Thankful for Tech

 We keep saying "Oh I wouldn't be able to carry on without computers", but few of us would be able to elucidate why exactly we need technology so much. So I came up with 6 reasons I'm thankful for computers and associated tech.

1. Information - Now with the entire world connected, any information I want is just a fingertip away. All with detailed write-ups, pictures and graphs to boot. Being a student in this age is far easier than 20 years ago. News from an umpteen number of sources is available at the click of a button.
With everyone putting up guides on how to do pretty much everything there's little chance of being unable to accomplish a task - whether it be repairing an RRoD'ed 360 by oneself, submitting an assignment on pressure transducers, making a DIY touchscreen or cooking up some chocolate mousse. Learning is everyone's right.

2. Gaming - Where would I be without games, and the PC was what started it all for me. Endless hours have been spent letting off steam (pun intended ;) ) on some of my favorite games. All the while they've become far more interactive with computing horsepower increasing exponentially and technologies like 3D vision enhancing the level of involvement in the game.

3. Staying connected - I can stay in touch with my family halfway across the globe, share pictures and videos. No more expensive phone calls to another country either, when voice-chat is just a tab away. With all my friends on twitter, orkut and facebook, it's easier to find people you wanted to catch up with long ago but never were quite able to find. On top of this apps like Dropbox help me keep up to date with work, especially collaborate with my project mates. Portability and mobility, thanks to our smartphones and other networked devices is also a welcome change from yesteryear.

4. Entertainment - I remember the hours I spent browsing through music store shelves as a kid trying to find 2 good discs and I couldn't really mix and match all the tracks I wanted. Now it's so easy to listen to the track or see the video on YouTube and then go onto one of the numerous online stores to buy each track or video or movie individually. Besides, with video quality ever increasing the sky's the limit when it comes to satisfying those of us who love bigger displays on our PCs.

5. Paying bills and shopping - There's no substitute to paying bills in the comfort of my home. Movie tickets, train tickets, flight tickets - you name it, they're all online with discounts! I also love shopping on the Internet, helps to grab all those awesome deals that pop up around Christmas and Thanksgiving and around Cyber Monday, even if I'm half a world away. 

6. Simulation and Design - Yeah this is a bit more in the line of work, but anyway with computers, we can test every situation we wish to, thrash out every scenario we want without having to build a complete model and THEN find out that the design doesn't work. These days it helps that the processing power of a supercomputer of a few decades ago is encompassed within most high end processors. The same goes for drug testing too, the effect of drugs doesn't need to be directly tested on animals or people, not to mention the fact that computers have been a great tool in sequencing cures for several diseases.

Exams are still being a pain in the behind for now, so I'll be back with some posts, along with College Chronicles Part 6, when they're done and dusted.