My paper is about the history of the computer and the Internet and how they affect society. Technology plays a big role in society. The affects of the technology on society are endless. Some are good and some are bad. Technology is forever changing. If you buy a personal computer, top of the line, it is already old news before you even walk out of the store. I feel technology does more good then bad but I will explore both the pros and cons of technology. I used a number of Time Lines as a guide for my report because I feel that when we study the past we learn more about the future. We use the basic ideas of our ancestors, equipped with the knowledge of their every step, failed or succeeded, to create better and efficient ideas for today's electronic and ever-growing society. .
I wanted to discuss the Salamis Table, the oldest surviving counting table in history. Merchants used the Salamis to calculate and keep track of sums before numbers were invented. This made it possible for them to keep track of the cost of their goods. The need for technology was evident. In 1820 Charles Xavier invented the Arithmometer. Mostly banks, insurance companies and other businesses used the Arithmometer. Before it they had to have mathematicians do the calculations by using .
tables and they were not always accurate. The tables were used to map out square roots, .
cube roots, interest rates, hyperbolic, exponential functions, mathematical constants, and the price of meat per pound at the butcher's shop. Regardless of the great cost and effort that went into the making of tables they were inevitably full of errors. The Arithmometer was like a desktop calculator or a cash register and proved to the people there was a need to change the way things were done, an easier way to get the job done, quicker and more efficient. In the late 1800's to early 1900's people did not welcome the technology of computers into society right away.
