How programmers are changing the world
In the world that we live in technology is advancing at such a rapid speed, touching every part of our lives. Long gone are the days that maps were used instead of Sat Navs and letters written instead of sending a text. What’s next, transport advancing to hover cars? None of these technological advancements could have been possible without programmers – the man (or woman) behind the machine. Below we have listed what we think are some of the life changing advancements programmers have been responsible for.
Google
We’re sure you’ve all heard of Google. Google has become so popular now, that it has not only has changed the way we live our lives but it has also become part of our vocabulary. We’ve all been there when you don’t know the answer to something and you simply say to your friend “Oh just Google it”. 50 years ago no one would have known what on earth you were talking about. Google not only has the answer to pretty much any question we’ve ever thought of, but it’s now a truly invaluable resource for finding jobs, trying to determine what that mole on your back is and searching for 100’s of pictures of your celebrity crush (just to name a few). To think that Google started off with two programmers who, at the time, were PhD students from Stanford University and now has advanced to Google Maps, Google Earth, Gmail, Google Talk… the list is endless. Just think about where it could be in 5 years time.
Autonomous cars
Next on the list has to be autonomous cars. Even if you aren’t interested in cars (and could only tell the colour of yours as opposed to anything else) the thought of cars driving themselves is pretty damn cool – and a little scary! To think it was way back in 1885 that the first car was ever made and now 130 years later they have parking sensors, built in Sat Navs, heated seats, etc. Within the past few years programmers have made such advancements that cars are actually able to park themselves. This is an absolute life saver for those of you who hate parallel parking (you aren’t alone).
But this is about autonomous cars. Cars that don’t require anyone to drive. It’s difficult to wrap your head around the fact that no-one is actually required to drive and the car is completely reliant on technology. Cool, right? Texting, iPad movies and long naps here we come. The purpose of the driverless car is to reduce the amount of accidents on the road whether this will work only time will tell.
Card Payments
First conceived as futuristic and now at the forefront of technology, card payments have been transforming how we pay for over 50 years. It was way back in 2003 that chip & pin was introduced. Then 2007 came and contactless was introduced, however as we all know, that has only really become popular in the past year or two. This, if you aren’t aware, is where you simply tap your card onto the card machine and bam, all done. Literally all done within 2 seconds. Pretty scary when you think about it but thankfully there is a cap of £30 for those of you who are a little sceptical.
Now, programmers have taken it one step further. The latest craze is being able to pay via your mobile phone. Apple Pay is, in effect, a digital wallet. It lets users use their credit and debit cards through Apple’s Passbook app. However, this is only for people with the latest generation of iPhones, or an Apple Watch. Unlike contactless cards, Apple Pay includes an extra security measure as your finger print is required to make the transaction so unless someone is chopping your finger off when stealing your phone you are all good.
What do you think is the most exciting advancement in technology today? Let us know in the comments section below or tweet us.