There are many notable advances made in technology that took place during the twentieth century. The world gradually moved from the industrial age into the technology age during this era. Once technology took hold nothing could hold back the flood of its advancement and the innovation that grew from it. Of all of the important advancements three standouts that are intimately connected are the inventions of the radio, computers, and the internet. The radio could be said as the beginning of the information age and the sharing of information worldwide.
The Radio The radio actually made it possible for the first time in humanity’s history for an audience to hear a person from many miles away. Before the television the radio was a way of gathering of people and families to share news and the storytelling that would have once perhaps been told around a communal fire. According to Kinsey, between the years of 1909 and 1927 Britain, America, Australia, South Africa, and the Netherlands were all broadcasting wirelessly through the radio (Kinsey, 2005). During this time radio broadcasts were all commercial, but that soon gave way to other kinds of broadcasts including music.
Computers Another huge advancement created in the twentieth century is the computer. The computers that are enjoyed today hardly resemble the huge calculating machines that were created around the time of the second world war.
In 1944 the very first electronic- mechanical computer called MARK 1 was created at Harvard. This machine was a massive calculator that was fifty one feet wide and eight feet tall (Chee, 1997). The beginning of the smaller computers that we know today started in 1959 when Honeywell developed the first computers that used transistors. These were followed by IBM who used integrated circuits. The very first personal computers were built in the 1970’s with the computers that are recognizable today starting in 1974 with
References: Chee, H. W. (1997, Mar 27). Brief look at the history of computers. New Straits Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/269127308?accountid=458 Cohen-Almagor, R. (2011). Internet History. International Journal of Technoethics (IJT), 2(2), 45-64. doi:10.4018/jte.2011040104Article Kinsey, M.(2005). Radio. In Key concepts in journalism studies. Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/content/entry/sageukjour/radio/0