Saturday, September 15, 2012

Top 5 Technology-Related Hobbies ~ Tech Senser

Technology has had a dramatic effect on hobbies. While the word hobby was formerly used primarily to describe collections and sports, computers and other technologies have created an entire new branch of hobbies.

Combined with the community-building power of the Internet, many are finding groups of like-minded individuals who share their passions for tech-related activities. Here are five of the top technology-related hobbies.


1) Video Games
After the first programmable computers were developed, hobbyists began developing computer programs. While the computer gaming industry is generally viewed as the multi-billion dollar industry that it represents today, it still has a large group of hobbyists who actively develop new games. In fact, the earliest computer games,

Tennis for Two and Space Wars, were developed by hobbyists looking for innovative ways to interact with these new devices. This hobbyists spirit remains strong today, and video game fans are still developing new games for platforms that are decades old.

2) Robots
Attempts to build robots date back centuries, and early automatons, as they were called at the time, represent the state-of-the-art technological statements of various periods of time. The computer, however, radically increased the capabilities of robots. Today, consumer-grade hardware and a bit of ingenuity have lead to robotics communities comprised of passionate hobbyists looking to create useful, entertaining and even artistic robots. As sophisticated hardware continues to shrink and become more capable, this community is expected to grow even stronger.

3) Programming
Most think of programmers as professionals, but the programming hobby community is large and vibrant. Some of the top technologies in use to day were actually developed by hobbyists. One of the best examples is the Linux operating system kernel. Initially developed in the early 1990s by a computer science student named Linus Torvalds, Linux has grown to become the top Unix-like operating system in use today.

Nearly two-thirds of all websites are hosted on Linux servers, and most of the world's fastest supercomputers use Linux. Today, its development is still driven in large part by hobbyists inspired by their passion to program and create world-changing software with others.

4) Computer Numerical Control and 3-D Printing
The idea of 3-D printing has become popular both among companies and within online communities. Many are predicting a future where a family who needs a new set of silverware, for example, will simply be able to download instructions online and print out a set. 3-D printers and computer numerical control (CNC) machines have developed an excited community looking for ways to improve this technology and reduce its cost.

The effects on society will be dramatic, and hobbyists are already using this systems to print chess pieces, toys and even many of the components of 3-D printers. While the technology is still fairly young, hobbyists are constantly finding new ways to improve it.

5) Writing
Even though paper and ink are the epitome of traditional methods of doing business, the writing industry is constantly changing to take advantage of new technology. Early writers were using newly-developed printing presses to share their thoughts with the world at an affordable rate, and newspaper writers have adjusted to take advantage of the telegraph, the telephone, the fax machine and, increasingly, the Internet.

As consumer-grade eBook readers are rising in popularity, many are changing their practices to take advantage of this new platform. The majority of reading is now done online, and the writing industry is changing to take advantage of this new development. Because of the ease with which people can publish and distribute their writing, technology has made writing as a hobby far more accessible and interactive.

Source: http://www.techsenser.com/2012/09/top-5-technology-related-hobbies.html

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