There was a reminiscing thread on my tech writers list this morning, recalling the days of DOS and old word processing programs of the past.
I realized that it was 22 years ago, April 1987, when I first became really interested in computers.
I was writing procedure manuals and training materials using the department IBM Selectric. I would sit at it for days at a time, because I was creating the first training materials for the branch loan processors. When a procedure would change, I’d have to retype the whole page from scratch.
About 3 months before, a new manager had gotten an IBM PC/AT for our department. Another area had an original IBM PC with dual floppy disk drives they used for customer form letters.
After watching someone use the computers, I got curious, and asked if I could use it for my manuals. So, I learned Word 2.0 for DOS, learned how to tear a computer apart to change/upgrade components, and the rest is history.
That AT opened doors that I had nailed shut. By college, I had decided I was never going to work with computers. I had no need to learn about computers, they had no relevance to my life.
Now, I feel lost if I don’t have some kind of keyboard and software to push around.
It’s been wild, living on the near cutting edge of technology. While I’m not an early adopter, I am close to the front of the pack. The things my kids take for granted, like Firefox and the web, I remember what it was like before they existed. I even used Gopher and BBS for a short while at home, before the web became more mainstream.
The biggest lesson I learned from all of this was to never say “never”. That’s like an invitation to have my mind changed. It’s been more interesting to say “well, maybe” and see what happens.