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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1983)
Portland Observer, May 25, 1963 Section II Page 3 The Computer Revolution Learn now or be branded “ com puter illite ra te .** It isn’ t as bard as it looks. In the last JO years there has been a revolution in data processing that is as important as the industrial revolution. In 1950 there was only one compute; in the United States; now one in ten jobs is in the computer industry and the computer has invaded nearly every field of endeavor The first computer was the E N IA C . designed and built at the University o f Pennsylvania by Remington Rand between 1939 and 1946. It weighed 31 tons, enveloped 3,000 cubic feet and was based on vacuum tubes. It cost $2.5 m illion. Now hand-held computers can store thousands o f integrated circuits on a single chip. M ini computers have become popular in education, science and industry, but the biggest market is in business. The most popular use by business is w ord processing, which is the preparation o f printed text using a m icro com puter. T ext can be entered at a video screen and edited before it is p rintvd. Letters and form s can be stored in the com puter m em ory and printed repeatedly with changes o f names and other inform ation. The hobby computer was marketed in 1975 w ith overwhelming accept ance. The personal computer is available in the $500 range and has a myriad o f uses o th e r th an to play vid eo games — incom e taxes and personal finance, household autom ation, computer-aided education, etc. By 1990, com puters w ill be fo un d in 25 percent o f all homes. M a n y people in high school now will own a personal computer, will know a com puter language and w ill use computers in their work. The data processing field has turned into a huge industry. The em ploy ment section o f any metropolitan daily has more jobs under “ Program m er’ ’ than any other category. There are also ads under Systems Analyst, Data C o n tro l C lerk, O p e ra to r, Project Leader — all dealing w ith computers. Another lucrative field is computer sales. The basic concept o f every computer is: inp u t, processing and output. The program records the data, performs some calculation or operation on it, and reports the results. During the processing phase, computer opera tions inclu d e s o rtin g , selecting, s u m m a rizin g , c a lc u la tin g , c o u n tin g , deciding and editing. On the first computers, instructions had to be entered one at a time by the operator, which was time-consur” ing. Now a series o f instructions making up the program can be stored in the computer's memory. The computer can select one instruction at a time and perform the desired operation. O riginally, programs were written in machine language, but this was too complicated so new languages were developed. Today most programs are written in C O B A L , F O R T R A N . B A S IC , P R G . G1CS or B A L. The programmer codes the specifications provided by the Systems Analyst into the most suitable language, compiles and tests the program. Computer classes 0 M 8 I/0 E 8 O M S I/O re g o n Episcopal School will offer a two-week camp program for high school students in computers. The first week will use A ta ri and Apple com puters to study the physics o f music and the fundam entals o f wave theory. D u rin g the second week subjects w ill include h olography, w ord processing and computer techniques. A lab w ill feature several computers and languages. Students w ill be housed at O regon Episcopal School and attend classes at O M S I. OMSI O M S I offers many summer com puter classes fo r children beginning at Grade I and for adults. Among the classes offered are L O G O , B A S IC , New C o m p u te r Things (P ascal, F O R T H , L IS P , L O G O ), and science using computers as a tool. A special workshop for teachers is available. Call 222- 1500 for inform ation. Portland Community Collage Po rtlan d C o m m un ity College offers a variety o f credit and non;credit com puter courses. Am ong these are television courses “ Introd u ction to C om puters: M a k in g It C o u n t" and " C o m p u te r Concepts in Society.