Captain Kirk's post about getting a new computer made me think, and get curious....a dangerous combination for me, because it always results in some random post, just like this one, wanting to chat with you all about whatever happens to be on my mind. I am a Mac user. I have a Mac mini in my office, an iPad by my chair in the den, and an iPhone that is an extension of my arm. There was a time I spurned all technology of that nature. I was happy with my land line phone at home, and what on earth was wrong with writing letters to people, and catching up by giving them a call? And what the heck was MySpace......and then Facebook? Social media? What's that.....some kind of new TV show? My ex-husband was very keen to jump on the technology bandwagon and got a personal computer way back in the day, when it was still very uncommon to have one in your home. And it fascinated my then very young children, who it seemed were born knowing all this technological stuff. Fast forward to the current age of smart phones and DVD's, youtube and and instant messaging. The kids were raised with the technology, and left me FAR behind. At some point though, I realized that I did not want to be THAT person whose kids couldn't talk to their Mom or relate to her or interact with her the way they did every one else in their lives. I didn't want to be left behind, be a dinosaur, be antiquated. So I gritted my teeth and started to learn. It was a STEEP learning curve, let me tell you. I had resisted for so long, so there was a lot of catching up to do. But now, I'm happy to say, I am very computer literate, with a wide enough range of devices at my disposal that I can happily interact with my kids over any media they care to use, whether it's texting or facebook, Instant messaging or a quick phone call, sharing a youtube video or doing facetime with my CA grandkids! I have become tech savvy, y'all!! And I'm grateful for it. Even though the learning curve was a bit grim to start out, I'm very, very glad I just bit the bullet and waded in. Especially as I've aged, I feel that the constantly changing state of the technology and my efforts to keep up with everything and continue to learn are doing an excellent job of keeping my brain engaged, keeping senility and alzheimer's at bay, and ensuring that I will continue to have lots of commonality with my kids and grandkids and many and varied ways to stay in touch. But what about you all? Clearly you have some connection to a computer or smart phone because you're able to post and share pictures? So we know you can at least do that. But how well versed are you in the rest of the technology that's to be had out there? How was your learning curve? Do you like all this new and constantly changing technology or resent it? Please share your stories and perspectives, I am really interested.
Funny you should bring this up Ronni. I've been fighting off getting a smart phone for some time. I just couldn't see the need for one. I sit at a computer all day at work, so I have access to the world from there. And there's a computer at the house. I don't even like talking on the phone very much, but it is a necessity. And then people started texting. I told everyone, do not text me, because it was not included in my cell phone plan. Better just to email me. But the texts kept coming. Then I told them. You can text me, but don't expect me to text you back. My phone is a very simple small one. Takes forever to try to type back a message. So I would just call them back. They seemed annoyed that they actually had to answer the phone and talk to me. And then a month or so ago, my internet connection at home went down. I felt so disconnected from the world... what if I wanted to look something up? What if someone sent me an important email? AAARRRGGHHH! At least if I had a smart phone I could at least check my email or look up a recipe or or look up a plant or.... Well... you get the idea. It's time for me to get caught up with some of the technology and not get so left behind that won't be able to catch up! So Santa is going to bring me a smart phone and it better have an easy-to-type-on keypad. :-D
We, too, had a personal computer before they were common (considered absolutely necessary?). I learned to use it, back in the day when you had floppy discs and an itty-bitty monitor. We've gone through three computers, tending to keep them until they just wear out or go up in smoke. I dislike the new versions of programs that work perfectly well. Just because a computer genius CAN do it doesn't mean he/she SHOULD do it. We also have two cell phones. I do not like telephones--considering them comparable to having intruders in your house. I make calls if necessary, but I don't like receiving them. I am cordial and make received calls as brief as possible. One way to get on my black list is to call and say "Hi, whatcha doin'? I'm just sittin' around and thought I'd call ya." We have a neighbor who goes to Houston to visit family, and invariably gets bored and calls us to see what we are doing. Next time he does that I'm going to tell him we are busy butchering one of his steers that we rustled! I am a firm believer that technology should serve humans, not the other way around. And I certainly don't want a phone that is smarter than I am !
