The sordid history of me and my computer. Part one.
The first (and only) computer that I ever bought was the Commodore VIC 20. I used all of the money I'd received from my high school graduation and went out and purchased this little miracle machine. Looking back, I highly suspect that I was pushed into buying it by my older and younger brothers. They were/are the computer nerds in the family. Personally, my relationship with computers has been shaky at best.
It took me approximately two minutes to discover that you could actually do nothing with this magical piece of plastic and whatnots. Well, I couldn't. My brothers (and my mom - Egads!) would sit up all night reading program books and typing in tons of code and then going back over the whole thing again and again when nothing worked. What did they get for all their troubles? A little ball that went from one side of the screen to the other and back again. They were thrilled. I just thought about all the money I'd wasted that could have bought me a really cool cassette player for my car. Which I didn't have either. No car, but I had a VIC 20. I was the envy of no one. Still, my investment has paid off big-time. I have not had to purchase one single bit of computer wizardry since. I just sit back and wait for my brothers to get tired of the latest dodad, buy the next version and pass to me whatever out dated bit and/or piece of whatever.
I've never been a gadget-alcoholic like some. (See above.) The only thing that interests me about computers is what they can do. Why they do it is so far beyond my ability to understand that it still feels a bit like magic and, I suspect, the work of the devil. Think about it and how deeply, and reverently, it is worshipped.
Now, I'm on the outlook for a new computer and/or getting mine repaired and I'm thinking that maybe I should have paid a bit more attention all those long years ago. Maybe? But then I've a lot of regrets in my life and this one, if it's one at all, would be far, far down on my list of "stupids".
Didn't he look so young then?
It took me approximately two minutes to discover that you could actually do nothing with this magical piece of plastic and whatnots. Well, I couldn't. My brothers (and my mom - Egads!) would sit up all night reading program books and typing in tons of code and then going back over the whole thing again and again when nothing worked. What did they get for all their troubles? A little ball that went from one side of the screen to the other and back again. They were thrilled. I just thought about all the money I'd wasted that could have bought me a really cool cassette player for my car. Which I didn't have either. No car, but I had a VIC 20. I was the envy of no one. Still, my investment has paid off big-time. I have not had to purchase one single bit of computer wizardry since. I just sit back and wait for my brothers to get tired of the latest dodad, buy the next version and pass to me whatever out dated bit and/or piece of whatever.
I've never been a gadget-alcoholic like some. (See above.) The only thing that interests me about computers is what they can do. Why they do it is so far beyond my ability to understand that it still feels a bit like magic and, I suspect, the work of the devil. Think about it and how deeply, and reverently, it is worshipped.
Now, I'm on the outlook for a new computer and/or getting mine repaired and I'm thinking that maybe I should have paid a bit more attention all those long years ago. Maybe? But then I've a lot of regrets in my life and this one, if it's one at all, would be far, far down on my list of "stupids".
Didn't he look so young then?
posted by Mark A Lester at
12:22 PM
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