Computers

It is amazing how much computers have affected our lives since they first came out.  In collage, I took a FORTRAN class that was a language for math problems.  We had to put designed cards into a machine that read the cards individual holes and a program was created.  What a hassle.  If one hole in that card was wrong, the program could not run.  If a card were bent, it would clog up all the cards behind it.  It made me literally hate computer programs classes. 

I took Cobalt later and it was just as bad.  This computer stuff was not for me.  I had a good friend who loved computers and her help kept me from flunking those classes.  One word could ruin your whole program.  Now a days programs are much more student friendly.  You would expect t of course, so I guess my struggles led to the easiest of programming now.  That is if you think program languages are easy.  I have not taken a computer class since the eighties.  I can not believe though, that could be harder than dealing with programs before.  I still have nightmares about passing a test with that computer stuff we had to use. 

Another big problem back then too was that the computers would go down a lot.  It would cause delays for hours and panic would fill the computer room.  If you had a program due tomorrow you could be up all night waiting to use a computer that might work long enough for you to finish your assignment.  Never wait until the last minute to do that, you might be in big trouble.  I hated that part too.  What do you do for two hours waiting the entire system to come back?  Do you talk about computer stuff?  Do you flirt or try to make clever conversations?  No one is in that good of a mood to hear it.  They are mad too.  They just sit there and stare at a blank screen hoping the other computer geeks can fix it.  They work on giant mainframes that fill up an entire room. They were big.  Everything is smaller now.  The room those main frames took up were unbelievable.  Now a day we have smaller and smaller computers . 

Technology is fascinating.  It is still amazing to me how far we have come.  All this very good computer stuff is a marvel to behold.  We recently purchased an I-Pad and the mobility of it is pretty cool.  I take it anywhere in the house and it works.  I can take it anywhere I want as a matter of fact and with a simple charge I have the World wide Web at my fingertips.  I am not sure how long a charge is but I guess it is longer than I need.  That is good.  The people who design all of this are to be congratulated too.  They have created millions of jobs and educated the world.  This computer stuff has changed the world.  We all know that but sometimes I think we take it for granted.  Face book and EBay and My space and on and on are all great things we use sometimes everyday.  Something that started out so difficult is easy now.  My son can do it.