Technology can be seen everywhere we go today, from traffic lights to automatic doors, it is always prevalent wherever we are at. The question to ask is, are these computing systems? The definition of computing systems is,  "A system of interconnected computers that share a central storage system and various peripheral devices such as a printers, scanners, or routers" (BuisnessDictionary.com). So according to this definition  there are tons of computing systems that we deal with on a regular bases. 

One computing system that we see on a daily bases but do not really think about, is a thermostat. A thermostat is, "A component of a control system which senses the temperature of a system so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint" (dictionary.com). In other words a thermostat is a system that keeps a room at a desired temperature set by the user, by talking with heaters and coolers in a room. This fits the definition of a computing system perfectly. It is one computer that talks with others in order to get a job done, and has a memory storage. So where did the thermostat come from? In the 1830's a chemist by the name of Andrew Ure, created the thermostat because textile mills at the time needed a constant and steady temperature to operate. The thermostat was able to make it possible. Thermostats started off as simple dials connected to a heater, but quickly moved to electrical and analog. The electric and analogs used basic wiring in order to send electrical messages to turn off and on the heaters and coolers. The metal in these thermostats were able to tell when the temperature was changing and whether or not to add heat or cool. As the thermostat developed it has become digital with some interesting components. Thermostats today now can communicate to heat or cool entire buildings. The thermostat in my home can even store pictures and change lighting in the house. This takes some memory storage to complete.  Thermostats need to communicate with other systems in order to get the job done and act as the main "facilitator" for the communications through the other heating and cooling systems. A thermostat may seem like something that can be easily over looked and thought as something that is not a computing system. But the fact is that it requires communication with other systems and contains a central storage which or both required for something to be considered a computing system.