Computers outside the fishbowl

Computers have traditionally operated in a glass enclosed, air-conditioned environment...in a fishbowl. The computer center has been a mysterious closed area where technology reigned supreme. Now, with the advent of inexpensive, rugged hardware, computers have come out of the fishbowl into the cruel, real-time world. As the computer gets closer to the sensor, so the programmer must get closer to the engineer and the application. The new breed of programmers will have engineering backgrounds and interests. The panel will challenge these new engineering programmers by reviewing the uses of computers in industrial, automotive, airborne and military application. The panel will show that rapid advances in technology will cause a major impact in the design, use and programming of computers for hostile and real-time environments.