General Computer Question 2: How do we use computers?

Answer:    During the past few decades, computers and electronic technologies have been incorporated into almost every aspect of society. They now play a role in how we learn, how we take care of our money, and how we are entertained. Today, there is probably no better indication of how advanced a society is than how computerized it is. In our society, computers are now a fundamental component of our jobs, our schools, our stores, our means of transportation, and our health care. Our complex systems of banking and investment could not operated without computers. Essentially, all of our medical and scientific facilities now depend entirely upon incredibly complex computer-based systems.  

Almost all of our businesses now use the computer to maintain information about customers and products. Our schools use computers to teach and to maintain student records. Computers are now commonly used in medicine for diagnosis and treatment. In fact, every day it gets harder to find any type of business, educational institution, or government office that does not use computers in some way.

A variety of new types of specialized hardware and software tools have made the computer valuable for everything from the most repetitive tasks, such as scanning items in a supermarket, to incredibly detailed and complex tasks, such as designing spacecraft. Because computers can store accurate information, they are used to help people make better decisions. Because computers can continue to operate day or night, 24 hours a day, they are now used to provide a level of services to humans that was unknown before their invention.