I was just trying to figure out where all do we use computers in our daily life. I tried putting in some of them; on my own and by consulting some friends. I came with a list from which it is possible to say that computers are becoming essesntial part of our life. At least with respect to us fortunate people who are on the better side of the digital divide. Here is my compilation. They don't include technical and professional use such as DTP, spread sheets, programming and the like, but only those uses that are common to every one. I am concentrating more on uses that have(or had!) a non computer equivalent. For example, everyone uses email irrespective of their profession or background. And the equivalent of email before it existed is the good old snail mail.
1. Games
2. Surfing the internet(seeking information)
3. e-amil
4. watch movies
5. listen to music
6. writing diary. With my experience, writing the diary in a computer is not as nice as writing it on paper.
7. prinintg
8. messaging.
9. Telephone. VOIP or otherwise
10. managing contact list, people directory, telephone numbers and the like.
And here are some uses enabled by the internet. Tasks that are basically done with the help of a browser. This list should be really endless, but these are the common ones that I have listed.
1. Banking
2. Payment of bills and the like
3. shopping
4. Get news
5. entertainment of all sorts, such as audio, videos, jokes, clubs, groups and more
6. references. If you don't know some thing, seek information on the net, no longer in a book.
7. stocks, trading and other financial activities
8. yellow pages/directory and the like
Email me to tell me about any thing that can be added to the list.
