Single Culture Artifact

Single Culture

Single Culture Artifact

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Single Culture Artifact

The single culture artifact that represents the present culture is the computer. In a society where everything is focused on the new innovative, technological discovery there is one artifact that is still essential to the new Information Age and that is the computer. The creation of a computer simplified every aspect of life and has changed how people store and retrieve data. Computers started the technological revolution which affects every aspect of society and represents the digital world in which we live. The computer has had such a significant impact on society that all citizens in civilized countries now live in a digital society.

Computers have changed how people think and how they live. They have improved the capabilities of the business and simplified the life of the citizen. A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations (Towner, 2012). Despite the fact it is only a machine it has had a significant impact on society. Similar to inventions like the discovery of fire the consequences of this invention have changed the world drastically. The computer represents change and the values and beliefs of the present culture. Digital intelligence is now a major goal of society and acquiring knowledge that will improve some process in life.

The computer has been in society much longer than realized by people in society and was an invention used by the military to store sensitive information. At this time the computer was the size of a small room and was slow and clunky. IBM had the sole monopoly on selling these gigantic machines to corporations and governments and it was not until a few tech geeks moved to the Silicon Valley and became working on the development of a smaller computer that would benefit businesses and individual citizens alike. Through their efforts computers were remodeled into smaller more manageable technological devices used to store the private date of the business or the citizen.

Computers on their own may not have had as great an impact on society but paired with the internet insured this artifact would play a powerful role in current and future societies. The first personal computer was created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The creation of a smaller more personalized computer sparked the interest of young inventors across the country creating a PC race. IBM was not happy about this new competition and began to develop a smaller PC model that required a CP/M operating system owned by Bill Gates and known as MS-DOS. In 1981 the first mass marketed computer by IBM hit the market and the rest is history.

The race to create the most efficient and popular PC model resulted in smaller machines with greater capabilities. In 1985 Microsoft, created by Bill Gates, introduced the Windows operating system. Through the Window operating system the user of the computer could now be connected to other PC’s and the internet. The user of this personal computer would receive a model with advanced audio and video capabilities which were far superior to the Apple model. Laptops also began to merge in society and the computer became essential to the dot.com rage.

While computers slowly became a part of the everyday household in the 21st Century they have become essential to every aspect of life. For example computers run stop lights and satellites in the sky. They have become intertwined into every part of every aspect of society (Zimmerman, 2012). Transportation methods have developed from the computer technology developed in the garage of college students in Silicon Valley. Communication capabilities have expanded and resulted in the development of the smart phone which is basically a hand held computer with many important functions. Advanced gaming consoles are also a result of the development of the computer.

The computer is an important artifact because in the future the steps taken in the 20th and 21st Centuries to revolutionize society and create a technological age will be important knowledge for future generations similar to understanding the development o the wheel and the importance it has played in society, the computer will be an important artifact to teach future generations. Everyone in society and every aspect of society depends on computers and their capabilities. If computers where to suddenly disappear from society it would come to a complete halt. Just like society will not go back to the horse and buggy because they have the car citizens will no longer go the paper route in keeping records or go back to the old fashioned stationary phone line because computers appeared in society and changed the need for these old fashioned methods.

The person computer revolutionized society starting with its impact on the 1980’s and the rush to create the most efficient and effective PC model. In its infancy it did not capture the attention of society as it has in the 21st Century. Throughout the 1990’s businesses started to replace the old filing cabinet with a computer where important records were stored and were others in the same building could communicate and share records. By the end of the 90’s the computer had become an important aspect of society with everything becoming computerized but by the 21st Century the computer was pivotal to every aspect of society.

The computer will never disappear from society but instead will continue to be improved and expanded upon. While the actual personal computer may become outdated or obsolete it will always be an essential part of the technological revolution and the beginnings of the Information Age. In future generation’s computers will be known as the invention that started the technological capabilities currently present in society and the new and amazing innovations that will be discovered by future generations. The computer will continue to be an ever present part of the life of the digital native and will forever impact society.

The computer is not going away, it changes constantly, it is constantly evolving, and it is here to stay (Bone, 2007). Computers will continue to drive every technological aspect in society unless some catastrophic event occurs that but a halt to technological expansion. The computer is only an object but what an object. Computers have simplified business functions and reduced expensive overhead. It has simplified the life of the citizen and turned what once seemed like a huge world into a more globalized society. Computers are bookkeepers, messengers, organizers processors, transporters, and communicators. Without this essential artifact in society the technological revolution would not have begun and sparked the Information Age.

References

Bone, T. (2007). The Iconic Computer Interface as Cultural Artifact: It’s Role in Maintaining the

“Status Quo”. Retrieved April 25, 2013 from http://isedj.org/5/10/index.html

Towner, B. (2012). Evolution of the PC: A brief timeline of the technology that changed the

world. Retrieved April 25, 2013 from

http://www.aarp.org/home-family/personal-technology/info-10-2012/evolution-of-the>

Zimmerman K. (2012). Computer history. Retrieved April 25, 2013 from

http://www.livescience.com/20718-computer-history.html