The Computer And I 25/08/2005 I do love computers. Since 1995, when I first discovered them, I have spent far too much of my life immersed in the worlds they make possible. It was inevitable too that, having found out what they were for, I should become interested in the machine itself and how it works. I have become, you might say, an amateur and ancient computer geek.My first computer was bought on a very tight budget. I knew exactly how much I had to spend and worked out how to make that money go as far as possible. It was the time when Windows 95 had just arrived but I was forced to go for one of the last of the 486s and I used the Windows 3.11 operating system. For years I lived in the past of computing, sifting through the dwindling pile of 3.1 software for the programs I needed and watching the programmers write for 95 only.Looking back now, I am glad that I had that introduction to computing for it taught me much. I learned to love that much-reviled operating system and I became a fanatical cleaner and tweaker of the system, forever seeking to get the best out of it. The tiny hard drive taught me to be ruthless in what I stored and I was draconian in my insistence that software not abuse my meager 4 megabytes of memory. I ran a lean, clean, computing machine.In time, I needed more, of course, and I began to upgrade the hardware. I remember with what trepidation I first opened the thing up and how carefully I inserted that new memory card. Oh, the joy and sense of achievement when the computer recognized its new memory afterwards! Yet another world opened before me and I added more and more fancy bits until the computer had reached the limits available to its processor.And still I wanted more. It was time to move into the modern world of the Pentium chip.As ever, I was constrained financially so I built a new computer, using what was still good from the old and adding the new. By that time I knew that the limiting factor in any computer is the motherboard, so I went for as good as I could afford and scrimped and saved in other areas. The result was an odd creature, probably no more than two years out of date, but beautiful to me. And at last I was able to move into the fabled world of 32-bit computing; I jumped straight to Windows 98SE.It was around that time that I started working with teenagers excluded from school. The project's computers had been used to lure me into the job and they became my responsibility. Already two years old when I first met them, they had led a hard life at the hands of our clients, but I set to and soon had them humming sweetly.You will think me strange for saying this but it's true: working with a computer is a relationship, not a matter of taskmaster and slave. To get the best from the machine, you have to come to know it. If you treat it kindly and speak nicely, it will serve you well. Curse it and abuse it and it will give you never-ending problems. So you may laugh if you hear me talking to my computer, but the next day you will be asking me why your computer is behaving strangely. And I'll fix it for you and give you a lecture on loving your machine.But I digress.I worked six years in that job and kept those computers going all that time. Towards the end, they were becoming hopelessly out of date and I began to replace them with rejects from other departments. These were thrown out as broken, but I would gather them together, find out what was wrong and repair it, sometimes by using parts from one to fix another. My little family of computers became a very diverse group with different cases and monitors and a wide variety of processors and memory. But I knew each one and its quirks and preferences."This computer won't shut down - it keeps rebooting!""Oh, that's Stanley, he always does that. Just hold the button down until he dies."Yes, I named them. It was a much better way of identifying them than straight A and B or 1 and 2.At home in the meantime, I had provided myself with the closest I've ever had to a stonking computer. It was a powerful beast, a bit temperamental, but man, it could crunch those electrons. And it still retained one or two components from my original machine.That computer waits for me now, in storage in England until we can afford to ship it over. Instead, I find myself on the very computer that my wife was using when I first met her. Vintage 1995. I feel as if I've come full circle and am fated never to escape that year.But I am not complaining. We have become a team, this old computer and I, and we understand each other. I do not ask too much of it and, in return, it serves me faithfully. A while back we were given another computer, a newer one, as late as 1998, I think. But I have stayed with my old friend; we are comfortable with each other now.And, in case you're wondering, no, I haven't named it. She's just "the old girl".
