Digital technology has made life more efficient in quite a few ways. The microprocessor, for example, has made life more efficient by not allowing people with newer cars to pull out of their driveways without making sure that the car's ABS (Air Braking System) system was working properly. Machines such as the personal computer, which use a microprocessor to operate, have also made life more efficient. By using digital technology in the best way possible, people have been able to make their lives more efficient, which gives them more time to do the things of import to them.
Most of the more expensive vehicles since 1990 have come with an onboard computer system which monitors the crucial elements of the vehicle, such as the ABS system, the Air Bags, and other elements of the vehicle. By using a microprocessor to monitor the vehicle's critical parts, car manufacturers have been able to help consumers avoid possibly fatal accidents by telling them before they go out onto the road that the vehicle's brakes have a problem. Integrated circuits in wrist watches also make life more efficient by being integrated into handy calculators and alarm clocks. Instead of waiting until one gets home, a person can find out if the waitress charged them too much.
Also, if people have to be somewhere at a specific time, and they lack an electrical outlet in the car, they can simply set the alarm clock on their watch and it will go off at the proper time to remind them that they are supposed to do something at that particular time. Microprocessors are especially handy in graphing calculators. In a math class, a student can type in a complex function and have the graphing calculator perform the function perfectly. It shows the student the shape, the slope, and all extreme points. These are only a few of the ways that microprocessors make life more efficient.
Personal computers are digital machines that daily make life more efficient for many people in corporate America. In the 1950s, to type any kind of paper of any length was a nightmare. The simple fact was that, if the person typing was not extremely careful, they would wind up with a horrible looking document. However, today in 1999, thanks to personal computers, typing a letter or a financial report is more pleasant than it was; instead of having to retype the whole report all over again because of a single mistake, an individual can simply delete the errors, type in the proper corrections, and print the document out. They would have spent only fifteen minutes correcting the report instead of the many hours that it would have taken to retype an entire financial report.
An effective companion to the PC is the digital copier. The digital copier can accomplish all of the functions of an analog copier except that the digital copier can do things much more quickly and with far better quality than any analog copier could ever hope to do. Analog copiers normally are capable of doing only one job. However, digital copiers can do one job at a time, plus they can be programmed to get ready to do ten other jobs after the first one is done or while the first job is being completed. Furthermore, the digital copier can mix one-sided and two-sided copies in a single job. Perhaps, though, the best thing about it is that the copier can produce over twenty copies of a color picture that looks extremely similar to the original. By being able to produce more copies of a document quicker, and with better clarity, the digital copier not only makes life more efficient, but it also makes life more affordable. It is no wonder why the PC quickly replaced the typewriter and the digital copier the analog copier.
Despite all that integrated circuits, PCs, and digital copiers can do, it is the individual who has to use those digital devices and other to make life more efficient. A person can make personal time more productive if they use digital technology correctly. For example, if a person gets up in the morning, puts the ingredients together in a dish to make scalloped potatoes, puts the thawed chicken in a dish, and puts those two things in the refrigerator that evening, the only thing that has to be done is to put the chicken and potatoes in the digital oven, watch the news and then take the dishes out of the oven and dinner is served. At work if people use a PC instead of a typewriter,
they can produce better documents more quickly and more efficiently than they could have if they were to use a typewriter. Furthermore, if a personal organizer is used on busy days instead of the brain, people can be at the right places at the right time, or be doing the right jobs at the right time, without having to spend ten minutes every two hours trying to remember what was the next thing they were to do. By simply using digital technology properly, people can make their lives much easier.
It is safe to say that digital technology affects virtually everyone's life on this planet. However, by itself, this technology cannot make people's lives any better if people do not learn how to use this technology more efficiently. There are many digital devices available that can make everyday life much more bearable. However, the task for people now, and in the future, is to educate themselves as to how to use digital technology to its greatest potential. Once we have done that, we can make our daily lives and over all life more friendly, productive, and more meaningful.
