Applications (uses) of computers

Business

A computer has high speed of calculation, diligence, accuracy, reliability, or versatility which made it an integrated part in all  organisations.
Computer is used in business organisations for:

• Payroll calculations
• Budgeting
• Sales analysis
• Financial forecasting
• Managing employees database
• Maintenance of stocks etc.

Banking

Today banking is almost totally dependent on computer.
Banks provide following facilities:

• Banks provide online accounting facility, which includes current balances, deposits, overdrafts, interest charges, shares, and trustee records.
• ATM machines are making it even easier for customers to deal with banks.

 

Insurance

Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the help of computers. The insurance companies, finance houses and stock broking firms are widely using computers for their concerns.
Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all clients with information showing

• procedure to continue with policies
• starting date of the policies
• next due installment of a policy
• maturity date
• interests due
• survival benefits
• bonus

Education

The computer has provided a lot of facilities in the education system.

• The computer provides a tool in the education system known as CBE (Computer Based Education).
• CBE involves control, delivery, and evaluation of learning.
• The computer education is rapidly increasing the graph of number of computer students.
• There are number of methods in which educational institutions can use computer to educate the students.
• It is used to prepare a database about performance of a student and analysis is carried out on this basis.

Marketing

In marketing, uses of computer are following

• Advertising - With computers, advertising professionals create art and graphics, write and revise copy, and print and disseminate ads with the goal of selling more products.
• At Home Shopping - Home shopping has been made possible through use of computerised catalogues that provide access to product information and permit direct entry of orders to be filled by the customers.

Health Care

Computers have become important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries. The computers are being used in hospitals to keep the record of patients and medicines. It is also used in

scanning and diagnosing different diseases. ECG, EEG, Ultrasounds and CT Scans etc., are also done by computerised machines.
Some major fields of health care in which computers are used are:

• Diagnostic System - Computers are used to collect data and identify cause of illness.
• Lab-diagnostic System - All tests can be done and reports are prepared by computer.
• Patient Monitoring System - These are used to check patient's signs for abnormality such as in Cardiac Arrest, ECG etc.
• Pharma Information System - Computer checks Drug-Labels, Expiry dates, harmful drug’s side effects etc.
• Surgery : Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.

Engineering Design

Computers are widely used in Engineering purpose.

One of major areas is CAD (Computer aided design). That provides creation and modification of images. Some fields are:

• Structural Engineering - Requires stress and strain analysis for design of Ships, Buildings, Budgets, Airplanes etc.
• Industrial Engineering - Computers deal with design, implementation and improvement of integrated systems of people, materials and equipments.
• Architectural Engineering - Computers help in planning towns, designing buildings, determining a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D drawings.

Military

Computers are largely used in defence. Modern tanks, missiles, weapons etc. Military also employs computerised control systems. Some military areas where a computer has been used are:

• Missile Control
• Military Communication
• Military Operation and Planning
• Smart Weapons

Communication

Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a picture or speech that is received and understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant for. Some main areas in this category are:

• E-mail
• Chatting
• Usenet
• FTP
• Telnet
• Video-conferencing

Government

Computers play an important role in government. Some major fields in this category are:

• Budgets
• Sales tax department
• Income tax department
• Male/Female ratio
• Computerization of voters lists
• Computerization of driving licensing system
• Computerization of PAN card
• Weather forecasting

History - Generations of Computers

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, the first computers generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.

uniac system

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time, and it could take days or weeks to set-up a new problem. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replace vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors.

Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languageswere also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboardsand monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many differentapplications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to

input/output controls—on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development ofGUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular andnanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.