Clive
John (SYNTAGMA) What a sentimentalist you are, Clive. I must admit I regard old technology as just that, worse than last week's newspaper. When I left 95 for XP a new world opened up. Broadband added speed. Blogging is hard enough without having to wait for screens to come up. Remember Winston Churchill's "Give us the tools and we will finish the job"? Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away One uses what is to hand, John. The trick is to make the best you can of it. And I have broadband, so there! Date Added: 25/08/2005
Kurt Amen, Clive! I sometimes wonder if anyone that didn't work with an old beast or two really knows and understands a computer the way we do. All the book learning in the world will get you so far, but trying to configure EMS and XMS to run a brand-new computer game from DOS, tweaking autoexec.bat and config.sys by hand, occasionally replacing a part when the magic smoke escaped... that's how I really learned computing, not from my computer science classes or textbooks. My favorite was still a mid-1980s Bondwell laptop (as old as me, for the curious) with no hard drive, just two floppy drives. I did more good writing on that machine than on every other computer I've owned combined... le sigh. Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away Ah those were the days, huh? I am entirely self taught so there are huge gaps in my knowledge, but I still think that most computer problems come from a lack of care by the user... Date Added: 25/08/2005
Kurt I've never learned anything notable about computing from someone who wasn't self-taught, Clive. Like writing, you have to love what you do to have that intuitive understanding of the subject that lets you come up with creative ideas and new concepts and implement them. Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away Very true, Kurt, very true. Date Added: 25/08/2005
Yzabel Ehe, I may be using XP nowadays, I'm still glad that I know at least a few DOS commands, and can still remember how to fire off a program the good old way. When we were taught to use computers, back in junior high, we didn't even have Windows 3.11 on the school's computers--but we had the Geeky Technology Teacher on our side ;) (The man was really happy only when he could teach about computers, not the rest.) It was fun, in its own, somewhat twisted way. Things are easier now, but at the time, when you knew to do something, you *really* knew. Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away You know what I'm talking about, Yzabel. ;) Date Added: 25/08/2005
Ken My first computer was an Acorn/ BBCMaster 125 and I can still remember the euphoria when the upgrade chip arrived, from Watford Electronics in England, which transformed it into a 512k, a super-large, genuinely turbo machine! I took the lid off and pushed the chip in with my thumb and it worked first time! Thereafter, I passed through the Sinclair Z88, which I used to take to work to overwhelm my colleagues who'd never seen such a thing, especially with rubber keys and no bigger than an A4 notepad, but there's no doubt that my spiritual home is in Cupertino, Cal. where my next two computers, both Apples, came from. The first was that little beauty, a Classic 2, which used to disappear behind fast-growing pot plants if we didn't keep them well pruned. Now, of course, I do the sensible thing and reap the benefits in all kinds of ways, although, it has to be said, the fun's not quite the same any more and, to make matters worse, we have spam! Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away Yes, I wonder who was responsible for the invention of spam... But you go a long way back with computers, Ken. Compared to you, I'm just a beginner! Some of the names you mention are icons of a forgotten age now, the legends of the heroic age... Date Added: 25/08/2005
Scot Over the last few years I've become rather fond of my computer, too. And for the last four years it has never faltered except for an ocassional sneeze. During this past week, though, I've become seriously concerned about its health. It says its fine--Dr. Watson did not find any unusual symptoms--but when you try to access a web page, resources take a dive from 86% to 15%. Before you know it you've been submarined into the blue abyss. Anyway I'm posting from the public library. Their computers are friendly, but certainly not as personable as mine. Enjoyed your post. Scot Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away The blue abyss - yes, it gets like that. :D Sometimes the only thing for it is a good purge - like Dr Dos's Genuine and Original Wipe Clean & Start Again Laxative Elixir. Kills all known germs! Date Added: 25/08/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) Ken, I remember all that stuff. I actually wrote Basic programs for the Sinclair Spectrum ~ oh, those rubber keys with so many functions! My favourite was the Atari, which knocked the Commodore 64 into a cocked hat. I remember glorifying in 8k of RAM. Well, it was better than 4. But, let's not go overboard on nostalgia. Modern computers are wonder workers for us writers and publishers. We can do miracles on these machines. Forward into the 21st century, I say :-) Date Added: 25/08/2005
Gone Away A bit of nostalgia never hurt anyone, John. But you're right of course; on occasion I do miss my computer back there in the Olde Country. 1.3Ghz with half a gig of RAM - nothing special nowadays but it can still cut the mustard. Which reminds me: have you noticed how the pace of processor improvement seems to have slowed remarkably in the last couple of years? That 1.3Ghz was nothing too special when I bought it - they were knocking on the door of 3Ghz at the time. But two years have passed and I've not seen anything much faster than 4Ghz in that time. Have they hit some kind of limit, as was always predicted? Date Added: 25/08/2005
Trée Clive, I admire your attitude. I'm not sure I could spend as much time on the internet with your set-up. I've been blessed with dual 20.1" LCD monitors to surf with--one set vertical and one horizonal and both 1600x1200). When I go on the road and have to use my laptop display I just go crazy. 800x600. I tried that out last night since you suggested a few pages back to do so. Wow--how you do it is a mystery to me. More power to you brother. Date Added: 25/08/2005
Kurt Clive, it's not so much an issue of faster speeds anymore; the real consumer demand is now on lower heat output and lower power consumption. The newly announced Intel cores focus almost exclusively on these two aspects rather than faster rates. I won't go into the reason for the slowdown in the acceleration of processor speeds, but there are a lot of contributing factors, not least of which is that AMD proved that speed in gigahertz is less important, especially at massive clockspeeds, than good design and architecture. Date Added: 26/08/2005
