Research a person of interest from the 20th Century and explain their contributions to modern computing

John von Neumann

 

John von Neumann, born in Budapest, Hungary on December 28, 1903, was a major figure in computer science and a vital member of the Manhattan Project (Responsible for the first nuclear weapons during World War II).

In computer science, the use of memory in digital computers to store both sequences of instructions and data was a breakthrough to which von Neumann made major contributions. Today we are able to multitask and use our computers, tablets and smartphones for different tasks such as writing this blog post while listening to a song and this would not have been possible if it were not for von Neumann. He developed the idea of having a “stored-program computer,” which got us to evolve from punch-cards to eventually having stored programs, compilers, etc. With this idea, we do not need to make any hardware modifications and if properly programmed, we are able to use the same computer for different tasks.

This obviously made our lives much simpler and with the convenience of having a flexible and high-speed digital computers we have nowadays, this allows us to compute and program efficiently and also perform far more computational work in as little time as possible. This famous diagram below was designed by Neumann himself on a piece of tissue paper which we still use nowadays.

References

Lecture.eingang.org. (2016). History of Computing Science: John von Neumann. [online] Available at: http://lecture.eingang.org/neumann.html [Accessed 1 Nov. 2016].

History-computer.com. (2016). History of Computers and Computing, Birth of the modern computer, The thinkers, John von Neumann. [online] Available at: http://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/thinkers/Neumann.html [Accessed 1 Nov. 2016].

Identify one mechanical computer and write about its purpose and impact on computer history.

The Kerrison Predictor

Designed by  Major A.V. Kerrison, the Kerrison Predictor was responsible to automatically counter attack enemy aircraft, by using simple inputs such as the observed speed and the angle of the target. It was one of the first fully automated anti-aircraft fire-control systems.

In the 1930s, machine guns were used by hand and aimed by eye to shoot down enemy aircraft, but faster and larger aircraft were being manufactured in time and this was not an efficient way to deal with them, so a better method had to be introduced and implemented and that was the purpose of the Kerrison Predictor.

All of the calculations were done by the predictor through a complex system of gears. Calculations such as wind speed, gravity, ballistics of the gun, the rounds it fired, angle of the target in azimuth and altitude and a user-input estimated target speed were all inputs which were dialled in and allowed the Kerrison Predictor to hit anything that moved in a straight line, by making changes to the elevation gears and shifts in motion.

This mechanical computer machine proved to be beneficial to armies to protect their base from enemy attacks and aided them greatly in helping them defeat the enemy.

 

References

Revolvy, L. (2016). “Kerrison Predictor” on Revolvy.com. [online] Revolvy.com. Available at: http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Kerrison%20Predictor&item_type=topic [Accessed 24 Oct. 2016].

En-tanz.annysings.com. (2016). Kerrison Predictor – Analog computers – Anti-aircraft guns – Artillery components – Artillery operation – Electro-mechanical computers – Military computers – Kerrison Predictor. [online] Available at: http://en-tanz.annysings.com/artikeldetails/Kerrison_Predictor.html [Accessed 24 Oct. 2016].

Research an interaction-based marketing scheme, discuss the problems they solve and justify your reasoning

The “Share a Coke” campaign. What a scheme that was! Making a simple bottle of coke personalised simply by having your name printed on the label of the coke… it really got fans thirsty! This campaign was a sure success with the audience and pretty interactive. If one didn’t find his/her name on the coke bottle, nicknames were also featured including “BFF,” “Star,” “Bestie,” “Legend,” “Grillmaster,” “Buddy” and “Wingman.”

Okay so maybe you’re not that big of a fan of coke right? And you usually prefer to buy other soft drinks or you like water better. But then you’re at a convenience shop and you spot you name on a coke bottle, or maybe a sibling’ name of your best friend’s that you are going to meet that afternoon. Now THAT would surely increase the likelihood of you buying that bottle of coke a whole lot more than if it was just the brand name and THAT is a perfect interaction-based marketing scheme.

 

Motivation

So what exactly caught my interest in the first place that made me further my studies in Interactive Media? Well it all started when I was still in secondary school, the place and time where you really start noticing what things you like to do more than others. So one day we were having a computer lesson and in this lesson we learned a little about Photoshop, some techniques we can use, quick tips and tricks to make use of. to give and show an image its 100% potential etc etc…The lesson was only 1 hour long so we didn’t really have time to practice Photoshop ourselves, but the teacher showed us some really great pictures and images that were edited and enhanced using Photoshop and I immediately loved what I saw and wanted to be able to manipulate, create and change images myself using Photoshop.

Long story short, from then onwards, I decided to continue my studies at MCAST Paola on IT Software, where there we learned some subjects that I found really enjoyable, one of them being 3D Modelling. Programming was never really my forte and so I decided to continue furthering my studies at MCAST Mosta at the Institute of Creative Arts.

My next target now is to get a Degree in Interactive Media and after that, hopefully find a job associated with my studies, or at least a job which makes me content.