midTerm study guide

Question 1

Information Age

Answer 1

An era characterized by unprecedented access to information facilitated by low-cost computers and high-speed communication networks.

Question 2

Catalysts of the Information Age

Answer 2

Low-cost computers and high-speed communication networks

Question 3

Emerging Technologies

Answer 3

Smartphones, video streaming services, voice-activated digital assistants, low-cost drones, self-driving cars

Question 4

Impact of Modern Computing

Answer 4

In 1950, few electronic digital computers existed; the internet was not developed.

Question 5

Dynamic Between People and Technology

Answer 5

Concept: People create and adopt technology, which then changes society.

Question 6

Effects of Technology on People

Answer 6

Examples: Physical changes in the brain, dopamine release from information retrieval, psychological effects such as dependency on cell phones.

Question 7

Technologies Solve Problems but Create New Ones

Answer 7

Examples:
Automobiles: Greater mobility vs. traffic jams.
Web: Valuable information retrieval vs. inappropriate content exposure.
Low-cost communication: Global access vs. job outsourcing.

Question 8

Social-Technological Cycle

Answer 8

Theme: Social conditions lead to the creation of new technologies, and their adoption changes social conditions.

Question 9

Aids to Manual Calculating

Answer 9

Examples: Clay tablets, slates, paper tablets, abacus, mathematical tables.

Question 10

Early Mechanical Calculators

Answer 10

Key Devices: Calculators by Pascal and Leibniz; Arithmometer by de Colmar; Printing calculator by Scheutzes.

Question 11

Gilded Age

Answer 11

Context: Late 19th-century economic expansion led to a market for calculators.

Question 12

Calculator Adoptions and Social Change

Answer 12

Concept: Increased calculator efficiency led to de-skilling and feminization of bookkeeping.

Question 13

Cash Register

Answer 13

Purpose: Created to maintain accurate sales records and prevent embezzlement.

Question 14

Punched Card Tabulation

Answer 14

Function: Used for sorting data and computation by early adopters like the U.S. Census Bureau.

Question 15

Data-Processing Systems

Answer 15

Definition: Systems that receive input, perform calculations, and produce output.

Question 16

IBM and the Holocaust

Answer 16

Context: IBM’s involvement in facilitating the Nazi regime’s data management during the Holocaust.

Question 17

Precursors of Commercial Computers

Answer 17

Devices: Atanasoff-Berry Computer, ENIAC, EDVAC, Small-Scale Experimental Machine.

Question 18

First Commercial Computers

Answer 18

Key Models: UNIVAC by Remington-Rand, IBM mainframes.

Question 19

Programming Languages

Answer 19

Types: Assembly language, FORTRAN, COBOL.

Question 20

Time-Sharing Systems

Answer 20

Concept: Allow multiple users to access a single computer, spreading ownership costs.

Question 21

Transistor

Answer 21

Definition: A semiconductor device that replaced vacuum tubes, invented in 1948.

Question 22

Integrated Circuit

Answer 22

Definition: A semiconductor containing multiple electronic components, leading to smaller and cheaper devices.

Question 23

IBM System/360

Answer 23

Innovation: A series of compatible computers that allowed program upgrades without rewriting.

Question 24

Microprocessor

Answer 24

Definition: A compact computer processor that made personal computers practical.

Question 25

Antecedents to the Personal Computer

Answer 25

Examples: Whole Earth Catalog, People’s Computer Company, Homebrew Computer Club.

Question 26

Personal Computer

Answer 26

Definition: Computers designed for individual use, popularized by software like VisiCalc.

Question 27

Early Networking: Semaphore Telegraph Tower

Answer 27

Function: Early communication technology using visual signals.

Question 28

Telegraph

Answer 28

Impact: Revolutionized communication with extensive networks established in the 19th century.

Question 29

Telephone

Answer 29

Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell; it transformed social interactions and blurred private/public life boundaries.

Question 30

Typewriter and Teletype

Answer 30

Purpose: Facilitated document creation and long-distance communication.

Question 31

Radio

Answer 31

Inventors: Hertz and Marconi; significant in business and entertainment by the 1930s.