A brief history on new media

The PC’s influence on digital media

Charles Babbage first visualised machine-readable codes in the early 1800s. 

In 1820 Babbage worked on the ‘Difference engine’, a machine which could perform mathematic calculations. But his most famous invention was the ‘Analytical engine’, which was able to perform any arithmetical calculations, as well as store some data. 

The first computers were known as ‘Analogue computers’. However, in the late 1940s, a new type of computer which operated through data that was represented as a series of numerical digits. These were known as ‘Digital computers’.

‘Moore’s law’ is a computing term from the 1970’s, which states that processing power or speeds will increase every two years.

The TV’s influence on digital media

A major push for digital media was the introduction of CATV (Cable tv).

The original cable Tv received broadcast television on ‘Community antenna’ and re-transmit it through cables to consumers who could not normally receive these over-the-air signals due to the terrain that surrounded them. 

From cable Tv came the invention of digital Tv. The first adaptations of the cable Tv’s were created in the 1990’s, and all the governments across the world set a deadline for analogue for 2010. 

The news

In 1989, sky news made its first broadcast. How people consume news has changed significantly due to digital media. For instance, it is now a rare sight to see someone reading from a newspaper nowadays. It is far more common to see someone consuming news through smartphones. Many news outlets now adapt their websites specifically for smartphones, and even create apps for phones now. 

The internet’s influence

The world wide web was created in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee. In 1995 there were 16 million internet users and by 2015 the number has reached 3 billion. 

From the use of the internet, there have been many new digital media platforms. 

Such as YouTube. It was created in 2005 by Chat Hurley. In 2015, the site had 1 billion active users each month, and 100 hours of video footage is uploaded each minute. 

Another popular digital media platform is Netflix. Netflix is a platform for users to stream movies and television shows. 

The trend of digital media is set to continue into the future.