Technology Narrative

I have always had technology available as a form of entertainment.  But aside from having electronics as isolated entertainment devices, my real technological progress began with my first computer in 1986, a Commodore 64.  Though it was limited in its functionality, and considered by many to be a glorified gaming machine, that electronic box became my introduction to making technology a consistent part of ordinary life.  In 1992 I upgraded to an IBM PC which seemed to be a much more serious device, and I subscribed to my first on-line service, Prodigy, which expanded the scope of computing beyond that simple box.  The introduction of Windows 95 made the user interface much more transparent and that seemed to accelerate they productivity of home computers and the deployment of broadband, which I subscribed to in 2001, made computing vastly more useful.

Now, its reached the point where I have four PCs at my desk, all networked together through virtual switches and connected to network drives.  Additionally, my house consists of two laptops, a Playstation 3 and a Wii, all doing their part in providing information and entertainment from the network.  While on-the-go I am never without my iPod, containing my entire CD collection and frequently I carry an iPad, ready to connect to my Google-assisted-memory.

I have found that learning a new technology is fairly easy when it can be done slowly and over a period of time, before its needed.  But, when something new is ignored for too long and then its needed for some immediate need, the frustration can be high trying to master it quickly.  My experiences with computer technology have been enjoyable enough that as devices proliferated in the 90s I obtained my A+ and Net+ computer technician certifications.  At that point I started building my own PCs rather than buying off-the-shelf ones. That makes me the most technologically literate person that I know and I'm the one that gets called when somebody's computer stops working.

I imagine that in the future technological literacy will concern the user interfaces of on-line sites and consumer devices, rather than the circuit-board filled components that still sit next to my desk.  Capturing and communicating one's life will be the driving motivation.  I find myself using cameras much more and upgrading to more high-tech versions and using programs like Photoshop more frequently in order to provide my content onto the Web.  I think that social networking is here to stay and that the future will be so much more documented than the past that the pre-net life will seem like the dark ages.  Anyone not contributing to networked collective will be irrelevant.