56/365: A 3D experience

Here I am wearing 3D glasses and seeing some latest 3D content on an Intel Corei7 PC at our big industry and press event last night. We showed how computing has evolved since 1993, the birth of the internet and Pentium, to where we are now and what lies ahead for the future. There was a great collection of old hardware, phones and PDas from yesteryear.

Our guest speaker, Richard Llewellyn (Red Dwarf, Car Pool) revealed that he had his first PC aged 30. Having been used to a manual typewriter before that, he goes through keyboards at the rate of knots. I have the same problem. I had a manual typewriter since I was 12 and used to feverishly write stories and comics. I type fast but with only three fingers, and too hard, because my work laptop currently has a key missing and it's not the first time that's happened.

My first introduction to a PC was the day I started at BT when I was confronted with  an IBM PC running networked WordStar, where you had to go through a long and highly complex log-in procedure, and a DEC word processor. There was no instruction or manuals so you just had to teach yourself. I was given access to email - a Telecom Gold account - which few people had at that time, and colleagues used to crowd round when I was sending an email.

It makes you wonder how we used to function in those days ---- and not that long ago, 20 years!

As one of the other speakers said last night, brain function and the PC are inexplicably linked now. If our PC is down, we drift around somewhat helplessly. I always value it as an opportunity to pick up the phone and talk to people instead of emailing or IM'ing them.

What was your experience with your first PC?