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The Computer Age

The arrival of the computer age was so rapid that we have not yet managed to cope with all the changes or with many of the consequences. More and more people are concerned about the issue of privacy in an age in which virtually everything we do is recorded somewhere in a computer system. The potential for abuse is great. Congress has considered the issue, the courts have had to deal with it many times and will certainly have to address it in many cases in the future, and the public at large is convinced that there is a potential for abuse even if such abuse has not yet surfaced. Because of this concern, there is a need for a comprehensive program of legislation to identify the problem, clarify the issues, and offer a legal framework as a solution. The book The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll and the film Sneakers by Phil Alden Robinson are only two examples of the way concerns about computer privacy have crept into popular culture and onto the bestseller list, showing not only that people are concerned about this issue but also that they have reason to be.

The computer has developed over the past fifty years or so first slowly and then with great rapidity as new developments signaled changes in structure and operation. Computers have been made smaller and more powerful until many people have on their desk at home a computer more powerful than the largest mainframe of the 1950s. These advances have been made by a number of new and developing companies, notably those in the so-called Silicon Valley near San Francisco. These companies are in fierce competition for new designs, more powerful hardware, more versatile computer chips, and more inventive software. The underlying principles of computers are well understood, and every computer thus shares certain characteristics. Different companies develop different advantages, however, in terms of the specific design of their components and other features developed through extensi...

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The Computer Age. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:36, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1680989.html