Overview of Computers and Their Impact on Society
In the recent times, there have been a major form of use of computers. The advancements made in the different fields of technology have helped the people in uplifting their lives. The use and the impacts made by computers have helped to bring entertainment in the lives of the people and also to help them in performing their daily activities. In daily lives, the main purpose of the computer is to convert the raw data and facts into various meaningful information. With the advent of latest form of technologies, the impact of computers have increased on a rapid pace (Burke & Wagner, 2013). The importance of computers could be seen as a form of revolution based within online and offline business, online communication, online business and internet banking. These devices are also widely used for storing, accessing, manipulation, calculation and analysing of information. All the daily activities within the lives of people are linked with the usage of computers. The recent developments in the field of computers have helped in developing the various forms of computers such as the Micro or Personal Computers (Wastiau et al., 2013). The different forms of computers that are included within this framework of computers are: Desktop Computers, Laptop Computers and Palmtop or Tablet Computers.
The modern form of computing have adopted the portable modes of operation. With the major kinds of developments in the field of computing, the impacts of tablets and laptop computers are growing at a faster pace. Though the old-fashioned desktop computers are still in existence, there are many people who would still use them. Though there might be a higher rate in the growth of portable computers, but there is still a hype for the use of the old form of desktop computers (Roth et al., 2013). Based on the recent figures based on the International Data Corporation (IDC), it has been seen that the old type of desktop computers have returned in a major form of use. In the second quarter of 2014 and 2013, nearly 10 percent of desktop computers were primarily been sold.
Based on the considerations on the advantages and disadvantages of the different forms of computers, it would be a deciding factor upon the user to choose the types of computers that would be able to suit as per their needs. There are a list of advantages that are supported by a laptop computer, which could be compared to desktop computers. The use of laptop computers would be able to serve the purposes of chatting on online social platforms, play games, check emails and serve official purposes irrespective of place. On the other hand, if the computer would be used for playing high graphic based games or performing other forms of high durable tasks, then the desktop computers would be able to serve the major purposes (Silberschatz, Galvin & Gagne, 2014). Hence, it could be discussed that the laptop computers would be able to serve the needs of the user and it would be best for their usage.
Types of Computers
There are different advantages and disadvantages of a desktop, laptop or tablet computer. Based on the consideration of different kinds of factors, the different pros and cons of these type of computers are listed as follows:
Desktop Computer
The Pros:
- Desktop computer have a higher processing power. They serve the major forms of purposes based on performance and power. The higher processing power of desktop computers helps the user for running different high-end softwares such as CAD applications, data analysis and video editing.
- There is an endless form customizable and configuration options within a desktop. These include memory, processor, graphics, hard drive and wireless cards (Card, 2017). As the different components within the desktop are removable, it would be easy for upgrading the different parts.
- Since desktops needs a wired connection, it would help in improving the compatibility and connectivity with other computers in different rooms. This would be useful for reducing the amount of downtime due to poor connections (Lee et al., 2015).
The Cons:
- The portability of the computers could be regarded as downfall. This would mean that the users would remain confined to a particular room (Mois, Sanislav & Folea, 2016).
- Desktop computer require a constant amount of power supply. This would mean that unplugging of the power from the computer would make the computer to run p=out of power.
Laptop Computer
The Pros:
- Laptop computers have a high form of portability factor. These devices simplify the processes of different users based on their work processes. People who need to make their presentations and depict them in their offices would mostly be benefitted with the use of laptops (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). They would simply unplug the charger, carry their laptop in their bags and could carry them wherever they want.
- These computer would be able to foster a rich relationship between teachers, students, office colleagues and other people. The use and impact of laptops within educations would allow the engagement of students and teachers and office people. This would also enhance the interesting form of learning experience. People would be able to share their work with their colleagues directly from their laptops.
- These computer would also be able to promote the necessary skills that would be required by different people. These skills would include independent research, critical thinking and proficiency of cross-technology (Storz & Hoffman, 2013). Based on the impact of laptops, people would be able to perform their work on an independent basis that would be extremely useful to develop their critical skills in the demanding environment.
The Cons:
- As laptops are able to work within wireless connections, they should be within a suitable network area. Crossing the area of the network would lead to losing of the wireless connectivity. This would lead to disruption of the work that might affect the quality of work (Lee et al., 2015).
- The customisation options would get to be limited within the laptop computers. Unlike the desktop computers where there would be many options for upgrading the components, the customizable options are much limited within laptop computers.
- Due to the nature of mobility within laptop computers, the laptops have a higher probability to get stolen. The data would fall at higher risk to fall into the hands of unauthorized users. Unless the data would be encrypted within the laptop computers, it would have a high probability to get stolen (Vogel et al., 2014).
Tablets
The Pros:
- The tablets would be easy and intuitive to use as compared to a laptop or desktop computer. There are many users who would have access to a tablet device at their homes. The tablets would be more easily portable as compared to tablets.
- These devices would be able to help the users for improving the computer skills and thus would also be helpful for enhancing the creativity among the users (Park & del Pobil, 2013). The use of tablet computers would help in encouraging creativity based on their ability for creation and making of new contents.
- The tablets are majorly helpful for students based on their educational environment within a safeguarding and security perspective. There are many platforms based on security that would allow the teachers to keep a watch on their students. This would help them in controlling and restrict the students based on the pages they would access or would see online.
- Tablets would also be able to provide different kinds of applications, which would adopt a different approach to learning (Pereira et al., 2013). This kind of different approach would make the process of learning to be simpler. People would be able to research different kinds of applications and might also be able to find relevant content.
