If you want to get technical, my first computer was a Nintendo. haha! As far as a PC is concerned, our first was an apple 2E and then an apple GS (I think). I was about 6 at this time and the year was somewhere around 1987-89. The first thing I remember on those computers where the games. Oregon trail was a favorite at home and school. We also had army games like Howitzer and Parachute. Howitzer worked kind of like battle ship, you put in coordinates trying to blow up the other persons tank. Parachute was the game where little men parachuted out of the sky and you had to shoot them as they fell before they blew up your gun. These games were really simple, but at the time very entertaining. I refused to type or do anything constructive on the computer, at that age it was purely entertainment.
When I was in middle school (1996) we started to use the internet. I mainly learned to type so that I could instant message my friends, it was a big thing back then. During that time, many of our teachers began requiring typed reports and papers over hand written. I still could not type very well and I often paid my older sister to type everything for me! If you would have told me then twelve years ago that I would be using a computer for a good portion of my daily life I would have laughed at you. I never would have dreamed that I would become so dependant on a computer and the internet. Years ago I could have gone weeks or months without turning on a computer and now I rarely go more than a few hours. Boy how the times have changed!
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Not going a day without the internet. I know exactly what you mean. 10 years ago I did not see my self going to a computer every day and enter the internet. I'm on more than 3 times a day. Even more now with this class. To me this is commical after seeing "Triumph Of The Nerds". To think the "Nerds" had no idea of what they were starting and how it would take over our lives.
ReplyDeleteOregon Trail was the best game ever!!!!! I remember playing it all of the time in grade school. In middle school I was also introduced to the wonderful world of chatting. Boy was that a change from what we were used to. It was enthralling to talk with a total stranger online. Now days, only ten years later, it is dangerous. It just goes to show that too much of a good thing can be poisonous.
ReplyDeleteI share your love for Oregon Trail. That was one of my first computer experiences. We must be about the same age because I also recall first using the internet in middle school and using it to chat via AOL Instant Messenger. I also question what life would be like without me being able to use a computer whenever I want. A few years ago I was a Park Ranger in Sequoia National Park and I lived in a cabin in the middle of the woods at about 8,000 feet which meant no computer or internet service. At first I felt crippled but after a few weeks I kind of had a sense of freedom being released from everyday grind.
ReplyDeleteDude, now I'm depressed. I miss Oregon Trail and the old Super Tecmobowl for the NES. Technology certainly has changed and gotten better over the years, but they will never be able to duplicate the ability to capture the attention like those games did. It is hard to believe the distance we've come in just our lifetime and it's great when we take a step back and reflect on where we were 20 years ago.
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