A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F 96 COMPUTER THE PROFESSION Computing a Better World Kai A. Olsen, Molde College and University of Bergen, Norway While government leaders struggle to implement significant change, <strong>computing</strong> professionals increasingly achieve this goal as a side-effect. As <strong>computing</strong> professionals we have been involved in many projects. Most have had a limited scope, duration, and budget. These milestones span decades, from developing a system for sending text messages between universities and research centers in 1969, to manufacturing a chip for a calculator in 1971, to setting standards for electronic communication in 1974, to designing a computer system that offers an improved user experience in 1981, to simplifying access to scientiflc papers in 1990, to developing new technologies for ranking Web pages in 1996, and to creating an online student directory with photos in 2003. I suspect few people involved in these projects had any idea they were changing the world. Yet, in retrospect, we see this is what really happened. The Arpanet project gave us the flrst e-mail system in 1969, Intel developed the microprocessor in 1971, and an international effort gave us the TCP/ IP standard for data communication in 1974. Then, in 1981, researchers at Xerox Parc designed the flrst complete graphical workstation; Tim Berners Lee deflned the basis for the World Wide Web at CERN in 1990, Larry Page and Sergey Brin created the foundations for Google in 1996, and Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2003. CHANGING LIVES Combined, these <strong>computing</strong> advances have changed the <strong>lives</strong> of millions throughout the world. In the industrial countries we work, shop, play, and socialize using a computer. Whole business areas are experiencing this revolution. Music, movies, and books are now separated from their physical representation, with a consequently huge impact on the industry. Photography has gone digital. Analog products, such as fllm, cameras, and their connected services—are now disappearing. Newspapers that have existed for more than 200 years are in danger of closing down as the competition from the net becomes overwhelming. Meanwhile, TV is losing viewers to the Internet and sites like YouTube. Physical libraries, with collections in the form of clay tablets, papyrus, or books, have been an integral part of educational institutions for thousands of years. Today digital collections are taking over and the physical library has an uncertain future in many domains. Companies that hardly existed flve to ten years ago—such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter—are today known by everybody. New services and applications are offered every day to make our <strong>lives</strong> more effective and, perhaps, more interesting. It is tempting to compare these trends with politics. While many state leaders struggle to implement signiflcant change, <strong>computing</strong> professionals increasingly achieve this as a side-effect. CATALYST Clearly, the <strong>computing</strong> industry is today’s main catalyst for change. No other industry has a comparable impact and none is as dynamic. As professionals in this area we are truly shaping the world into something better—or so we hope. Some argue that <strong>computing</strong> has become a commodity, like electricity, something you still need but that has lost its competitive advantage. However, the Googles, YouTubes, Wikipedias, and Twitters show that the pace has, if anything, accelerated. So what can we expect in the next decennium? eInk offers one new technology that flows from <strong>computing</strong>. In the past 10 years it has moved from the labs to commercial product status. Continued on page 94 Published by the IEEE Computer Society 0018-9162/10/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F
A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F _____________________ ____________________________ A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F
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