Five areas of life that can make a computer essential

It’s hard to imagine today, but there once was a time when the only places that had computers were large businesses, government departments and academic institutions like universities and business schools.

But the 1980s saw the arrival of the first really affordable personal computers thanks to visionary inventors like the recently deceased Clive Sinclair. As soon as more people started to use them in their daily lives, more and more manufacturers sprang up and computers became cheaper and more powerful.

So today we can buy PCs and laptops that are immeasurably faster and capable of doing far more things than ever before. There’s also more choice than ever whether you’re looking for a big memory, a faster processing speed or just a computer that is light and easy to carry around with you. There are also countless ways that computers aren’t just useful, they can be essential too.

Equally important is having the right peripherals and accessories whether this means a high-quality colour printer, a good pair of headphones or even a big enough monitor to enable you to see everything on the screen in detail. Once you’ve created the perfect set-up, you’ll be able to use it in all of these areas of your life, and more.

Work

Any business that really wants to succeed needs to be technologically smart and that means exploiting everything that computers can do. This touches on virtually every sector imaginable whether you’re a graphic designer using programs like Adobe Photoshop or simply using the Microsoft Office suite of products to write documents, prepare spreadsheets and create presentations.

Plus, all businesses need to keep a close grip on their finances so the many accounting packages that are available can do this while also saving on expensive fees that some accountancy firms can charge.

While most businesses are also working toward a truly paperless office, it’s also a good idea to combine having a good computer system with an equally professional laser printer for when documents need to be presented as a high-quality hard copy.

Leisure

Computers are equally important when it comes to how we spend our leisure time, whether it’s by watching movies or TV shows or playing video games.

This is also a good moment to mention that a computer on its own is powerful. But it’s much more use when it’s also connected to a high-speed network, either wired or wireless. For gamers this puts them in touch with others all round the world. It’s also essential for anyone who likes to visit sites like 888 poker Canada. This is where people can play against like-minded cards fans and having a fast connection makes for an even better experience.

It’s also true that more and more people are turning to online streaming channels like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus so watching through a computer is the natural way to do this.

Travel

Next, there’s travel. Once, when we wanted to go anywhere we had to either buy tickets at the station or airport or spend a long time on the phone arranging a trip.

Now, thanks to computers, the whole world’s at our feet. Through sites like Expedia we can’t just book everything from flights to hotel rooms, we can even compare the prices to make sure that we’re getting the very best deals.

Computers are also invaluable in helping us to research where we’re travelling to. We can use them to find the best attractions, read reviews of the restaurants, even pinpoint a town’s best bar. Yes, you can use old-school guidebooks  – but you’re never going to get such detailed or up-to-date information.

Communication

Another thing that computers have transformed is the way that we communicate with each other. First there was email that meant that we could be in virtually instant communication with anyone else in the world.

But now the opportunities for communication using computers have expanded way beyond this. First there was Skype. But this has been superseded by   programs like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with the latter having 115 million users every day. Primarily, this is a very useful business tool, but plenty of people also use it to keep in touch with friends and relatives too.

Looking to the future, it seems like, in a business context at least, it’s going to replace much of the travelling to meetings that used to take up a great deal of people’s time.

Education

Last, but by no means least, computers are now an essential part of education. This isn’t just for school and college pupils – but for everyone. There are countless courses that you can take online, whether you want to learn a language or even how to become a plumber. One of the great benefits is that it can be a truly multimedia experience with a combination of webinars, instructional videos as well as written material.

It seems more and more likely that some university degrees and other college course will be taught completely on computer in future, including doing the finals exams.

These have been just a few of the multiple ways that we can use computers. There are sure to be many more that will be introduced in future. So what was once a very technical and expensive piece of equipment will be an even more important element in everyone’s lives.