Blog #7 EOTO Technology Presentations

Presentations: What I learned

In class I was able to learn about the progression of many technological advancements throughout the past hundreds of years. Whether it was the ballpoint pen, internet, the telephone or artificial intelleginece, our society continues to evolve. I learned something knew from every presentation but a few that stood out included the invention of email, computers and Netflix.

History of Email

Raymond Tomlinson sent the first email in 1971 to himself typing out the first row of letters on the keyboard “QWERTY.”  He wanted to enable connections between users over computers, which led to quicker communication that was well organized. Then the @ sign became a standard for emails, and has continued to serve the purpose in identifying who your email is coming from and being sent to. A fun fact I learned was that in 1991 an email was sent from space. It is crazy how email was a rare form of communication but now it has revolutionized communication and is used multiple times a day. 

History of Computers 

1940s computers were stationary, could do calculations and just were a box of wires. Often used for radar, translation and military use. In the span of 10 years IBM replaced the technology for a transistor which made computers smaller and more reliable. In 2006 the Mac Book Pro was released by Apple and since then has continued to evolve becoming more mobile and with an array of sizes.

                                                                                History of Netflix

I was very interested to learn that Netflix began as a DVD rental service, and it was done through the mail. Created in 1997 by Marc Randolph and Reed Hasting, Hasting started the company after a late fee he received from a Blockbuster movie rental. Fast forward to 2011, Netflix is now the largest internet streaming service and brings evolving services often based on users needs increasing revenue each year.

Overall I really enjoyed the EOTO presentations, and I learned a lot of details on how internet has evolved so much especially these past 50 years.