Evolving Ideas: Computing, Communication and Networking Jeetendre, Pande; Nihar, Ranjan Pande and Deep, Chandra Jashi

Modern times are referred to as Information Age, due to the ubiquity and expansiveness of the ongoing Information Revolution, which describes economic, social and technological trends beyond the Industrial Revolution. The pillars upon which the Information Revolution rests are Computing, Communication and Networking which, though separate technologies, have over time become so intertwined as to be considered a single entity. Though Computing began soon after World War II, it came into its own only in the last quarter of the 20th century, with availability of affordable personal computers. Its importance grew so rapidly that in 1982 Time magazine named it ‘Machine of the Year’, instead of the regular ‘Person of the Year’. Introduction of the World Wide Web in 1990s saw a massive surge in the reach of computers and led to beginning of merger of Computing with Communication and Networking. The synergistic benefits of the coming together of Computing, Communication and Networking have radically moulded human civilisation in modern times.