Summary
The growth in the application of computers is one of the major developments of the last half of the 20th Century. There have already been substantial changes in society because of the computer, but even greater changes lie ahead. This paper defines some of the characteristics and applications of computers, as well as some of their limitations. It closes with comments on the implications of the development of ‘a new class of illiterates’—those who are unfamiliar with or even afraid of the computer as an aid in measurement, analysis, record keeping, communication and education.
Similar content being viewed by others
Bibliography
Anderson, D. (1981) Operating Systems, IEEE Computer Magazine, New York, June, pp. 69–82.
Award, E. (1975) Business Data Processing, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, Engelwood Cliffs, N.J.
Baron, R. and Piccirilli, A. (1967) Digital Logic and Computer Operations, McGraw Hill, New York.
Bell, D. (1968) Towards The Year 2000, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, pp. 191–197, 297–309.
Considine, D.et al. (1974) Process Instrumentation and Control Handbook, Mc Graw Hill, New York, pp. 17/57–100.
Date, C. J. (1977) An Introduction to Data Base Systems, 2nd edn., Addison Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Davis, W. and McCormack, A. (1979) The Information Age, Addison Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Dertouzos, M. and Moses, J. (1979) The Computer Age: A Twenty-Year View, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Doll, D. (1974) Telecommunication Turbulence and the Computer Network Evolution, IEEE Computer Magazine, New York, Feb., pp. 13–22.
Gagle, M.et al. (1981), Data Base Management Systems, Byte Magazine, Peterboro, N.H., November, pp. 97–122.
Martin, J. (1977) Future Developments in Telecommunications, 2nd edn., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Martin, J. (1975) Computer Data Base Organization, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Mathematics Teacher, The (1981) Special Issue-Microcomputers, Reston, Virginia, November.
McGlynn, D. (1976) Microprocessors, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Meyers, W. (1976) Key Developments in Computer Technology, A Survey, IEEE Computer Magazine, New York, November, pp. 48–77.
Pellegrini, U. (1979) L'Informatica Distribuita, Franco Angeli, Milano.
Pohm, A. and Smay, T. (1981) Computer Memory Systems, IEEE Computer Magazine, New York, October, pp. 93–110.
Raskin, J. and Whitney, T. (1981) Perspectives on Personal Computing, IEEE Computer Magazine, New York, January, pp. 62–73.
Simon, H. (1981) Prometheus or Pandora, The Influence of Automation on Society, IEEE Computer Magazine, New York, November, pp. 69–74.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Robert C. Baron has over 25 years experience in the computer industry, as an engineer and as an executive. He was program manager for the Mariner II (Venus) and the Mariner IV (Mars) on board space computers. He was worldwide systems manager for Honeywell's minicomputer business. In 1972, he founded Prime Computer and was its first president. He is currently working as a writer, lecturer and consultant on the development and application of computer and communication technology. Mr. Baron is the author or contributor to six books and has written over 40 papers and speeches.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baron, R.C. Environmentalists and the computer. Environmentalist 2, 133–141 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02600324
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02600324