. A
spreadsheet is used to keep information in rows and columns
(many rows and columns) which helps organize information so
that it might be added, subtracted, divided, and
multiplied. A common typewriter can not perform these
operations as the computer can. A student can use these
spreadsheets to keep track of his or her grades or to make
numerous calculations for a class or just to keep things
organized. One major spreadsheet program is Excel by
Microsoft. This program is an upgrade from one of the first
spreadsheet programs called Lotus 123. Now you could create
a spreadsheet on a typewriter but putting in all the lines
and lining up this and centering the paper this way and
that would just take to darn long to do. Plus you could not
even do fast arithmetic on it. On a computer you can insert
formulas and get quicker results than if you were to create
it on the typewriter. As you can see the typewriter is
becoming an ancient artifact of today's society.
 
 As you can very well see the common typewriter is being
overrun by the fast and high tech style of the modern
computer. Don't get me wrong the typewriter is still in use
but to a limited amount. The computer does things a
thousand times faster but it can also have its downfalls as
in power failures or internal problems. But by far the
computer of today is skyrocketing past the typewriter of
yesterday. So in conclusion, the computer in a university
type environment is more friendly usable than the ordinary
common typewriter. So the next time you decide to type a
paper or do some type of work that involves typing just
think to yourself how much time you can spend by using a
computer.