Computers Have Come A Log Way

In this age of rising gas prices and inflation, it is easy to get bitter about the cost of living. But when it comes to technology and computers, everything is getting better, faster and cheaper. Allow me to illustrate…

When I was a young technician working for Epson Canada in 1988, my father decided to trade in his Underwood typerwriter for a computer. As a writer, he had heard about the benefits of a word processor, and decided that he was ready. He was the first in our family to own a computer.

As a staffer for Epson, I was able to get a staff discount for him. The PC I delivered to him had the following specs: 8Mhz processor, 64k of RAM, 10 Mbyte Hard-disk, 14” amber monochrome monitor, and an Epson dot matrix printer. The operating system was DOS 3.3; things like soundcards, USB ports, built-in LAN ports, even mice hadn’t been conceived of yet. Color printers cost thousands, and so did Laser printers. Color monitors were only for the rich. Nobody had even heard of the Internet.

The total cost, with discount, was around $2800. I should mention that we decided to copy the software, because we couldn’t afford it. With WordPerfect 5.1 it would have cost an additional $300, but I was able to pirate a copy of MultiMate for him, and that got him off to a nice start. After a few weeks, my mother got interested in Multimate’s database function, and was soon using it to print mailing labels for members of their local Power Squadron chapter. She got so hooked my Dad couldn’t get near his computer, so Mum had to go and buy her own. But I digress…

It is worth mentioning here that the average cereal-box electronic toy has more power than did my father’s first computer. Today, you can buy a bottom-of-the-barrel computer that has a processor 300 times faster, has 400 times more RAM, and has a hard-disk 8000 (eight thousand) times larger, bundled with a big crisp color monitor, all kinds of software and a free color printer, all for about $500. For $800 you can buy a well-equipped wireless enabled laptop weighing 5 pounds. If you were to spend today what my father spent in 1988, you’d have the very best.

Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel, predicted that the speed and power of the CPU would double every 2 years, and this came to be known as Moore’s Law. He probably could not have known that the prices would fall in direct proportion. This phenomenal pricing is probably thanks to Bill Gates’ vision of having a computer in every home by the end of the 1900’s; by now must of us have 2 or 3, and have thrown away at least another 2 or 3 as the older ones became obsolete. And with the new capabilities of modern operating systems, a system that is 5 years old is worthless because it doesn’t have the power to run the new OS’s.

My Dad’s first computer is (unfortunately) probably deep in a landfill somewhere by now, and I believe he is on his fourth computer. He is definitely ready for an upgrade, as he is now a blog author, and he needs his ‘net. I think my mother is on her sixth computer now. High speed internet? You must be joking, they’ve had that for 5 years. Dad’s in his 80’s now and Mum’s closing the gap.

Next week we’ll talk about the astonishing proliferation of free software that is available from the internet, so stay tuned.