I have been around computers in one way or another since my Dad started work for IBM in 1953 as a Field Engineer...fancy name for computer repairman. Computers took up as much space as a good sized house, the floor they stood on was raised so fans could keep the air circulating under them to keep them from frying themselves. Data was stored on large tape reels, you see them in some old movies sometimes. I worked at a company named Carterfone in the late 1970's (the Carterfone decision in 1968 broke the AT&T monopoly on phone service in this country). Anyway by the time I worked there they were building and maintaining computers for businesses. In 1980 we had a CommodorePET computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_PET And I played games on a VIC-20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_VIC-20 where Randy worked. It had an amazing Poker game that I got really good at. Randy brought a 'dumb terminal' home for our youngest daughter to play with in 1989 when she was 2, she made pictures using all the symbols on the keyboard above the numbers. The first working computer we had came into our home around that same time, no internet connection but it was fun playing solitaire on it. And the first laptop he brought home for her to play with he told her there wasn't anything she could do to it that he couldn't fix...so she started digging around in it (figuratively not literally) and taught herself all about how they work and started learning programing at a very young age. In 1997 we got the first internet connection at home that we could afford and haven't been without one since then. I have a PC and an old iPhone that is now converted to an iPod Touch (Randy upgraded his iPhone) Our daughter has three computers but is trying to sell the old one she recently replaced so she will be down to two soon she hopes. Randy has for work, HAM radio usage and just play, roughly 6 in his home office...one is an old Mac that is good only for a foot rest now. And his old personal laptop is hooked up to our TV. Living with two computer geeks, I find that I don't have to know anything much about them, I just tell them what's it's doing wrong and they fix it.
I have a like/dislike with most technology. My first experience with old computers was when I worked on the railroad as a clerk back in the 70's and we had the old "ticker tape" machines. They were loud and inconvenient but some of the old heads could type and send at the same time, which was quite impressive. They upgraded to the IBM punch cards and I thought that was progressive! We got our first personal computer in 1995 when at the time, we owned a small cafe and I bought it to do payroll on. After we sold the business, I played solitaire and surfed the web a little on it. We had dial up then. Used computers for other workplaces. Had a cell phone when I worked at a garden center for my hubby to get hold of me quickly but after I retired, I retired the cell phone and use a land line. Just lately, my brother thought I needed a cell phone, so he gave me his old Iphone and it normally sits by the door on the table unless I'm using it to listen to Itunes while working on outside projects. I use it like a walkman! I don't like to text. I'm not a tv watcher, so I do enjoy youtube and watching documentaries on there. I come from a large family, so I do a little bit of facebook to keep up with them, but I get annoyed with it off and on. Had a gardening blog but mainly did that in the winter. Too much technology aggravates me and I have to get outside in the garden to get grounded. So I guess i just mainly use it sparingly.
I still use a desk-top. Just recently got a 'smart' phone. Had to have it for the map functions to assist me in my job. Unlimited text and talk are part of the plan. Had to dot he Facebook thing too, to keep up with the grandkids. I'm a curmudgeonly grumpy Luddite. This computer/internet thing will never catch on anyway!
I love technology! My first computer in the early 90's was an old Apple. I played with that until I got my first hand me down PC from my sister with windows 95. It had a tiny hard drive but I liked it and used it until I wore it out. When it broke, I was lost without the internet so I bought my first brand new computer, an HP Pavillion. It was around this time I got my first cell phone - nothing fancy - and I used it until I wore it out too. Got a fancy little pink flip phone after that, and I hated it, but I had a 3 year contract. During this time, I wore out 2 Dell PC's on dialup and finally found a high speed provider for our rural area. Then I wanted something better and had a PC built by a friend which I still use. By the time my cell phone contract was up, I was itching to get an iPhone. I use it for everything and it is, as with Ronnie, literally an extension of my arm. There isn't much my iPhone wont do ... I use it as my camera, my phone, my computer, my kid link ... you name it! There's an app for everything!
Like toni my first home computer was a CMB Vic 20. My schooling was Electrical/Mechanical engineering and my first experience with a computer was analog. Digital computers were in the development stage. When digital came on the scene It was my job to interface the new digital computers to mechanical testing machines. At home I always had the state of the art computers that I built from scratch. In all at home I built over a dozen new computers handing down my old computer to the wife and kids.
