Computers. Take a look around. How many do you see?
Computers are ubiquitous in our modern lives. The products that we use daily-that we rely on, daily-almost certainly contain some form of computer. Our vehicles, our choices of entertainment, our appliances; an essay could be written strictly on the cellphone. The way that we live our lives has forever been changed by the advent of this technology.
Computers didn't begin so ceremoniously however. They began as large room-sized devices, and didn't begin toresemble what we generally consider a computer to look like until roughly World War II. I won't bore you with a history of the computer (I expect the people visiting this site are rather apathetic on the matter), but I would like you to take a second and realize how far we have come. A computer was once a room-sized device, yet we now have computers orders of magnitude more powerful in our cell phones. It really is quite remarkable.
Think about how influential computers are to your life. They enable you to communicate in ways unimaginable only a short time ago.
• Have you used Stickam, ooVoo, ustream.tv, or justin.tv to create what is essentially your own TV channel? These (free) services allow you to stream live video from your webcam(s) over the net to whomever you choose. This creates all kinds of possibilities that were not conceivable to the average person just a couple of years ago.
• Are you one of the many people who use Skype to call your friends and relatives? This technology lets you escape the high prices of the Telco’s, and call anywhere in the world for free (as long as the other person is using Skype) or to anyone for a very nominal fee. The latest version even lets you perform a video call. This is perfect for calling the relatives back home and showing off your newborn.
• Are you one of the millions of people on Facebook? Facebook was (and in some ways still is) a great site that allows you to keep in contact with people both close to you and that you may have lost contact with. You can upload pictures, and videos to share with your friends and relatives. Hint: Go easy on the applications. Seriously.

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