As scientists and engineers improved chips so that they could hold thousands and then millions of components, computers became increasingly smaller and more affordable. The first integrated circuits had to be contrived to correspond to a special purpose, but today one microprocessor can be manufactured and then programmed to meet any number of demands. Technological advances have made computers so much more efficient and reliable that they have become integrated into many aspects of society. People can now easily keep up with the office from home, instantly access and withdraw money from their bank accounts, access large databases of information in seconds, and exciting new uses for computers are continually being developed.