1984 marked the year I bought my first computer. My expectations of what my little computer could handle were dwarfed by the brutal reality that everything needed to be programmed. I spent hours generating basic functions to either have the computer not work or not be able to save functional scripts. It was a very difficult machine to use, and at 13 it ended up in my closet.
For years PC’s have been the only technology available for handling home and office tasks beyond basic calculations. Typing resumes, playing video games, viewing pictures, and creating music CD’s were the primary functions until about five years ago. Most people survived with smaller hard drives and slow processors because there was no need for mega computers.
Most households today have a technology portfolio including portable electronics as well as PC’s. Portable electronics include iPods, tablets, cell phones, and cameras. Though each of these little thingamabobs is designed to provide standalone service, each functions best if connected to a computer.
I’m going to use myself as an example. My hobbies are woodworking, photography, and sound production. My portable gadgets include an iPhone, an Android tablet, and a high-end digital camera. My not-so-portable devices include an effects amplifier and CNC interface for one of my shop tools. Each is designed to connect to a PC in some fashion.
My current music collection consumes around 120GB of space. My taste in music is eclectic, ranging from hip hop to 80’s to stuff I created. Depending on how adventuresome I am, I can plug my iPhone into my computer and move music 20GB at a time using iTunes software.
I enjoy carrying my tablet so I have some control over the movies I watch; in addition, my tablet provides an easy-to-use gadget for surfing the web. My taste in movies isn’t so diverse as my choice in music; however, I have somehow accumulated almost 400GB of romantic comedies. Because my tablet will only store 12GB of movies, I am forced to connect to the computer and pick and choose for the weekend.
One of my hobbies is photography and if you saw my pictures you’d understand why it never blossomed into a business. I’m not going to delve into my hobby, but I can take upwards of 30 high resolution pictures of the same subject at each setup. At the resolution I prefer to work, each picture is upwards of 12MB. Due to the technical nature of the stills and the fact they’re rendered simultaneously, my computer runs at full throttle during the process.
Years ago I made a piece of woodworking equipment which was preprogrammed with standard shapes. In order to use the equipment to its fullest potential it needs to be plugged into a computer so new designs can be uploaded. My guitar amplifier has a similar function which allows me to create sound profiles and save them. Additionally, I can use the USB interface to record music directly to the PC.
Earlier this week I was asked to speak on my vision of personal computers in coming years. I answered the request with something similar to what you just read. PC’s have moved from being sole processing and storage devices to a necessary part of the equation. Without a PC, gizmos will never reach their full capabilities. Though our applications for computers changed, stronger processors and larger hard drives will still be the driving factor when picking a PC. 29 year old computers like my Commodore didn’t need to be anything other than toys because the notion of storage and processing power didn’t exist.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)