Application of Computers

Application of Computers

/Communication/

 In the past, people used to communicate through letters, telephones etc. The advent of computers has made it possible to share or exchange information in real time i.e.  instant exchange of information, be it textual, Graphical or visual form any corner of the world in different ways:

 Email: It enables to send the soft copy of letters, images or videos instantly to any user of a computer on the internet.

Online Chatting: It helps to establish real time communication by exchanging the typed  instantly (Instant Messenger) on the computer. Such a facility has enabled communication groups between two or more people at the same time from far off locations thus forming newsgroups.

Video Conferencing: It enables a live streaming of visual between two or more people through computers and the Internet.

FTP: It enables to transfer files between computers which are connected in a network.

Telnet: It is a facility which enables to access remote computers or terminals over the Internet.

Social Networking: It is a network of people connected to each other through web communities.

/News & Broadcasting/

The delivery and reception of news has changed dramatically with the advent of computers.

 Earlier, Journalists used snail mails, reel-to-reel  audio recorders, dark-room processing of photos and typewriters for composing contents. But now, Computers have facilitated.

Instant Broadcast: With digital technology, wireless connectivity and computers; reporters are able to gather news as it happens and transmit to the public within minutes on radio, television and news portals.

Online News Channels:Instead of watching for next day to get hard copies of newspapers, readers can access the online version of the newspapers before the printed version arrives. Also, one can access older information of the newspaper through the portal of the newspaper.

News on Social Media: With the help of internet, general masses can broadcast news on social media by disseminating information & visuals about any incident at almost the same pace as the news reporters.

/Social Networking/

Before the advent of computers, people used to interact with friends and relatives in closed groups and meet them during family functions, religious ceremonies and gatherings at local temples, gurudwaras, mosques or church. Computers & mobile devices have revolutionized the mode of interaction through social network. Social networking refers to an online platform of maintaining social relations through:

Social Media: It is a computer based technology that people to form web communities among themselves to share sentiments, relationships, news, ideas, topics of common interest, etc. through platform like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn etc.

Retaining Friendships: It was difficult to remain connected to old friends after passing out an institution; but with the advent of computer people remain connected to each other through social networking sites. Now, one never loses track of friends. Also one stays connected to extended families irrespective of location.

Rejuvenation of Old Connections: People can search old contacts like friends, relatives and other acquaintances from the extensive database of the social networking sites and start social relations afresh.

/Education/

Classroom teaching and printed paper books were the only modes of education before the advent of computers. The applications of computers tools and Internet has improve the quality of delivery and reach of education. It has enabled access to wide knowledge at instant demand, covering larger masses with interesting features and has promoted the concept of CAL (Computer Aided Learning) in different ways:

Webinar based distance learning: It is a mode of providing professional or career oriented training in which contents are delivered to a seminar of audience located at different places by a trainer from remote location on web. Presentation and lectures are broadcasted over the internet and can be accessed by registered user through dedicated video conferencing software

Digital Classroom: It is the process of applying multimedia tools in classroom teaching that includes display of animated contents (that are delivered by local server) with interactive white board on which the contents are written with I-pen which is copied by sensor that can be used by the students as notes in soft copy.

CBT (Computer Based Training): It is also known as courseware. The composed content gets delivered via software installed on the computer.

Virtual Classroom: It is an online learning environment where contents are delivered through a portal or software which can be conveniently accessed any time and from any place by registered students pursuing academic courses.

Online admission & counselling: Nowadays, computers enabled the students to fill up the admission form online, check their names in the admission list, pay the admission and course fee & take part in the counselling process online, thereby saving lots of time & money in travelling.

Online Examination: It is computer based examination system (paperless examination) that has completely automated the old manual procedure of conducting exams as the tests are taken on computers online. Examination data can be stored conveniently in a very less space and it also takes less time for evaluation of answer.

/Banking/

Computers have facilitated more authentic, secured, paperless and instant banking operations through CBS (Core Banking Solutions). Unlike the past, the record of transactions related (ledger) gets computed instead of being calculated manually. Customer transactions related to Deposits, Withdrawals & Payment are maintained in computer itself, which saves lots of paper, filing space and time. With the help of the Internet, it is possible to do banking transactions online from any place without having to stands in long queues. It also save our time and can store the payment record digitally.

Computer have led to:

Online payment: Cash-less payment of electricity bills, telephone bills, school fee etc. is done electronically through Credit Card, Debit Card, Online Banking, Online Payment Portals (e.g. Paytm) using computers or mobile devices and the net. 

Net banking: Instant transfer of money across the globe is possible using computers or mobile devices. Instant statement of account; e-Passbook, account balance etc. can be viewed and printed through Net Banking.

Cash withdrawal/deposit: Money can be withdrawn or deposited (24*7) through ATMs or KIOSKs; connected to the computer network of bank.

/Research/

Research is any field was miniscule as there were not enough computerized tools available in the past. Researchers and scientists now make use of super computers and mainframe computers to compile and analyze vast amount of data at a very high speed. Computers have led to innovations and researches which would have not been possible solely by humans. Researcher can simulate different input in computers to get the desired output. It has helped mankind in many ways like:

Satellite Launching & Communication: Design, development and launching of satellites are done through specifically programmed computers. These satellites have computerized devices which are used to transmit various data related to geography of earth and others planets in outer space which are analysed by scientists using high-end computers to derive meaningful information.

Robotics: Computer science has led to development of artificial intelligence in the form of Robotics; which is concerned with design, construction, and operation of robots that can substitute for humans and replicate human action.

Complex research studies: Studies like impact of nuclear tests, DNA test etc. can be done with the help of computers. Computers use artificial intelligence to derive multiple probabilities of any complex problem or situation thus helping research scholars with various solutions.

Measure of scale of natural disasters: The intensity of certain natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunami etc. can be measured. Deep sensing radars send seismic data to specialized computers for daily analysis to calculate the scale of natural disaster (For example: measurement of earthquake in Richter scale).

Weather forecasting and prediction: It is the application of computer & science to predict the state of atmosphere (temperature, humidity, rain, wind etc.) for a particular time & place.

/Defense/

In the past it was difficult to track movement of enemy troops. In modern warfare, computers analyze pictures taken from satellites for tracking enemy movements. Many technologies like GPS (Global Positioning System) and the Internet were initially created or started for the defense services. Computers are an important aspect of the defense industry.

Advanced computers technology facilitates: 

Design of weapons: Computers help in designing new and advanced forms of weapons.

Coding, Decoding and transmission of confidential messages: Certain confidential Transmission of secret messages, classified files etc. are done with multiple levels of coding using specialized computers software and the same is decoded at the receiving end using proper authentication and decoding software.

Identification: Pictures of enemy troop movements are taken through satellites and plotted using computers thus identifying the exact enemy locations.

Simulation: Missile operations are first tested or simulated on computers before the final implementation.

/Criminal Identification & Law Enforcement/

In the past criminal record maintenance was done through archived files kept in police stations, but with the advent of computers, criminal record maintenance has become paperless. City traffic, Which had been so far managed manually by traffic police, is gradually being replaced with automated traffic management signals. Computers facilitate the criminal identification and law enforcement departments in:

Tracking: Location of suspicious person or accused can be tracked through their mobile phone signals.

Digital Criminal Record: Through the use of software, criminal investigation departments are able to maintain records of each criminal digitally in computer. Police stations do not have to send huge paper files to Police Headquarters for any analysis as all crime records are electronically stored in their central computers (server) which can be accessed from anywhere with proper authentication.