This morning, you woke up to the newest day in the third era of your life.

In terms of computing history, three major ‘eras’ have marked the way computers shaped society--and our lives. Each of these eras has had computers playing pivotal, but different roles in our lives. These eras have coincided with the major shifts in the way we use computing devices and softwares. I recently chanced upon this very compelling way to understand the era that we live in, while researching an article recently.  I share it here with you, in the open source spirit of the third era.

According to Allen Wirf-Brocks, the iconic software architect and entrepreneur, the first era was the Corporate Computing Era (peaking between the 1950 and 1980s) in which computers were used to enhance and empower large organizations such as commercial enterprises and governments.  Its applications were largely about collecting and processing large amounts of corporate data. Databases and transaction processing were key technologies. In the 1980s, the primary focus of computing started to rapidly shift away from corporate computing to personal computing. Corporate Computing still continues to be an important sector of computing.

The second era, the Personal Computing Era, was about using computers to enhance and empower individuals. Here, computer applications were largely task centric. They focused on enabling you to create and communicate information. Remember your baby steps in the direction of word processing, spread sheets and presentations—and importantly, Internet access. The years between 1980 and 2010 marked the second era--Personal Computing Era. 

This morning, you woke up to the newest morning of the third era--Ambient Computing. In this era (expected to peak between 2010 and 2020), computers are transforming the environments we live in. It is, according to Allen Wirf-Brock, ‘an era of smart devices, perpetual connectivity, ubiquitous information access, and computer augmented human intelligence’. Here, you live in an information rich environment where computing devices offer you access to a cloud of computer mediated information. In our third era, we use Social Media to conduct our conversations. Now that is not hard to believe, if you realize Social Media brought you here to read this blog entry. I look forward to your thoughts on the third era of computing.

So, welcome to the newest day in the third era of your life.