Well, my story too is a bit like you all. And so at times, (specially now) I feel very nostalgic about it too... My problem is that I was a hopelessly dyslexic individual. However, what made it worse is that I was an undiagnosed dyslexic, meaning that nobody knew what was wrong with me... So had it not been for technology, I surely would have been lost. My first experience with computers was at the New Horizon Public school in Karachi, way back in 1984. They were the first school in all of Pakistan to have introduced computers. What they had was the very same VIC-20 which Toni and Jbest123 have mentioned above. However the really sad thing was that they never thought anything of value to us 3rd graders - They just used computers as a gimmick to fool parents into paying more. The teachers over there too were what I'd call *first class idiots*... So all we ended up doing with computers, was basic geometry (which we could have easily done with just a sheet of paper and pencil). But seeing kids draw a circle, a triangle, a square, and a few other 2D polygons on the screen was impressive to parents. My father was an engineer, so thanks to having a person like that in my home, we could easily see through all this farce. Keep in mind that this is all in 1984 (and I wasn't even 8 at the time). Still, it was fun to get to use a computer - Which we otherwise only got to see in TV shows like Airwolf, Knight Rider, Space 1999, and of course the original Battlestar Galactica too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0zgBEOd4zw So we at least got the feel of computers, also learned how to use those old 5 and a quarter inch floppy disks. I mean we at least understood information storage on a magnetic medium - Even though we were never allowed to hold a floppy disk in our own hands (the staff would always be handling everything). But my computer teacher who's name I have now forgotten - Actually I remember him by another name, as I'd mainly refer to him by that. However writing an extremely vulgar swear word will not be appropriate here... So I'll let that so-called teacher of mine remain nameless. Anyway he was such a useless man that you guys wouldn't believe! Once I questioned him about something related to computers. About how a computer can be hooked up to something like a lathe and milling machine - I did not know it at the time, but I was onto the concept of a CNC milling machine. He of course did not know the answer - So instead I just got a scolding from him, and was told to either keep drawing 2D polygons on the screen, or get out of the class... Since my father was an engineer, I (as far as I can remember) knew just about everything when it came to the inner workings of machines. So even though I was never allowed to experiment with those computers at school, I at least could visualize the concept! I also had a very good friend at school. His name was Scott, and he was an American. His dad I think worked at the US embassy (but I am not sure). Anyway, he and I would often sit back and imagine how things in the future would be like - Specially after we would get rid of that son of a ***** mother ******* teacher of ours!!! Later I and Scott went into different directions. I think he and his family moved back to the United States when the Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan. So I lost contact. Which is why I am posting this picture here , of him and he together, with the name of the school [New Horizon Public school Karachi, Pakistan, first half of the 1980s] - So in case Scotts ever tried to do a Google search, he can find me here! Me on the left, and Scott on the right ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) Scott and I were great pals! He was slightly older to me, but since he was an American, he could not read and write the Urdu language (which is written in the Arabic script). Which is why instead of being in the 4th grad, he was in the 3rd - However I was dyslexic, therefore I too could not read and write Urdu that well. So this is how Scott and I became best friends! Anyway, one thing lead to another, and in 1886 I also got my first computer, a Sanyo MPC-100 64K!!! http://www.msxarchive.nl/pub/msx/photos ... -100_4.jpg And so later I got a 3.5 inch floppy disk with it too (as well as a printer/plotter) - However it also had a cool capability to record data on audio tapes also. And to this is where I (for the first time) even got to play a few games too! However what was really fun, was that this computer used MSX Basic programing language. Which was very easy to learn, even for kids. So I became very proficient in it, to a point where I even started to write very small and basic games on it. Of course, this computer was so elementary, that it simply wouldn't work for you until you learned a bit of programming yourself. Therefore this is where I started to gain a true understanding of how these things worked inside out! So that anyway is how it all started for me. in 1992 I got my first PC, a 386DX 33MHz computer, with a hard drive too! It came with Windows 3, but I later upgraded it to Windows 3.1... However, on this I learned Q-Basic programing language, and so became very good at it in those days. I later moved onto the language C++ too - but by this time, 3D CAD software took a life of it's own. And so I moved in that direction. I have talked about it in detail in this thread: http://www.gardenstew.com/about31366.html Laptops, notebooks, and now even netbooks with notepads, as well as tablets - Don't really capture my interest. As they can never be as powerful and speedy as a multi processor desktop server. Because I use CAD very aggressively, and so anything which cannot handle the computational load which I constantly demand, will quickly catch fire... Anyway, in 1996 I got a dial-up internet connection. A cell phone in 1999. And broadband internet connection in 2004. I however had a bad habit of always keeping my cell phone off (to save the battery). So I would only switch it on when I needed to call someone. Or would only leave it on if I was expecting a call from someone. Otherwise I (even today) kept it off. But one day something unfortunate happened, and my lawyer really wanted to get in touch with me. However my phone was off (as I'd switch it on only when I'd be outside the home). But thankfully he dug up my landline number, and so alerted me of the situation before it went out of hand! So since that day, I now keep it on. However it still is very tempting to switch it off - And be totally free once again!
