‘‘Computerization’’ refers to worldwide technology integration and adoption of computers and other electronic IT devices, along with the Internet, to support the activities that people do in the course of their daily lives. A person who uses a computer online exemplifies computerization, as do millions of other people who use any type f IT device. Thus, computerization generally has to do with the integration of IT evices and computerized systems into communications, transportation, manufacturing, ilitary weaponry, entertainment systems, and virtually all other technological reas of modern life. The process of computerization began in the late 1940s with he invention of modern computers to provide munitions guidance systems for the .S. military. However, it was not until 1969 with the invention of the Advanced esearch Project Agency Network (ARPANET) that computerization as we now nderstand it really began to expand. This is because ARPANET pioneered packet witching technology, which began the basis for the Internet in 1983, its commercialization n 1988, and finally the World Wide Web in 1991. Over this period of time, xtending half a century, what began as a small number of mainframe computers volved into personal computers (PCs) that have been widely adopted for academic, overnment, business, nonprofit organization, and individual user purposes.
Today over 1 billion computers exist on the Earth, with approximately 1.5 billion ndividual users of the Internet. The adoption of computers and other IT devices nhances Internet usage, and vice versa. High-speed (broadband) Internet connectivity expansion also drives computer, IT, and Internet technology adoption and utilization by individuals and organizations throughout the world. Utilization of the Internet expanded nearly 275 percent from 2000 to 2008. In North America alone approximately 72 percent of the domestic population (244 million out of 337 million people) now use the Internet regularly. North America represents approximately 18 percent of worldwide Internet users. And there are currently over 100 million Web sites existing on the World Wide Web, with thousands of new Web sites created everyday.
Growth of computer and IT device users and the Internet also stems from how much easier these technologies are to use. Long gone are the days in which a user needed to understand programming in order to use computers. Originally, computers were built with bulky vacuum tubes and comparatively crude electronic components by today’s standards. Consequently, these ‘‘mainframe’’ machines with their computer punch-card readers and their printing components would literally take up very large or several rooms within a building. Each mainframe computer cost millions of dollars.
Today digital computers, IT devices, and plug-in media/components are increasingly smaller, portable, and much more affordable. They have faster processing speeds, greater memory, and increasingly more built-in functions. For example, Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch devices are media players that also have Internet browsing and communication abilities. Several manufacturers are integrating personal digital assistant (PDA) and cellular phone capabilities, and it is difficult to purchase a cell phone without a built-in digital camera.