1. FROM THE ENIAC TO THE INTERNET OF THINGS
The evolution of computers for the last decade has been phenomenal, from
the ENIAC vacuum tube computer to the mobile phones the revolution is
spectacular. The computer revolution has been the fastest growing technology
in man's history.
The ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer 150 feet
wide and could fit in a room. The digital dinosaur was not a stored program
computer but was rather programmed by a large web of cables plugged and
unplugged by operators to process operations. Alongside with hardware
computers evolution, programming languages moved from machine
languages to multiplatform operating systems software.
The 1960’s was the era of mainframe computers with IBM leading the way. By
the 1970’s the explosion of personal computers occurred with Steve Jobs and
Steve Wozniak exhibiting the first Apple II featuring the BASIC programming
language. IBM jumped in the personal computers revolution train with the
2. IBM PC. The competition between APPLE and IBM helping, newer models of
computers with better performance and more features were designed by the
two giants by the late eighties.
During that high peak of innovations the first dot.com name was registered
leading the way to one of the greatest invention of mankind: the internet .The
World Wide Web will reach astonishing heights with the introduction of the
HTML language five years later.
Almost a decade later after the first dot.com was registered the World Wide
Web was home to 122 million websites and projections are over a billion
websites by mid-2016.
2007 was the year where the computer revolution leaped into unlimited
potential with the iPhone bringing many computer functions to the
smartphone. The Apple iPhone reinvented the mobile phone and the way we
work and live with new features and functionality never thought before. The
introduction of the Apple apps store revolutionized the mobile industry, with
less than 500 apps in the App store in 2008, there are currently over 1, 7
million Apple apps and more than 5, 2 million apps across all mobile phones
platforms.
The next big thing and current buzz in the digital world is the internet of
things (IoT) which is a network of physical objects or “things” embedded with
software, sensors and network connectivity which enable these objects to
collect and exchange data. There is nine billion Internet of Things today and
the number is growing.
IoT allows virtually endless opportunities and connections to take place, many
of which we can’t even think of or fully understand the impact today. In the
smart connected world of tomorrow here how your typical day would look
like:
3. Its 6:00 am in the morning your smart bed synchronized with your sleep
cycles wakes you up and turn the lights on in the house, the smart coffee
maker starts brewing your coffee, your smart shower has already checked the
current temperature in the house and adjusted the water to the perfect
temperature.
You don’t have to pick through your closet to find the right clothes for the
day, your smart closet already checked the outside temperature and picked
them for you. You hop into your smart car already warmed up and displaying
the best route to take after checking road traffic conditions. Your iPhone gear
check your vital signs and send the results to your Doctor for your checkups.
If this seems a Sci Fi movie for you, it’s not and some of these futuristic
gadgets are already in the market or featured in IT symposiums around the
world.