I’ve been reminiscing of late, remembering the times when I first started as a computer programmer way, way back before Microsoft and Windows were on the scene.
This jump back in time all started when I was clearing out some old boxes. We’ve just recently moved to a new house and I’m still in the process of unpacking. I was completely taken by surprise when I saw laying amongst some old papers at the bottom of the box, my green plastic flowchart template - an essential tool used for the planning stage of writing computer programs..(yes, with a pencil on a piece of paper!) I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I was to see it, it brought back a flood of memories.
Also, laying at the bottom of the box was an 8-inch floppy, and a couple of 5¼-inch floppies! I have no idea what’s on them, and I guess I never will now. I suppose whatever it is, it must have been something important for me to keep them for nearly 4 decades!
How different things were back then. My mainframe IBM computer filled the whole room, and the room was air-conditioned and kept spotlessly clean with not a speck of dust in sight. I remember the long, drawn-out process of designing the program (with my trusty flowchart template), coding the program, and then the hours I sat waiting for my program to compile, with nothing but a green flashing cursor on a black screen in the top, left hand corner. Computers back then were not user-friendly. I had a quick search on the internet and found this picture – courtesy of chilton-computing.org.uk. My computer room was a bit like this...
... very different to my office today!
It seems to me that technology has moved on at quite a pace, especially over the last few years. There’s not a day goes by without some new technological breakthrough being reported. Emerging technologies, Smart Cities, the Internet of Things, and Big Data – all very exciting, and rather Star Trek like in many aspects.
I believe that through technology, the world will not only survive but it will thrive. We will build a clean, healthy, sharing, caring economy in the future. Renewable energy will continue to improve and provide more sustainable energy sources than ever before, without damaging our planet. In this moment, when I’m seeped deep in nostalgia for the past and hope for the future, I like to imagine the world will be just as Captain Jean-Luc Picard describes in a Star Trek episode, and I believe technology will get us there…
‘People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things. We’ve eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions’.
‘The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesn’t exist in the 24th century. The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity’
Well, we shall see. I am excited for the future….but, my floppies and flowchart template have been put away for safe keeping. They’re obsolete, but I just can’t throw them away.
Have you still got some ‘tools’ of your trade from way back that you just can’t let go of?
How many of you still have your old slide-rules?
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