STS- THE
INFORMATION
AGE
THE INFORMATION AGE is defined as a
period starting in the last quarter of the 20 th
century when information became
effortlessly accessible through publications
and through the management of information
by computer networks.
The means of conveying symbolic information
(e.g., writing, math, other codes) among humans
has evolved with increasing speed. The
information Age is also called the Digital Age and
the New Media Age because it was associated
with the development of computers.
According to James R. Messenger who proposed the
Theory of Information Age in 1982, the Information Age is
a true new age based upon the interconnection of
computers via telecommunications, with these
information systems operating on both a real –time and
as-needed basis. Furthermore, the primary factors driving
this new age forward are convenience and user-
friendliness which, in turn, will create user dependence.
HISTORY
The timeline traces the history and emergence of the
Information Age (United States American History).
YEAR EVENT
3000BC Sumerian writing system used pictographs to
represent words.
Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians
of
Mesopotamia
2900BC Beginnings of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing
The hieroglyphic script originated shortly before 3100 B.C., at the very onset of
pharaonic civilization.
1300BC Tortoise shell and oracle bone writing were used
through the rich information recorded on the oracle bones or tortoise shells used
as tablets by shamans of the Shang dynasty who wrote requests on them to royal
ancestor spirits, asking for guidance on important events or information about the
future.
500 BC Papyrus roll was used
Form of book was the papyrus roll, commonly called biblion, taking its name from
the material of which it was made. It consisted of papyrus sheets pasted edge to
edge with a slight overlap.
220 BC Chinese small seal writing was developed
Seal script usually refers to the small seal script—that is, the lineage
which evolved within the state of Qin during the Eastern Zhou dynasty (771–221
BC), which was later standardized under Qin Shi Huang ( r. 221–210 BC).
100 AD Book (parchment codex)
A codex is essentially an ancient book, consisting of one or more quires of sheets
of papyrus or parchment folded together to form a group of leaves, or pages.
105 AD Woodblock printing and paper was invented
by the Chinese.
It is thought that woodblock printing was developed under the Tang dynasty,
which lasted from 618 to 906 CE. By the end of their rule, the technique had been
perfected. It represented the most advanced printing technology in the world for
hundreds of years.
1455 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing
press using movable metal type.
YEAR EVENT
1755 *Samuel Johnson’s dictionary standardized
English spelling
1802 *The Library of Congress was established
*Invention of the carbon arc lamp
1824 *Research on persistence of vision published
1830s *First viable design for a digital computer
*Augusta Lady Byron writes the world’s first
computer program
YEAR EVENT
1837 Invention of the telegraph in Great Britain and
the United Sates
1861 Motion pictures were projected onto screen
1876 Dewey Decimal system was introduced
1877 Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated high-
speed photography
1899 First magnetic recordings were released
1902 Motion picture special effects were used
YEAR EVENT
1906 Lee DeForest invented the electronic
amplifying tube
1926 Television camera tube was invented by Zvorkyn
1939 Regularly scheduled television broadcasting began
in the US.
1940s Beginning of Information science as a discipline
1945 Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext
YEAR EVENT
1946 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.)computer
was developed
1948 Birth of field-of-information theory proposed by
Claude E. Shannon
1957 Planar transistor was developed by Jean Hoerni
1958 First integrated circuit
1960s Library of Congress developed LC MARC (machine
readable code)
1969 UNIX (UNiplexed Information Computing System)
operating system was developed, which could
handle multitasking
YEAR EVENT
1971 Intel introduced the first microprocessor chip
1972 Optical laserdisc was developed by Philips and
MCA (Master of Computer Applications )
1974 MCA and Philips agreed on a standard videodisc
encoding format
1975 Altair Microcomputer Kit was released:first
personal computer for the public
1977 RadioShack introduced the first complete personal
computer
YEAR EVENT
1984 Apple Macintosh computer was introduced
Mid 1980s Artificial intelligence was separated from
information science
1987 Hypercard was developed by Bill Atkinson
recipe box metaphor
1991 Four hundred fifty complete works of literature
on one CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory)
was released
Jan 1997 RSA (encryption and network security software)
Internet security code cracked for a 48-bit number
As man evolved, information and its dissemination has
also evolved in may ways. Eventually, we no longer kept
them to ourselves ; instead, we share them and manage
them in different means. Information got ahead of us. It
started to grow at a rate we were unprepared to handle.
Because of the abundance of information, it was difficult to
collect and manage them starting in the 1960s and 1970s.
During the 1980s, real angst set in. Richard Wurman
called it “Information anxiety.” In the 1990s, information
became the currency in the business world. Information was
the preferred medium of exchange and the information
managers served as information officers. In the present
generation, there is no doubt that information has turned
out to be commodity, an overdeveloped product, mass-
produced, and unspecialized.
