PC musings!
I got introduced to the PC in 80s, during those days when Dos, WordStar and Lotus123 ruled the roost. “Abort, Retry, Ignore?” was the order of the day.and one was to stick to the Rule “Know what to expect before you connect” I was lucky enough then, to operate a brand new pc, which my cousin brother had purchased for his company.
Till then, all I knew about computers was that they are large machines, which badly need an AC hall, and punch cards were its source of input. I, along with my classmates, in college, was taken on an excursion to IIT, Chennai. They were the proud owners of this machine.
When PC came into existence, Basic, Cobol and Fortran taught the PC-mantras while the Dbase programmers were the heroes. They had a gala time with their software programmes and were minting money but, as the saying goes, for every hero, there is a villain, is it not? To make things worse, the viruses made their appearance. The raindrop virus which made the alphabets drop down like raindrops was a sight to watch, and needless to say, the Jerusalem virus made the computer nerds shiver on their foot on Friday the 13th. Many more viruses made their way into the systems devouring all information from the system and made the pc give a pitiable look. There were only a few know-all computer service personnel who would just shake their head, give a sympathetic look, wipe out everything from the pc, and format the system completely. Then, calmly placing their floppies in the box, all they could say was “I am sorry to say you would have to start from the scratch!” Installing games also contributed to this havoc. But now the CDs and DVDs have set a smooth path for the future users.
The keyboard did its duty very well till the mouse entered the scene. At the same time, they closed the doors for Dos and opened Windows. Windows struggled for sometime and stabilized at 98. But, as they say, to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,
Windows had its errors, in parallel to its success. Users remarked: that Windows was a “colorful clown” of DOS. Some said, “In a world without walls and fences - who needs windows and gates?” In addition, there was this joke on Windows:.
Customer: I'm running Windows 95...Helpdesk: Yes...Customer: ...and now my computer stopped working!Helpdesk: Yes, you already said that!
But Windows never deterred from doing its duty even though it was being threatened with other heroes and heroines making their appearances. They say that Linux has caught the market now. However I read somewhere in the net:
“Macs are for those who don't want to know why their computer works.Linux is for those who want to know why their computer works.DOS is for those who want to know why their computer doesn't work.Windows is for those who don't want to know why their computer doesn't work.”
PC s started entering homes and, while people were trying to get familiarized with ctrl-alt-del, enter and escape, the internet came in and the Head of the families started scratching their heads when they got whopping telephone bills because of the dial-ups.
Broadband saved the Heads from committing suicide. By then, housewives were eager to know about how to chat on Yahoo Messenger in order to talk to their sons who went abroad to teach the Americans how to use PCs and Internet. A homemaker came to me one day and asked me “ I heard that you have a pc at home and you know something about Internet. Do you know Gokul?” I have heard of Gates but who was Gokul? I switched on the PC, launched the IE and hit at Google. ‘Yeah yeah, this was what I said!” She exclaimed. Way to go! I had to explain to her that ‘Gokul” is a search engine which would cough out any information we wanted to know. She can type out even her husband’s name and find out about him if need be, I told her. “Would I be able to find out why he came late yesterday and why his shirt smelt of perfume?” Well, a wife is a wife, after all! Google is doing great, no doubt, with its Adsense, Adwords and whatnot but I request Google to set up tools like “Google Trackers” to help these housewives and increase its saleability. Not to forget Y2K was the talk of the town at that juncture.
Having a PC at home has done me good especially when it comes to blogging. I am able to ramble, muse, write stories (Whether people read it or not). There are many homemakers who have hidden talents and who can exhibit their writings in blogs. A homemaker decided to open a blog for cookery and now she has four cookery blogs in blogspot. There are many examples, which can be cited. Women in general love to make full use of whatever knowledge they gain. If only they quit watching megaserials and switch over to the Internet, they can do wonders.
It is said that “Online men are more likely to check the weather, get news, get do-it-yourself information, check for sports information, get political information while women use e-mail, get maps and directions, look for health and medical information, use Web sites to get support for health or personal problems, and get religious information.”
However the interactive processes in the internet and the attractive online working schemes are luring the homemakers towards internet. Isnt it a healthy trend? And what next?
Till then, all I knew about computers was that they are large machines, which badly need an AC hall, and punch cards were its source of input. I, along with my classmates, in college, was taken on an excursion to IIT, Chennai. They were the proud owners of this machine.
When PC came into existence, Basic, Cobol and Fortran taught the PC-mantras while the Dbase programmers were the heroes. They had a gala time with their software programmes and were minting money but, as the saying goes, for every hero, there is a villain, is it not? To make things worse, the viruses made their appearance. The raindrop virus which made the alphabets drop down like raindrops was a sight to watch, and needless to say, the Jerusalem virus made the computer nerds shiver on their foot on Friday the 13th. Many more viruses made their way into the systems devouring all information from the system and made the pc give a pitiable look. There were only a few know-all computer service personnel who would just shake their head, give a sympathetic look, wipe out everything from the pc, and format the system completely. Then, calmly placing their floppies in the box, all they could say was “I am sorry to say you would have to start from the scratch!” Installing games also contributed to this havoc. But now the CDs and DVDs have set a smooth path for the future users.
