CHAPTER 1 The World of Computers
Internet Literacy A subset of information technology competency is "Internet literacy." Those who choose not to go online and experience the Internet do not possess Internet literacy. According to a Gartner Group study, 20 percent of all Americans will remain Internet illiterate through 2005. This is a major concern for e-commerce and for the government. Those not going online are disenfranchised from the advantages of e-commerce. It is speculated that at some point in time the government may pass laws to encourage universal access to the Internet, possibly via direct grants or through tax credits to encourage businesses to help put their employees online.
The First Global Poll: PlanetProject During three weeks in November and December of the year 2000, a poll was taken of 1.2 million people from more than 250 countries. For the first time the amazing ability of the Internet to assess the collective feeling of the world was demonstrated. Although the poll was Internet-based, PlanetProject included the voices of people not normally connected to the Internet, as well. The poll asked questions in many languages. Here are some interesting findings. Two-thirds of the respondents felt that the 2000 United States presidential election weakened the U.S. democratic system. Women around the world obsess about their weight, twice as much as men. There is a direct relationship between belief in God and level of education. Americans are among the most proud of their country. Three fourths of the polled group would prefer not to choose the sex of their child, with the remainder split between male and female.
The Mainframe is History IBM has dominated the mainframe marketplace for four decades. IBM's "big iron," as it is sometimes called, will be consolidated under the trademark name eServers and reoriented to server tasks. Mainframe computers have been associated with routine business data processing, such as the processing and printing of utility bills. However, more and more of these transactions are going online via business-to-business and business-to-customer applications. The term "minicomputer" died out a few years back and this action may signal the end of the term "mainframe."