In the process of development of modern mankind, the most diverse changes in the information sphere constantly arise, some of which can be called a real revolution. At the same time, many people do not even know the main stages of development of technical means and information resources.
What were these revolutions?
The first revolution can be called the emergence of writing, as it allowed people to accumulate and further disseminate the knowledge gained. The stages of development of technical tools and information resources originate precisely in writing, since without it it would be impossible to achieve anything that we know today.
The second revolution took place already in the middle of the 16th century and is typography. People have a need to be able to provide mass-accessible knowledge, and not just keep it in one way or another. Literacy was becoming an increasingly widespread phenomenon that began to encompass a wide mass of people. There was also a significant acceleration in the growth of technological and scientific progress, which ultimately led to an industrial breakthrough, which also made a significant contribution to the stages of development of technical means and information resources. Books completely crossed national borders, which ultimately led to the start of the formation of universal civilization.
The third revolution is the significant progress of specialized communications. Such stages of the development of technical means and information resources, such as the emergence of a telephone, radio, and telegraph, made it possible to transmit this or that information as quickly as possible at any distance, as a result of which they began to be used almost everywhere.
The fourth revolution is the emergence of personal computers and microprocessors. Over time, full-fledged computer telecommunications were formed, which influenced the search and storage systems for information quite strongly. The main stages in the development of technical means and information resources provoked significant changes in the development of modern society, as a result of which it began to be called "informational".
What is the information society?
It is a society in which the vast majority of busy people in their work is associated with the storage, production, processing and subsequent sale of various information, including knowledge as its highest form. Information today is a consumer item, and modern society provides any subject with full access to any data sources. Over time, more and more new criteria for assessing the level of development of society begin to appear, such as the number of Internet connections, computers, landlines and mobile phones, as well as many others.
How is it different?
It is worth noting several major differences that the information society received after the main stages of development of technical means and information resources went through:
- significantly increased the role of knowledge, as well as related technologies in life;
- the number of people whose work is directly related to information technology, communications, as well as the production of related services and products has increased, and their share in the gross domestic product of developed countries is also increasing;
- the so-called informatization of society is increasing due to the fact that computers, telephones, as well as electronic and traditional media are more and more widely used;
- a global information space has appeared, with the help of which access to various resources is ensured, effective interaction has appeared, and the needs of modern society in various services and products have been fully satisfied;
- information economy, e-democracy, as well as digital markets, business and social networks are gradually developing.
The very concept of "information society" was developed in the 80s. The telecommunication revolution dates back to the mid-70s and gradually merges with the computer, which, in fact, began much earlier and also proceeded in several stages.
How did the computer revolution proceed?
The development of technical tools and information resources in the field of computer technology dates back to the 30s of the last century, and this stage is usually called the “zero cycle”. Its beginning was the development of the first electronic computers, in which specialized electronic lamps began to be used instead of standard mechanical parts.
The second stage is the creation of the first personal computers, which used integrated circuits, as well as their further mass production.
Telecommunication revolution
It is difficult to say which stages of development of technical means and information resources have made the most significant impact, but a special place is given to the telecommunication revolution that occurred after the advent of satellite and fiber-optic technologies.
The symbiosis of computer and telecommunication technologies has created a huge number of new services and goods on the market, and today they are one of the key sectors of the economy of the vast majority of developed countries. Many consider it necessary to constantly import various consumer goods, and instead to export various information products, through the sale of which national wealth is earned.
Today, the cost of information technology is an order of magnitude higher compared to consumer goods, which is why developed countries have achieved such a high standard of living. Many people still do not understand that the degree of political leadership in the modern world largely depends on what the main stages of the development of technical means and information resources have been for a state and how actively it uses specialized technologies.
What did the combination of technologies give?
Due to the fact that the telecommunication and computer revolution merged with each other, huge networks began to form, including global ones. With the help of such information networks, a much faster search, transmission and processing of any necessary data is provided.
In this case, information resources are provided for information that is recorded on a specific material carrier and is subsequently stored in specialized systems, such as various banks, funds, archives and libraries. The owner of the information resource is one person or a certain group of persons, a company, region, city, country or even the whole world. Such a resource is a product of the activities of the most qualified part of modern society.
What is the difference?
There is one significant difference between information and other resources - all other resources completely disappear after their use, while this one is unlimited and can be used an infinite number of times or, if necessary, be copied without any restrictions. Moreover, such resources can increase, because the use of data is rarely completely passive and in most cases leads to additional information.
What are they like?
The stages in the development of technical means and information resources in history have given rise to two types of such data sources - state and non-state. Depending on the access category, the data itself is divided into open and limited access. In turn, the latter category is divided into information with state secrets and simply confidential data.
What led to the development?
Many people today do not know what stages of development of technical means and information resources exist. History suggests that certain inventions of science had an extremely strong influence on its improvement and the overall development of civilization. In particular, this relates to the development of a wheel, a steam engine, the discovery of electricity, atomic energy, and many others. The processes of significant changes in the nature of production, which led to certain discoveries in the field of science, are called the scientific and technological revolution.
Stages
After computer technology appeared in the second half of the last century, it was it that became the most important factor in such a revolution. Thus, three main stages can be noted:
- Creation of the first computer in 1945. For almost 30 years, computers have been used by an extremely small number of people, and basically they could only be found in industry and science.
- The advent of personal computers in the 70s. PCs have become very, very widely used, not only in the production and scientific fields, but also in maintenance, education and everyday life. Thus, over time, computers have become such an everyday object, like standard household appliances like televisions or tape recorders.
- The advent of the Internet - a global computer network. After the advent of the World Wide Web, the computer, which is placed on a small desk, has become for every person a window into the vast information world. With this stage, concepts such as “cyberspace” or “world information space” began to appear. It was after the advent of the Internet that people were able to begin to think about the fact that the history of civilization led us to the stage of "information-oriented society."
Many say that there are four stages in the development of technical means and information resources, but this applies to a large extent to the formation of modern computer technology.
How did computer technology evolve?
The computer is the main computerization tool. As mentioned above, there are 4 stages in the development of technical means and information resources related directly to computer technology:
- Manual. This stage was based on the use of fingers and toes. Keeping an account by shifting various items and grouping is the forerunner of an abacus account - the most developed ancient counting device. As an analogue of this tool, you can cite the accounts that are used by some people to this day.
- Computing devices and devices. Such devices appeared due to the significant development of mechanics in the 17th century, as a result of which a mechanical method of calculations appeared. Thus, a mechanical calculating machine appeared, Pascal invented an eight-digit model of a calculating summing machine, while Leibniz formed the first so-called arithmometer, with which it was possible to perform all four operations in the field of arithmetic.
- Electromechanical. This stage is the least lengthy, as it lasted for 60 years, from the appearance of the first electromechanical machine to the formation of the first counting and analytical complexes containing a sorting machine, a tabulator and a manual puncher in its structure. In particular, the latest products were used to process census results in various countries, including Russia.
- Electronic. It is he who is associated with the advent of an electronic computer called ENIAC in 1945. In the history of the further development of computers, it is customary to distinguish several generations at once, each of which has its own unique characteristics and distinctive features.
Thus, each separate stage made its own contribution to the development of modern information technologies and the formation of such a society that we know today.