I have computer games to thank for my entrance into technology. It all started back in the 80s when my Mom ordered us (after much pestering) an Atari 2600. Then a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). From there on it continued and I got my hands on many video game consoles as the years went by. I still have my collection and I'm still an avid gamer. Around 1997 my older brother purchased a PC running Windows 95. That was my first introduction to computers as a tool to do something outside of gaming. I tinkered around with everything I could find pre-installed, Word, Excel, system folders (!) etc... This gave me a nice introduction to how powerful and flexible computers could be. Then in 1998 I started my college life studying software development. I initially wanted to get into game development but as the years went by, while proficient, I knew I didn't have the motivation for that career path. Instead I became more interested in web development and started learning HTML and Javascript in my spare time. They never thought us that stuff in college, seems crazy not to now. After leaving college I have been willingly caught up in the web world and technology in general. However here's a fun fact: I don't own a smartphone and my current phone is 10 years old. You can thank Super Mario for GardenStew!
I have my desktop computer and Ian has his laptop which neither of us would contemplate being without now. I don't have a smart 'phone, and probably never will, but I do have a basic mobile 'phone which I carry around in case of emergencies. No IPod's or MP3 players either for me although I did buy an iPod for Ian for his birthday. I just don't want to be swamped by technology and much prefer being outdoors enjoying nature than stuck at home with lots of gadgets.
I hope you get an iPhone....imho they are the most user friendly so your learning curve won't be so daunting! Toni, this reminded me......I've become pretty competent about all manner of computer things, but when I'm stumped and stymied by something that I just can't figure out, I have my own personal Geek Squad! Cameron my son, and Willliam my son-in-law, are both programmers and into web development and such. If any of you have a smart phone and a bunch of apps, you may well be using an app that one of them created! Plus another of my boys, Devin, though he doesn't work in the field, is also very savvy and has taught himself programming. Plus the man I live with Lee, though he's not a programmer, he has a a large amount of hands-on experience. So between them all, there's not to date been a computer problem, either hardware or software related, that they haven't been able to fix. Cameron too has built several computers just for fun, given one to his girlfriend, kept one, and then several more for friends. They supply the hardware, he puts it all together. Very savvy bunch of kids that I'm grateful to have around! Interesting. As much as I love gardening, personally what grounds me best is my kids and grandkids. So anything that helps me stay in touch with and abreast of their doings is awesome! Hence all this technology. They all have smart phones, all text, use facetime and instant messaging, are on facebook or have some other social media presence, are all very computer literate. I really like that I can interact with all of them on whatever platform they choose. That keeps ME grounded. Sure! FBG you just go right on telling yourself that, and we'll all commiserate with you via smart phones, email, forums, blogs and apps. Netty! High five, girlfriend!! My kids and I text back and forth constantly. Plus I love me some apps! I have a list app (Anylist) so that I can share the grocery list with Lee, and my daughter's Stuff We Want list. I have Reminder apps, and voice memo apps, a Flickr app for photo sharing, The Stew is on my phone as are various other forums I'm part of. The Facebook app is well used. I check my email, the weather, surf the net, and game when I'm bored in line at the grocery store, all from my phone. Frank! I didn't know you were a gamer! You and my kids would get on well. At one point, between the youngest two boys, they had every single game system known to man, and I can't TELL you the times without number I stood in long, boring lines, waiting on the release of the newest game system, so that my kids could have their heart's desire under the tree come Christmas morning! The difference in the games now to when computers first started supporting them is just absolutely mind boggling! You remember Pong?
Ronni, as far as being grounded, you asked what our personal perspective about computers were and I was just giving my own experience.
Annie you sound a bit like I offended you? If so I am very sorry, that wasn't my intent at all. . I wasn't arguing with you, just offering my own entirely subjective experience as what keeps me grounded, since you brought the subject up.
Ronni, my youngest daughter does have every game system, starting with the Super Nintendo when she was 5 and every one since then. I had a Pong game, bought it when they first came out in 1975...I had forgotten about that one.
