Data manipulation takes place at some level in nearly every sort of computational device. My calculator was using arithmetic instructions when I used it to do my stats homework, the Phelps basement microwave used the executed a simple program to heat up my instant oatmeal, and a controller communicates with my USB flash drive so that I can do my homework from any computer on campus. For the most part it was interesting and enjoyable to see how the manipulation of data within computers makes everyday life easier.
I was thoroughly disappointed, however, with one aspect of this chapter and its application to my life: communication rates. I don’t know exactly how the Hope Network is set up, but it simply does not provide a high enough transfer rate for me to dominate online in the newly released Halo: Reach. Sometimes it seems that the limited bandwidth allows for only several bps and the system lag is unbelievable. While this is nothing to get extremely worked up about and occasionally the bits transfer over just fast enough, it was a fresh reminder that computers are far from perfect and that there is still much that can be done in computer science to improve them.
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