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The World of Computers
? What do we usually think of when we hear the word computer? Well most of us seem to
fret or run away when we hear that word but why? The computer is one of the best
inventions that anyone has ever come up with, why our whole world is practically run by
them. A computer is something that no one should take for granted or kicks to the curb
just because one does not take the time to become computer literate. In the following
paragraphs I will explain why it is so important to have computers in an educational
facility than just a plain old typewriter. The personal computer today has dominated our
culture so that the once ubiquitous typewriter has been rendered practically silent.
The importance of computers in our lives today is almost an essential key part of the way
our lifestyles have evolved. We have computers every where from a PC in our home to a
computer chip in our car. There are so many places computer applications can be used but
I would like to emphasize on how computers are used in work areas or school environment
vs. a typewriter. The typewriter is still a great invention but seems to be being
replaced by the high tech age of computers. Of course not all of us can afford the big
bad computers with every option known to man but most of us can settle for something down
to the ordinary level. And then there are some us who just rather stay with their good
and ancient friend the typewriter. Computers are and will even soon evolve into something
that none of us will every dream of, from running our appliances to even running our
lives; assuming all of us can afford it! In the following paragraphs I will explain and
show you why computers are a better choice than the old fashion typewriter. 
First I would like to talk about the differences between a computer and a typewriter. A
typewriter does have a couple advantages for one its very easy to pack up and carry
wherever you go but if you have a laptop then you can easily revert to it. But most of us
can not afford a laptop so some of us will just have to resort to the typewriter. Another
advantage of the typewriter is there are no programs to learn or figure out. When I mean
programs I am talking about lotus or Microsoft word, which are most commonly used today
for creating spreadsheets and letters. I don't want to dwell too much on the typewriter
so one more advantage is easy storage space compared to the monitor and tower of the
computer. Now that I have discussed the advantages of the typewriter lets look into the
advantages of the popular growing computer. One main advantage of the microcomputer is
that it is friendly usable. What do I mean by friendly usable, well for instance in the
software program called Office97 there is an actual computer animated icon of a paperclip
that you can actually ask questions to and get a practical and helpful response from. For
instance if I was to ask the paperclip about how to insert footnotes than it would pull
up a help menu on footnotes for me to browse and choose from. This cuts down on research
on how to actually format the insertion of a footnote. In turn this will cut down on
wasted time flipping through English books and related material on the subject of how to
insert the footnote. This program can help cut down on students' time that could be used
on studying for another subject or class. A student's time is very valuable when it comes
to studying for a degree in a university or other type of schooling. Not only does this
save time for a student but also for a teacher. Computers, when properly used, can free
teachers for more creative work with students. But when using computers they should be
used as much as possible in order for them to be effective in our lives today. Before I
go any further I would like to dwell on the subject of how a computer can actually save
not only time but money by being used rather than a typewriter in a university or other
type of school. If the university was to have typewriters all over the campus this is
what the scenario would look like. A college student needs to type a research paper like
the one I am doing, so he starts by putting in the piece of paper into the typewriter. He
types a couple sentences then all of a sudden he or she realizes that the paper is
crooked in the typewriter, well that person does not care to get marked off for a sloppy
job so they start all over again. Well not only are they wasting time but paper! With a
computer you can wait till the end of the paper you are composing and then check for
things like spelling, grammar, and even change the font on your paper to make it more
presentable. Can you see a student wasting three or four pages of paper on a typewriter
where as a computer only one, and that one's not really wasted because it's the final
draft. The student would probably not have to invest in liquid paper either. Another way
the computer can help out a student or teacher is if that letter or paper they are typing
needs some changes to it they can go back and pull it back up because they saved it. Oops
a typewriter does not do this, well it looks like the student is starting to type the
paper all over again; too bad they didn't have a computer or they could be out relaxing
or studying for another subject. So far as you can see the computer seems to be
dominating the typewriter by far. How else is a computer used in a university? Well the
Internet of course; you didn't think I would leave that out did you. The Internet serves
millions of people each day from whether it is to chat with others long distance or just
to find out the daily news. A college student can easily access the Internet to find out
information that he or she can use towards a research paper. With a typewriter you really
can't do this as you can see the computer is so far way ahead of the ordinary typewriter.
The competition between typewriters and computers has even put some businesses out of
business, for instance Smith Corona Corp, the king of American typewriter manufacturing
for more than a century, filed for bankruptcy in July of 1995. The competition from
computers was just driving the Smith Corona Corp straight into the ground. Of course this
was an action that was eventually going to happen because today's society is always
inventing something bigger and better than what we already have. Who knows one of these
days something might put a computer out of business! Another great way that computers are
better than typewriters in a university is by them being used by the administration
staff. If the State University were to use typewriters to record grades it would take
them probably until the next semester in order for the student to get his report card.
The university uses something called a database to record all records of each individual
student that attends the State University. This database can tell the staff who is doing
what, how much one student owes, and what to put down on the student's records if
requested by others. Unfortunately a typewriter would take forever to type up all the
information that a single computer could hold on over thousands and thousands of
students. Can you imagine how much paper would be used in order to achieve this
outrageous goal! Some people believe it or not still like to use the old fashioned
typewriter to do all of their daily needs. These people using the typewriter may enjoy
using their old beauty but they will be aging just like their precious machine if they
don't use the technology of today. One of the last things I would like to talk about is
something called a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet is used to keep information in rows and
columns (many rows and columns) which helps organize information so that it might be
added, subtracted, divided, and multiplied. A common typewriter can not perform these
operations as the computer can. A student can use these spreadsheets to keep track of his
or her grades or to make numerous calculations for a class or just to keep things
organized. One major spreadsheet program is Excel by Microsoft. This program is an
upgrade from one of the first spreadsheet programs called Lotus 123. Now you could create
a spreadsheet on a typewriter but putting in all the lines and lining up this and
centering the paper this way and that would just take to darn long to do. Plus you could
not even do fast arithmetic on it. On a computer you can insert formulas and get quicker
results than if you were to create it on the typewriter. As you can see the typewriter is
becoming an ancient artifact of today's society.
As you can very well see the common typewriter is being overrun by the fast and high tech
style of the modern computer. Don't get me wrong the typewriter is still in use but to a
limited amount. The computer does things a thousand times faster but it can also have its
downfalls as in power failures or internal problems. But by far the computer of today is
skyrocketing past the typewriter of yesterday. So in conclusion, the computer in a
university type environment is more friendly usable than the ordinary common typewriter.
So the next time you decide to type a paper or do some type of work that involves typing
just think to yourself how much time you can spend by using a computer.