Publisher's Synopsis
This series explains how science and human ingenuity have been applied to create the technologies demanded in a constantly changing world. "Technology in Action" examines the reasons why changes and developments are necessary, and shows how problems are solved to bring about these changes. Each book in the series deals with the subject matter within a thematic framework, showing how different technologies combine to create an evolving "state of the art".;Information technology, or IT, deals with the ways in which we collect, store and pass on information. This book examines all aspects of IT, from its beginnings in earliest human times to the complex and sophisticated methods used in the modern world.;The origins of information technology date back to the earliest human civilizations - to the birth of spoken languages, cave paintings and the written word. A great deal has changed since those times, and developments have been especially swift during the last 150 years. Inventions such as the telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, satellites and computers have revolutionized the ways in which we handle information, increasing both the amount that can be stored and the speed with which it can be processed, retrieved and communicated. The most up-to-date developments, including fibre optics, miniature lasers and supercomputers will ensure that the information revolution continues. Information technology looks at all areas of this fast changing subject and the role it now plays in the home and at school, in offices and factories, in the supermarket and in space. It concludes with an examination of how IT will develop in the future.