Soon, we become overloaded with it. Different authors
have diverse, contrasting ideas on the evolution of the
Information Age. In spite of this, we can still say that
information is a very important tool that helps improve our
way of life. One thing is for sure, the Information Age will
continue to move forward and far greater than our minds
could imagine.
COMPUTERS
Computers are among the most important
contributions of advances in the Information Age to society.
A computer is an electronic device that stores and processes
data. It runs on a program that contains the exact, step-by-
step directions to solve a problem. (UShistory.org,2017).
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
Computers are associated with numerous terms and
descriptions. Most people suggest the dimensions, intended use,
or the computer’s power. While the term “computer” can apply to
virtually any device that has a microprocessor in it, most people
think of a computer as a device that receives input from the user
through a mouse or key board, processes it in some fashion, and
presents the result on a screen.
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER (PC)
It is a single-user instrument. PCs were first known as
microcomputers since they were a complete computer but
built on a smaller scale than the enormous systems
operated by most businesses.
.
2. DESKTOP COMPUTER
It is described as a PC that is not designed for portability. The
assumption with a desktop is that it will be set up in a permanent spot.
A workstation is simply a desktop computer that has a more powerful
processor, additional memory, and enhanced capabilities for
performing special group of tasks, such as 3D graphics or game
development. Most desktops offer more storage, power, and versatility
than their portable versions (UShistory.org,2017).
.
3. LAPTOPS
These are portable computers that integrate the
essentials of a desktop computer in a battery-powered
package, which is somewhat larger than a typical
hardcover book. They are commonly called notebooks.
.
4.PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDAs)
These are tightly integrated computers that usually
have no keyboards but rely on a touch screen for user
input. PDAs are typically smaller than a paperback,
lightweight, and battery-powered. (UShistory.org,2017).
.
5. SERVER
It refers to a computer that has been improved to
provide network services to other computers. Servers usually
boast powerful processors, tons of memory, and large hard
drives. (UShistory.org,2017).
.
6. MAINFRAMES
These are huge computer systems that can fill an entire room. They are
used especially by large firms to describe the large, expensive machines that
process millions of transactions every day. The term “mainframe” has been
replaced by enterprise server. Although some supercomputers are single
computer systems, most comprise multiple, high performance, parallel
computers working as a single system (UShistory.org,2017).
.
7. WEARABLE COMPUTERS
They involve materials that are usually integrated into
cell phones, watches and other small objects or places.
They perform common computer applications such as
data bases, email, multimedia, and schedulers
(UShistory.org,2017).
.
THE WORLD WIDE WEB (INTERNET)
Several historians trace the origin of the Internet to Claude E.
Shannon, an American Mathematician who was considered as the
Father of Information Theory. He worked at Bell laboratories and at
age of 32, he published a paper proposing that information can be
quantitatively encoded as a sequence of ones and zeroes.
.
The internet is a worldwide system of interconnected networks that
facilitate data transmission among innumerable computers. It was
developed during the 1970s by the Department of Defense. In case of an
attack, military advisers suggested the advantage of being able to
operate on one computer from another terminal. In the early days, the
Internet was used mainly by scientists to communicate with other
scientists. The internet remained under government control until 1984
(Rouse, 2014)
One early problem faced by Internet users was speed. Phone
lines could only transmit information at a limited rate. The
development of fiber-optic cables allowed for billions of bits of
information to be received every minute. Companies like Intel
developed faster microprocessors so personal computers could
process the incoming signals at a more rapid rate.
(UShistory.org,2017).
Companies whose businesses are built on digitized information
have become valuable and powerful in a relatively short period
of time; the current information Age has spawned its own
breed of wealthy influential brokers, from Microsoft’s Bill Gates
to Apple’s Steve Jobs to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
.
.
.
Critics charged that the Internet created a technological divide
that increased the gap between the members of the higher
class and lower class of society. Those who could not afford a
computer or a monthly access fee were denied these
possibilities. Many decried the impersonal nature of electronic
communication compared to a telephone call or a handwritten.
On the other hand, the unregulated and loose nature of the Internet
allowed pornography to be broadcast to millions of homes. Protecting
children from these influences or even from meeting violent predators
would prove to be difficult. Nowadays, crimes in various forms are
rampant because of the use of the social media. Cyberbullying is an issue
that poses alarm worldwide. Consequently, we need to be aware of the
possible harm and damage due to abuse of these advances in the
Information Age.
FINAL ACTIVITY # 1 :
Make a research of a device with special features
that you can develop to help improve lives of people in
our society. It could be something that you can
develop to help in communication, transportation,
health, and be like.
