Computers play an extremely important role in the life of a modern person. They surround us practically everywhere and in different kinds of form, starting from our desktops or laptops at the working place that we usually associate with the word 'computer' and to our daily household activities. You are sure to have heard about the so-called smart houses, where all the amenities are computerized and operate as a single system. But in fact, computers can even be embedded into your children's toys, cell phones, digital cameras or your wristwatch, and also into traffic lights regulator, medical equipment, planes, etc and be with you virtually everywhere.

According to the encyclopedic definition, a computer is a machine that works with data according with a programmed list of instructions. While today it is hard to imagine our daily routine without a PC, even if we use it just for fun, playing online computer games, or hanging in some social networks, or chatting with friends, computers as we know them appeared not so long ago, and namely in the middle of the 20th century soon after the WW2 ended. The first devices that distantly resembled modern PCs date to the mid-20th century. Those were of enormous size (one computer would hardly fit a large room), and they also consumed very much power.

The ability to perform a great number of calculations within fractions of seconds has stimulated a leap in all branches of science, including engineering, medicine, chemistry, banking, and what not. Scientists are constantly working to make our life better, safer and more comfortable.

Another electronic device that you will unlikely leave your apartment without, is a cell phone. These are also called mobile phones or hand phones (handies), wireless phones, etc. Cell phones appeared around 1980-ies, and spread all over the world. Besides the standard function of voice communication, mobile phones have such additional features and services as sms and mms (texting and multimedia messages), email, access to the Internet, photo camera, Bluetooth and IFR, mp3 player, GPS, etc. Mobile phones vary greatly in design, functions and prices. These small devices help stay in contact with the world all the time.

The use of computers in everyday life also causes a few concerns. One of them is the issue of privacy connected with such items as RFID tags. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is the use of radio frequency waves broadcasting to track and identify objects. Many leading countries have already implemented RFID systems for usage in passports, including Japan, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. RFID tags are also used for transportation payments, asset managing, logistics, product tracking, animal identification, etc. However, these systems could also interfere with the person's privacy badly, and that is why they are so controversial today. For example, the holder of an item can be unaware of the RFID tag presence, so they can become subject to data collection without consent. RFID-tagged products paid by a credit card can also help correlate the purchase with the card owner, and so breaches the consumer privacy rights.

All in all, computers can be considered good or evil, but their main function is to structurize data in our life, and modern PCs perform very well here.