Death of the Computer Magazine (in print)
Other old time PCers from the early 80s might enjoy my reminisces of computer magazines in that era in my latest Substack newsletter (free).
Posts
Managing without a Cell Phone
Funny how tech priorities change. In the first 30 years I lived from one PC to another. Starting with a Radio Shack Model I, then an IBM PC, then a long, long succession of PC compatibles; each faster than the last with ever increasing hard drives. The change from one PC to a new one was a sea change. Each so much faster and smoother. Now, I've been content with a laptop built in 2013. It has an i7 processor and 12 gigabytes of memory, so performance wise it is fine. I admire my foresight then to go big. I do not game play or do high end video processing. I rarely use it as a laptop. Its hooked to two monitors and Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. My sole tweak to my home setup when quarantine and working from home started in March was a docking station so I could switch easily from work laptop to personal laptop. If I covet anything, its more and larger monitors. You can't go too large, or too many. After the fever of wanting a new PC passed from a every two year event, to thre...
Preparing a Computer to Give as a Gift
Getting a new computer for Christmas or anytime, gift or not, is like buying a car with some assembly required. You really can't just fire it up, and take off. There are a host of irritating little jobs you need to do before that new computer is truly useful About once a year it seems, someone here gets a new computer. Since there are three of us, that's about right. Rotating your computer every three to four years isn't extravagant, especially for the two here who carry laptops out into the world--that's rough on a machine. My son and wife truly want the power up and go experience from a new computer, so I've gotten rather used to prepping a new computer. If you are giving a new computer as a gift, perhaps my little workflow can help you. Note : This is going to assume a Windows 7 laptop with wi-fi as an example PC. Take Notes Before you even take it out of the box, open up either a paper notebook, or if you have another computer close by, open up...
Where I am coming from
I suspect a lot of this blog is going to about my adventures, and misadventures with technology. Technology is moving so fast that a persons point of view is skewed by their age. Therefore it is important I think to give readers an idea of where I am coming from technology wise. When I graduated from high school, there was but one telephone company. You couldn't hook up any equipment to the phone lines unless they sold or rented it to you. Video games had just come out. They had plastic overlays that went over the tv screen to make the borders of the game. Video tape recorders existed only in TV stations, not in homes yet. A few years before, a TV series that ran for only a couple years forecast days when we'd have communicators in our pockets, video stored on small silver disks, devices that could stun someone, engines that would propel us faster then the speed-of-light and teleporters. A bright future we figured we'd never see. The first three on that list are her...