The Cons:
- The tablet computers would not be able to embrace large amounts of data. Tablets would have limited power of processing and capabilities. Tablets cannot be considered as the viable option when they would have to process large amounts of data. Based on writing larger form of reports, people would not find it to be a suitable option. The platform of tablets that would have a larger screen such as a desktop or laptop would prove to be beneficial (Chou et al., 2014).
- The tablet devices would not support the purpose of multitasking. When there would be too many files and on different windows, it would be hard to switch between different files. This would meant to switch between different applications, which would be extremely time consuming.
With the change in the landscape of the design of computers, it has been understood that the design of laptops have changed drastically over the years. Laptops range in different sizes. There are also different kinds of sub-categories within laptops. In the past years, the ultrathin laptops (ultrabooks) have seen an impressive growth. There were different laptop manufacturers that have developed many budget-friendly ultrabooks that would be able to suit the different needs of the users (Gao, Y. (2016).
(Fig 1: Difference between Traditional and Ultrathin Laptops)
Some of the major differences between the traditional and ultrathin laptops are:
- Features– Netbooks are better regarded a viable option for surfing the internet, social media platforms and streaming media. Ultrabooks are regarded to be the primary option in order to replace an older computer. These ultrabooks would have extremely powered processors and high memory that would be an easy option of replacement of older laptops.
- Size – The factor of size is regarded as the most recognizable difference between ultrabooks and netbooks. An ultrabook is similar to the size of a traditional laptop. The only difference between an ultrabook and the traditional laptops is that the former is lighter and thinner.
- Battery Life – One of the main category in which the traditional laptop would be able to surpass ultrabooks is the quantity of its battery life. Netbooks have smaller kind of processors. This means that the life of their battery would be lasting much longer. Ultrabooks would have a long amount of battery life as compared to the traditional laptops (Su et al., 2014).
The six guidance that would be able to suggest the better options for purchasing a laptop are:
- Size– Laptops could be classified in different sizes based on their screen sizes, which is measured in inches. A laptop that would have a 17-inch screen would be extremely suitable based on gaming. Based on the screen size, it would be suitable for carrying the laptop to different places (Lai & Wu, 2014).
- Screen Resolution – The resolution of the screen should be taken into consideration. The minimum resolution of a laptop should be 1366*768 pixels. This could be finer for performing majority of tasks. When the laptop would have large number of pixels within a smaller area, the OS within would have to scale everything. Otherwise, the icons and text would appear to be too much smaller and cannot be seen properly.
- Performance– The RAM within the laptop computer should be a major form of consideration for the users. When a user would be opting for a cheaper laptop, they should at least opt for 4 GB of RAM size. This would be helpful for opening multiple browsers at a single chance. Choosing of the processor would also be a tricky option. Users should at least opt for Intel Core i3 Processor. Laptops that would have Core i7 chips would be expensive. They would be super quick and would be worth to consider based on receiving the best performance.
- Graphics – Many of the laptops would mainly depend on the integrated graphics chipset of the processor. This could be called as Intel HD Graphics. This type of processor would help the user to play different kinds of 3D games at an extremely low resolution based on low to medium detailing settings (Halsey, 2013).
- Connectivity – There are some laptops that would have two USB ports. Many of the current laptops have at least one USB 3 port based on faster form of data transfers. Larger laptops would have three USB ports. The USB 3.1 ports mainly appear within the high form of laptops.
- Touchpad – The touchpad of the laptops would be the major reason for interacting with the laptop. Hence, it needs to be perfect. Most of the modern touchpads would be able to support gestures in which the users would be able to use their fingers to scroll in order to pinch-to-zoom.
The basic guidance for choosing the best form of desktop are as follows:
- Processors (CPUs)– The choice of the processor for a desktop computer would be a difficult choosing option. The main kinds of processor for desktop computers are Intel and AMD processor. Intel processors would be regarded as a better option based on performance while on the other hand AMD processors would be suitable for budget and efficiency.
- Memory (RAM) – The desktop computer could be standardized based on DDR3 memory. In the recent markets, the DDR4 are making their way within the market of desktop computers. In terms of memory amount, an 8 GB RAM would be suitable in terms of memory but a 16 GB memory would be able to support long-term performance of the computer.
- Hard Drives – Most of the storage facilities of the desktop computers would mainly depend on the traditional hard drives. Most of the current desktops would support solid state drives based on caching and storage. In a desktop computer, it would be suitable to have at least of 1 TB of memory (Kassner, Patera & Bulling, 2014).
- External Connectors – Most of the peripherals and upgrades would be able to connect with the help of external interfaces instead of connecting with internal cards. Other form of higher speed connectors include the usage of ThunderBolt and eSATA.
- Optical Drives – Most of the desktop would support DVD burner. The speed of burning of disc would slightly vary but the speed would normally be at a 16x rate. Blu-ray would be an option based on the users who would be using the high definition video format.
- Monitors – Most of the monitors within the desktop computers would make use of the latest form of LCD technology. The 24-inch screens would be the most common viable option for purchasing of desktop monitors (Agarwal, 2014). They would be able to support affordability and would also be able to support full 1080p HD video.
Conclusion
This report discusses about the different kinds of computer such as the desktop, laptop and tablet computers. The report discusses about the various facts in regards to the different types of computers. Although desktop computers would be able to serve a variety of purposes, the laptop computers would not only be able to serve major purposes unlike the desktop computers but would also be able to be portable. This would help the users to perform their day-to-day tasks with an efficient manner. Hence, from the discussion on the pros and cons, it could be concluded that laptop computers would be the best suitable option for the users.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Desktop, Laptop, and Tablet Computers
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