Computers have changed the way we live our lives. They play a vital role in our cars, our homes, our offices and our entertainment. But, do you know how far back computers go? Certainly the idea for computers was apparent long before the 1950s, but in 1956 the first computer hard disk was invented, and 1957 brought about a computer language called Fortran. In 1958 a computer component that is nearly standard in all computers today was created - the modem.

Throughout the past 50 years, the duties of computers, modems, word processors, printers and scanners have drastically changed. The ways in which the Automotive Service Association (ASA) has come to use the computer throughout the past 50 years has changed as well.

For example, most ASA staffers have a computer on their desk. This very story is being produced with the help of a computer word processing program. The ASA mailroom, which handles member statements, division newsletters and other mail-outs, uses computers to speed up the process. Perhaps the biggest way computer technology is used - in a way that ASA members and the general public sees - is through the ASA Web site.

ASA first gained a Web presence in 1995 at the same Web address at which you find it today - http://www.asashop.org. Although AutoInc. information, stories and issues could be found at the ASA Web site, it wasn't long before the magazine launched its own Web address. The site premiered in 1999 at http://www.autoinc.org, and information from current and archived issues can be found there. These two sites have increasingly become valuable information tools for the automotive industry.

Your assignment for the month: Visit both Web sites, http://www.asashop.org and http://www.autoinc.org. You never know what you might find!

History Quiz:

What organization chose the ASA Web site (www.asashop.org) as an automotive “Select Site” in its Business Directory in October 1998?

See the July issue of AutoInc. for the answer.

History Quiz answer for May:

Name the current ASA national staff member who has been with the association the longest.

Answer: Trisha Baker

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