** Television courses are broadcast on K O A P -T V 10 and include an orienta tion class at the center. (244-6111). For P C C class and registration inform a tion call 244-6111. should be able to work under close supervision as part o f a team. They must be comfortable working with machines and doing repetitive work. Console operators must use independent judgement. YW CA COM PUTER C LA 88E8 Y W C A com puter classes are availab le this summer at the Dow ntow n Y W C A , St. Johns Y W C A , Vancouver Y W C A and R oll Business Center (Beaverton). At least one computer to each two students guarantees hands- on experience. Call 223-6281, ext. 217 for inform ation. B A 8 IC C o m p u te r P ro g ra m m in g : an introduction to computers and B A S IC computer programming. Exposure to various applications o f com puters at home or in business. (4 sessions) C o m p u te r O rie n ta tio n : Introduction to computers, understanding o f vocabulary. ( I session) W o rd P roceealng: Step-by-step through word processing features; learn to edit, store and retrieve documents Hands-on course with one person per computer. (4 sessions) C o m p u te r B u y in g Q u ld e: Learn about differences among brands o f personal computers, compare capabilities and prices. (1 session) Learn a program m ing language no m atter what your career plans are today. It will be useful and will be a source o f opportunity all o f your life. Also contact M t. Hood Com m unity College and other community colleges and Portland State University. PHOTO: OMSI ACCENT Syatema Analyat The Systems Analyst is the architect. He designs the systems that w ill store, process and report the inform ation needed. T h e problem s Systems A nalysts solve vary fro m m o n ito rin g nuclear physics to forecasting sales. Because the w o rk is varied and com plex, analysts usually specialize in business or scientific and engineering applica tions. Analysts usually have B A ’ s or advanced degrees. Business employers usually want persons with backgrounds in accounting, business, or eco nomics while scientifically oriented organizations want a background in physical or biological sciences, engineering, or mathematics. A n increasing number o f employers prefer a degree in computer science. Most Analysts have several years’ experience in programming. E m p loym ent o f Systems Analysts is expected to increase faster than average occupations in the 1980’ s, p articu larly in accounting firm s and companies doing research and development. P ro g ra m m e rs Most programmers are college graduates, but others have taken special courses in comm unity colleges. Employers using computers in science and engineering p refe r college graduates w ith degrees in m a th , science or engineering. Employers who use computers for business applications do not re q u ire college degrees, but p refe r persons w ith backgrounds in d ata processing, accounting and business. Employers look for people who can think logically, are analytical and are good w ith d etails. T h e jo b calls fo r patience, persistence and extrem e accuracy. Is there a health career in your future? Kaiser- Permanente offers a progressive work environment; and a variety of work settings and career opportunities for persons interested in the health care field. Whether you like working with patients, operating computers, or working in an office setting, whether you have an associate degree, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., or on-the-job acquired work experience, opportunities exist in health care and at Kaiser-Permanente. C o m p u te r O p e ra to r Info rm ation is entered into computers in a variety o f ways. K e yp u n ch operators punch patterns in com puter cards. D a te t y p le t e use special machines to type holes in cards or magnetic impulses on tapes or discs. N ew er systems have keyb o ard s that enter in fo rm a tio n d ire c tly in the computer electronically. C o n a o le O p e ra to ra m onitor and control the com puter. H ig h -s p e e d p r in te r o p e ra to rs and c a r d -ta p e -c o n v e r te r o p e ra to ra run au xilia ry eq u ip m ent. T a p e llb r a r ia n a classify and catalogue m a teria l and keep records. Employers usually require a high school education and many prefer that console operators have some co m m un ity college w o rk. Beginners are usually trained on the jo b . Keypunch or au xilia ry equipm ent operators TALK TO THE BIG CAPITAL FOR LITTLE CAPITAL. $3.18 between Spin and Hum. lung distance rales take a big dive. Which means uni can save yourself a good sized chunk o f money. So reach out to Washington DC. tonight. With rates like these, you c; in afford to talk a red, white ;md blue streak. If you are interested in directing your education towards a health career, we would be happy to help you with career counselling. Call Nancy Seres, 280-2940. Current Position ( >penings Include: Critical Care RN's Labor & Delivery RN’s C.T. Technologist Staff Pharmacist Respiratory Therapist K A IS E R PERM ANENTE HEALTH CARE PROGRAM Pacific Northwest Beil An equal opportunity employer/handicapped hired. a w ;: S g m r w iM f la iW '- ./iæ S Ie a S a iM M M ■ M M
