From Bits to Terabytes: Evolution of Computing, Gaming and Communication

Many industries enjoy rapid growth with new advents in technology, and computers are no exception to the rule. However, the birth of computers heralded a somewhat lacking 'baby shower '; that is, no one knew what to do with them!

Originally, computers were designed to do what was 'said on the tin': compute mainly numerical data at a rate exponentially higher than any human, and were classically massive mainframes. However, as the Commodore 64 (and other personal computers) entered the commercial market, and indeed, 'personal computers' entered the lexicon, a smaller, more attractive consumer package was implemented. A few decades later, and it seems that most households in western society have multiple personal computing devices, including laptops, iPhones, tablets, and the like, and in our contemporary society, the range of uses of these devices are seemingly unparalleled and infinite.

But what were they used for originally? Apart from the previously-mentioned number crunching, a key component of operating your computer was writing your own code for your own programs. This quickly grew into a hobby for most, and eventually paved the way for the first video games.

Though very simple, usually text-based, games at first, these quickly grew in popularity and complexity, and created a new computer games industry that has grown into what we know today.

Computers have also bridged the gap in information transmission, with the internet allowing us to find out news on the other side of the world literally live, as it happens. This has also been translated into the video games we enjoy today, whether it be taking your Xbox online with Xbox Live or comparing your Angry Birds high score on an online leaderboard with anyone.

An interesting example of the combination of gaming and communication is Peter Molyneux’s game studio, 22Cans, and their project Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube?, where the overall goal is to find out what is inside a virtual cube. You can only remove one ‘cubelet’ at a time (which is pixel-sized), and the whole world is working on slowly chipping away at this cube, but only one person will find out what’s inside.

Sources:

Curiosity – What’s in the Cube?, viewed 30^th July, 2013, Document URL <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_%E2%80%93_What's_Inside_the_Cube%3F>

Swalwell, M, 2012, ‘Questions about the Usefulness of Microcomputers in 1980s Australia’, Media International Australia, no. 143, pp. 62-77.