The Endless Story of Past, Present and Future Technology

     The Endless Story of Past, Present and Future Technology

Technology is changing fast. Imagine the situation existed in 1990′s. We used to work using a big desktop monitor with a huge CPU beneath it. There will be one slot for inserting floppy drives. The way in which we are learning today also changed with classes online. This means that now you can learn from the comfort of your home.

I had joined an e-learning company nearly 12 years back to learn SQL Server and it helped me a lot. They provided the required materials for me to learn from the comfort of my home. However, technical support lacked but I self studied the course with determination.

I had worked with several old computers when I went to learn computer diploma course featuring Windows 3.1, Lotus 123 and FoxPro in a training centre. The whole system was very slow and also very hard to even type few sentences. We lived and worked with it since there were no other alternatives at that point of time.  Moreover, the printer which we used at that time was only dot matrix type and the papers were available in long sheets with dots on both sides.

The situation slowly changed during 1997 with the introduction of desktop computers. However, the CPU remained the same and hence the computer system was very slow. We can never imagine a system memory of over 512 MB at that time. I purchased my first home PC for around 75000 INR, using which we can now purchase 2 or 3 laptops. Its configuration was – Pentium, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB HDD, CD Drive among other essentials. I also purchased Epson Inkjet printer which I sold few years back because of non-availability and cost of original ink cartridges.

The situation was almost same when I went to learn Java and Ecommerce in a reputed computer training centre. After the completion of Java course, I joined a computer training centre as faculty. Almost all PCs there had a RAM of only 512 MB. The students used to complain that they are unable to work with such a slow system. I saw two old systems there and worked on it for long time. I still remember the place where I worked but unfortunately there are no photographs to share.

After recovering from an attack of Jaundice and Epilepsy, I decided to work from home. I was still using the same system which my father purchased in 1997. I visited a reputed computer dealer to purchase a new PC. I only managed to get an Intel Pentium PC with 512 MB RAM for around 65000 INR. I brought the system suggested by the vendor since I don’t have enough experience and knowledge about computer hardware at that time.

Over the period of time, the system became very slow and had to wait for over an hour to install Visual Studio. I was using that system till 2009 when I purchased a Dell laptop with Core2Duo CPU, 3 GB RAM and 320 GB hard drive space. The booting process is slow but once settled things are still fast. Sometimes, I need to press power button harder to switch it on.

Now that we have Corei3, Corei5 and Corei7 based laptops and desktops which are amazingly fast than all the previously released CPUs. (I will not call old CPUs as Junks since I had worked with them a lot of time). We also have Intel 4′th generation Haswell laptops which are not only fast but also saves lot of power. Gone are days with DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 memory sticks. We now how DDR3L memory which has low power output and thus saves power without compromising speed.

You also have Intel’s ULV CPUs which ends with the character ‘U’, which consume only 17W of power and provide long backup time. The recently released Haswell ‘U’ series CPUs consumes only 15W power but with reduced graphics.

Only few vendors have released laptops with Intel 4’th generation CPUs. You should note that even though there are power saving mechanism in Haswell, its power consumption is much higher that IvyBridge CPUs. Hence, it’s prone to heat but now since manufacturers like Lenovo had developed unique systems which release heat quickly through cooling vents, you need not have to worry.

I now feel bad that I have not taken photos of old computers which I saw when I worked in a computer training centre. I feel that old systems are a treasure. I still have old Telephone modem, scanners which I am not planning to dispose it off. I don’t need them but it’s difficult to buy a new one of that quality.

No one can imagine about the future of technology except Intel. When Intel releases new CPUs, new laptops are released by computer manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Lenovo, which we purchase from time to time.

We can’t even guess the brand name of CPUs which will be released next year. New technology will be launched year after year by various companies and it’s our job to keep track of them through online sources.