The keyboard did its duty very well till the mouse entered the scene. At the same time, they closed the doors for Dos and opened Windows. Windows struggled for sometime and stabilized at 98. But, as they say, to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,
Windows had its errors, in parallel to its success. Users remarked: that Windows was a “colorful clown” of DOS. Some said, “In a world without walls and fences - who needs windows and gates?” In addition, there was this joke on Windows:.
Customer: I'm running Windows 95...Helpdesk: Yes...Customer: ...and now my computer stopped working!Helpdesk: Yes, you already said that!
But Windows never deterred from doing its duty even though it was being threatened with other heroes and heroines making their appearances. They say that Linux has caught the market now. However I read somewhere in the net:
“Macs are for those who don't want to know why their computer works.Linux is for those who want to know why their computer works.DOS is for those who want to know why their computer doesn't work.Windows is for those who don't want to know why their computer doesn't work.”
PC s started entering homes and, while people were trying to get familiarized with ctrl-alt-del, enter and escape, the internet came in and the Head of the families started scratching their heads when they got whopping telephone bills because of the dial-ups.
Broadband saved the Heads from committing suicide. By then, housewives were eager to know about how to chat on Yahoo Messenger in order to talk to their sons who went abroad to teach the Americans how to use PCs and Internet. A homemaker came to me one day and asked me “ I heard that you have a pc at home and you know something about Internet. Do you know Gokul?” I have heard of Gates but who was Gokul? I switched on the PC, launched the IE and hit at Google. ‘Yeah yeah, this was what I said!” She exclaimed. Way to go! I had to explain to her that ‘Gokul” is a search engine which would cough out any information we wanted to know. She can type out even her husband’s name and find out about him if need be, I told her. “Would I be able to find out why he came late yesterday and why his shirt smelt of perfume?” Well, a wife is a wife, after all! Google is doing great, no doubt, with its Adsense, Adwords and whatnot but I request Google to set up tools like “Google Trackers” to help these housewives and increase its saleability. Not to forget Y2K was the talk of the town at that juncture.
Having a PC at home has done me good especially when it comes to blogging. I am able to ramble, muse, write stories (Whether people read it or not). There are many homemakers who have hidden talents and who can exhibit their writings in blogs. A homemaker decided to open a blog for cookery and now she has four cookery blogs in blogspot. There are many examples, which can be cited. Women in general love to make full use of whatever knowledge they gain. If only they quit watching megaserials and switch over to the Internet, they can do wonders.
It is said that “Online men are more likely to check the weather, get news, get do-it-yourself information, check for sports information, get political information while women use e-mail, get maps and directions, look for health and medical information, use Web sites to get support for health or personal problems, and get religious information.”
However the interactive processes in the internet and the attractive online working schemes are luring the homemakers towards internet. Isnt it a healthy trend? And what next?
10 comments:
80s!? seems you are a veteran in using pc. nice description of pc world :)
my association with computers started in the late 90s. now i earn my living and wear glasses because of them.
Now imagine life without Gokul's presence;-)
Priya, its' not just the younger women that need to net savy. Even the older ones like our moms can make life easier for them and us if they put a little effort in learning the new technologies and adopting them.
Meghana
I wrote long back an article on “Woman Hours” in our House Magazine at the time when TVs invaded our homes in the middle of 80s.
The article on “Woman-Hours” was written in a lighter vein to convey that women are weaned from morning domestic chores to TV breakfast shows and that led to depletion of breakfast items (for men folks) and even the breakfast menu was changing from Idly/Dosa to Bread, Butter and Jam. The article attempted to imply that considerable numbers of woman hours are lost due to soap operas. Well there were many humorous comments on my article at that time, particularly from the housewives of Kalpakkam Township. I would like to share them on my blog site as and when I create one.
Though the PCs also entered the Indian Scene in 80s but occupied the desktop space in our homes may be in mid 90s. The advent of broadband and the blog sites I am sure there will be a greater need to write a blog on “Woman-Hours”.
I still recall the signature tune of Doordarshan Channels. It lingers in my memory. Nowadays with 24x7 channels there is no start or end of any channel and you don’t need any signature tune...These channels ensure that nobody misses any programme. The mega serials are repeated so often in a day so that their targetted women viewers don’t miss any episode.
Ms. Priya please wean away the women from mega serials to “Gokul” and blogging.
Woman-Hours are better spent reading ShPriya blog articles. Keep it up.
Inder..thks for the comment. I agree that eyes do get affected but lets see the good side of it too :)
Meghana..I must be ur mom's age:)
Mr.Sashi, I am honoured! I do wish you open up a blog and post your articles :)Thank you for your comment :) I think you can write another article titled "women hours - upgraded" :)
Priya,
We have come a long way, got ways to go....
glad i found your site.
meetu
I used to be a genius in LOGO programming.. LOL
Good post!
I have had a pc since grade 10 but never really cared until we got internet :)
vi
lolz @ gokul..:-)
and yeh the mac dos win and lin story was great too..havent heard it b4 :-)
Genius Vinesh..thks for the visit:) Now u r a genius in making orange juice :))
Vi..Before Internet, I also felt there was something lacking :)
Thks Gi, it was frm the net as usual though I dont remember where I read it :)
Yes! It definitely is a good trend. From kitchen, to telivisions and then to the computer and now to the internet...The kind of activities of home maker women is definitely getting upgraded stage by stage...Well..what next is definitely a question to think about.
Neatly written...Liked the quotes and jokes in between.
Keep up your good work!
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