Mad I remember that first memory we added to your puter, I'd got it for you for your birthday. I think we earthed ourselves 20 times! Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away You get used to it, Trée. A bit of a shock when you've been used to a 17" monitor and sheer speed but, after a while, it just seems normal. ;) Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away My computer in England has an AMD processor, Kurt, and I agree that they've shown how much can be done without sheer grunt. More power to their arm, say I. And it's good that they're working on making them run cooler - the heat exchangers were becoming ridiculous! Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away So you remember that, huh, Mad. That was really funny, looking back on it - dang, there was no way we were gonna blow the thing with a bit of static! ;) Date Added: 26/08/2005
ME Strauss I came by earlier to read and felt I was too late to contribute to the discussion. Then the night got the better of me and this seemed a fine sanctuary. (After all, I lived through those same days at about the same level of iincome it would seem.) So I return . . . also because *stonking* is a new word for me. :) Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away I rather like the word "stonking". It expresses most aptly the growling, brute strength of a truly powerful computer, a beast that serves in complete disdain for our puny human efforts to reach its limits. A "stonking" computer is a thing of beauty and a joy for the year or so in which it flirts with the cutting edge. Just ask any computer gamer... ;) Date Added: 26/08/2005
Josh I am spoiled enough at work--with our 10u bank of multiprocessor Sun Servers--to ever feel that I "must have" the latest technology at home. Besides, I get more out of this p3 and my hinkpad than most gearheads could fathom. And I fairly well built both of them myself; the soldering iron has at one point or another been applied to both machines. My web server -- Good lord, the HDD array must have passed its MTBF rating years ago. :P Really though... I see no point in buying a Pentium 4 to surf for crap on eBay or use MS Office, which is probably the majority of end users thesedays. I often wonder if it is just a case of people being marketed their own sense of inadequacy -- I'm pretty sure that's how the car market works anymore (Think SUV). Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away I wrote this for you more than anyone else, Josh. I knew that you would understand the small joy I get from resurrecting computers that others have dismissed as "broken". The one that gives me the most pride was a computer that the techie for the company had said would cost too much to repair - it was a goner. I tried it, it was utterly dead. And you know what I'm going to say, don't you? I fitted a new PSU (about $15.00) and it was as good as new. ;) There is something so satisfying in rescuing discarded machinery from the scrapheap and making it perform tasks never before dreamed of.... Date Added: 26/08/2005
Autumn Trust me and my over-active imagination to see this as a parallel post - two subjects in one, the mortal and the immortal machine. Still, spellbound by your style either way. Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away Who can say, Autumn? The unconscious mind is a strange thing and often guides the hand on the keyboard. Many times I have come back to something I wrote before and seen things that I did not know were there. But I must thank you for you appreciation of my writing. I am like anyone else, a glutton for praise. ;) Date Added: 26/08/2005
Deborah I'm going to date myself by saying that I took a DOS class way back in 1988. The only remotely techie thing I've done was upgrade the memory on my Mac. The thought of opening it up and tinkering around terrifies me, as I'm not mechanically inclined. Have you ever thought about writing a book on this subject? Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away I'm a tinkerer, Deborah. I know the bits that I've replaced but there are all sorts of things I haven't touched. There is just no way I would feel competent to write anything on the subject and, besides, there are plenty of books that cover it quite adequately. When it comes down to it, the only thing I have to sell is my overactive imagination and a slightly quirky view of the world. If nothing else, I can be very realistic about what I can do and what I can't. ;) Date Added: 26/08/2005
ME Strauss Forgive my over-active imagination . . . The last two posts brought forth a lovely image of you, Clive, busy at work in Santa's workshop. :) Perhaps in a past life? Date Added: 26/08/2005
Gone Away Now there's a thought, Liz! Might explain my gnomic tendencies.... ;) Date Added: 26/08/2005
Stuart Unlike you Clive my youngest daughter is anything but a tinkerer. She is a very bright and capable young woman, a teacher, savvy consumer, confident and assertive (all those things in a woman that scare me) - but we asked her the other day what she would like in a new computer we were building for her. Her answer was simple and succinct - all she wanted in her new computer was 'stuff' ... I somehow feel that I have failed in my duty as a parent. Date Added: 27/08/2005
Gone Away Now there's a young lady who knows precisely what she wants. For your sake, Stuart, I can only hope you get it right! ;) Date Added: 27/08/2005
Ken You may be right, Gone Away, but I think that I'm like the man who owns paintings but can't paint, whereas you're the painter who gives away every canvas! Date Added: 27/08/2005
Gone Away It's funny you should mention that, Ken. Many years ago I was a painter of sorts and, yes, I did give away everything I produced. But what's even stranger about your comment is that I'm in the middle of writing today's post and it's about painting... Date Added: 27/08/2005
melly For me, more than the actual technology, I treat my computer(s) as a teenage girl would a journal. It's more the stuff that I put in the computer that is precious to me, rather than the box that keeps them. Date Added: 27/08/2005
Gone Away A sensible attitude, Melly, and one that I cannot argue with for we all feel the same way towards what we put into the computer, I'm sure. But some of us also notice the machine itself and get diverted on occasion. I suppose it's a bit like a car - a means of transport to all but also, to some, a beautiful object upon which to lavish care and attention, to turn it into a statement of themselves. Date Added: 27/08/2005
Janus I named my old computer Harriet, after the librarian. She was a bit slow, tempermental, but always pulled through Date Added: 27/08/2005
Gone Away There's a man after my own heart, Janus! Date Added: 27/08/2005
prying1 Well Clive I must say, "Great Post!" - While reading it my brain took me back to a 'used parts knocked together 286' with 20 megabytes of hard drive space and I think it had 640k of memory. This thing predated Windows and ran on DOS. It had an amber screen for the first 2 months until I came across a working color monitor in a dumpster. Those were the days. - I don't miss them. Date Added: 28/08/2005
Gone Away Miss them? Heck, I live in them, Paul! :D Date Added: 28/08/2005
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