Computable.nl
  • Thema’s
    • Carrière
    • Innovatie & Transformatie
    • Cloud & Infrastructuur
    • Data & AI
    • Governance & Privacy
    • Security & Awareness
    • Software & Development
    • Werkplek & Beheer
  • Sectoren
    • Channel
    • Financiële dienstverlening
    • Logistiek
    • Onderwijs
    • Overheid
    • Zorg
  • Computable Awards
    • Overzicht
    • Nieuws
    • Winnaars
    • Partner worden
  • Vacatures
    • Vacatures bekijken
    • Vacatures plaatsen
  • Bedrijven
    • Profielen
    • Producten & Diensten
  • Kennisbank
  • Nieuwsbrief

The influence of domestic computing on it

21 maart 2002 - 23:004 minuten leestijdOpinieCloud & Infrastructuur
Martin Healey
Martin Healey

At Christmas time I am inevitably more aware of the domestic computer industry, I suppose most of us are. I am staggered at how much money is spent on computer games and electronic toys, but that is typical of pensioners like me, who were brought up in a much less affluent era.

Needless to say the revolution in domestic computing is extremely important to the commercial IT industry that we work in. Most of the influences are indirect, but the technology is fantastic and must generate a lot of research and development that is incorporated into commercial products.
To evaluate the possible impact on the commercial IT industry the domestic market can be split into three sectors, electronic toys, games machines and software for PCs; there is also a need for specialist peripherals for PCs such as joysticks. The toys must have done a lot for the battery industry, but they must also have generated advances in low-power, highly integrated circuits, technologies which can now be incorporated in portable data capture terminals for instance. Voice synthesis and recognition technologies have also matured in toys. I suppose that portable telephones can to some extent be placed in this category as far as technology advances are concerned.
The domestic PC has a more immediate impact on IT though. Today school children are taught to use a PC, either with Windows or Macs, and there is an inevitable knock-on effect to the parents. This means that there is a more computer literate user base, but unfortunately one with a very narrow view of IT. There is an old saying that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and nowhere could this have been better demonstrated than in the mindless use of PCs in industry. Nevertheless it is better that there is some general knowledge of computing created by the domestic use of PCs.
The PC revolution, both commercial and domestic has had a big impact on developments. I curse the incompetent software developers who consume vast amounts of memory, simply because it is there. But this has caused the price of both RAM and disc storage to come crashing down. This in turn enables a lot of new applications. The common PC uses are for word processing, e-mail and Web access, with some simple accounting packages and personal data bases. These don’t make demands on storage or on processing power, but now the emphasis is on graphics. The word processors today exploit graphics for "what you see is what you get" displays, an irritating increase in file sizes for e-mail applications, but much more user friendly otherwise, but the major growth applications are music and photographic/video processing, both of which consume vast amounts of storage and have only been enabled by the low price of today’s discs and RAM.
Music and the PC are deeply involved with the Internet, CD drives and licencing problems. All have an impact on commercial IT. The CD ROM player enabled home users to play music on their PC, but this inevitably lead to the development of drives which can write CDs as well as read them. Software is provided to make the CD compatible with either music or data, the latter providing a back-up mechanism of adequate capacity, but both encourage the illegal copying of software and music. Add the development of formats efficient enough (MP3) for use on the Internet and there are major problems with licencing. The demands of the domestic sector will resolve this eventually and commercial IT can benefit from the technologies developed.
Photographic processing has encouraged the development of some good software, but has also accelerated the development of printers and scanners. Flatbed scanning is a generally useful concept, a spin-off from Fax machines, but high resolution slide and negative scanners and direct interfaces to digital cameras now allow the enthusiast as well as the semi-professional to process and print pictures. This is a real advance if well employed in producing marketing material, brochures, reports, etc. This has also encouraged further developments with printers, which are quite remarkable, capable of producing prints competitive with mass produced prints. The whole digital camera revolution is geared to the developments in domestic PCs.
There is no doubt that the domestic PC may be a pain at times, but it is a source of important technical developments.

Meer over

Storage

Deel

    Inschrijven nieuwsbrief Computable

    Door te klikken op inschrijven geef je toestemming aan Jaarbeurs B.V. om je naam en e-mailadres te verwerken voor het verzenden van een of meer mailings namens Computable. Je kunt je toestemming te allen tijde intrekken via de af­meld­func­tie in de nieuwsbrief.
    Wil je weten hoe Jaarbeurs B.V. omgaat met jouw per­soons­ge­ge­vens? Klik dan hier voor ons privacy statement.

    Whitepapers

    Computable.nl

    Beveiliging begint bij de Server

    Waarom lifecycle-denken cruciaal is voor IT-security

    Computable.nl

    Bouw de AI-organisatie niet op los zand

    Wat is de afweging tussen zelf bouwen of het benutten van cloud?

    Computable.nl

    Slimme connectiviteit: de toekomst van bouwen

    Hoe stoom jij jouw organisatie in de bouw en installatie sector klaar voor de digitale toekomst?

    Meer lezen

    AchtergrondData & AI

    Fokken met data

    OpinieCloud & Infrastructuur

    Introductie van sase in het netwerk: eenvoudiger beheer en lagere kosten

    Handen
    ActueelSoftware & Development

    Workday en Randstad slaan handen ineen

    ActueelInnovatie & Transformatie

    Kort: 15 miljoen voor QuiX Quantum, NTT Data met Eurofiber in 5G-zee (en meer)

    OpinieSecurity & Awareness

    Inzicht in kwetsbaarheden aanvalsoppervlak gaat voor budget

    AchtergrondCloud & Infrastructuur

    Eigen datacenter, colocatie of cloud?

    Geef een reactie Reactie annuleren

    Je moet ingelogd zijn op om een reactie te plaatsen.

    Populaire berichten

    Meer artikelen

    Uitgelicht

    Partnerartikel
    AdvertorialData & AI

    Private AI helpt gemeenten met vertrou...

    In een tijd waarin gemeenten geconfronteerd worden met groeiende verwachtingen van burgers, toenemende wet- en regelgeving en druk op budgetten,...

    Meer persberichten

    Footer

    Direct naar

    • Carrièretests
    • Kennisbank
    • Planning
    • Computable Awards
    • Magazine
    • Abonneren Magazine
    • Cybersec e-Magazine
    • Topics

    Producten

    • Adverteren en meer…
    • Jouw Producten en Bedrijfsprofiel
    • Whitepapers & Leads
    • Vacatures & Employer Branding
    • Persberichten

    Contact

    • Colofon
    • Computable en de AVG
    • Service & contact
    • Inschrijven nieuwsbrief
    • Inlog

    Social

    • Facebook
    • X
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    © 2025 Jaarbeurs
    • Disclaimer
    • Gebruikersvoorwaarden
    • Privacy statement
    Computable.nl is een product van Jaarbeurs