Week 2 - Response to Content

Analog Vs. Digital technology

Analog technology is the process of making an audio or video signal and translating it into electronic pulses. Digital on the other hand is storing bits of binary information into a binary code where the audio or video data is represented by a chain of "1"s and "0"s (Stockwell, S., 2011)

Analog technology was the first of the two technologies invented, and it has been around for decades. Digital technology is the most common technology, although it is more expensive. Some people prefer analog technology because it has a richer sound quality. Another difference is that analog technology is limited regarding to data storage and size restrictions.(http://telecom.hellodirect.com/docs/Tutorials/AnalogVsDigital.1.051501.asp)

Here are some few important dates in history, regarding digital and analog technology;
1859 George Boole publishes treatise on binary algebra.
1872 Lord Kelvin develops analog computer to predict tides.
1941 Konrad Zuse produces digital computer, the Z3, in Germany.
(Some Dates in the History of Cultural Technologies, 2005).

Sources:
"Some Dates in the History of Cultural Technologies", 2005, viewed 14 August, located at
<http://worldhistorysite.com/culttech.html>

Wotel, P., 2004, "Analog. Digital. Whats the Difference?", Viewed 15 August, located at <http://telecom.hellodirect.com/docs/Tutorials/AnalogVsDigital.1.051501.asp>

Stockwell, S., 2011, Lecture notes week 1, Introduction - Communication Technology in the Everyday.