Another Day With My PC

There was a time when computer jargon was understood by bespectacled persons only. Those days are definitely gone. At present, everybody knows what OS means or what AV stands for.

The computer will undoubtedly beat sliced bread as the most common item known to man in a few years time. When that point comes, don’t be surprised if the United Nations adds Assembly Language, Visual Basic, or C++ along with Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish as one of its official languages.

A working knowledge of computers is unquestionably indispensable. It’s not that hard to learn how to use one. You don’t have to buy a dozen Dummies book about PCs in order to learn how to operate them. All you have to do is devote a few hours of your day on a daily basis in pounding that keyboard and see what happens on the screen. Trust me, the method may seem to be designed for Neanderthals, but this was how many computer geeks learned their favorite pastime.

Make sure that your PC is safe from external threats so that you won’t be disturbed in trying to find out what those F keys are for. System file or Windows registry infection could surely hamper your effort in trying to get to know your unit more intimately. Invest in an antivirus and a registry cleaner before you do anything with your PC.

Although I’m advocating for the proper and responsible use of PCs, I must admit that I’m one of those who admire hackers. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t condone their acts, but I certainly respect their thorough understanding of networks, software, and computers. I believe that they are assets in the IT community, even only for the fact or reason that they’re causing software makers to be very meticulous in ensuring that their products are bug-free.

Many companies in the industry share my view. Some of them are even inviting hackers to join their team. I hope many more would try to encourage these rogue programmers to turn their talents into something more productive. Antivirus makers should be at the forefront of this endeavor since they stand to benefit the most.

I’m certain that a good number of talented but misguided programmers would turn their back on the mischievous deeds that they’ve been accustomed to and join the ones who are weaving zeroes and ones for something more worthwhile.

Are we getting too dependent on technology? In case you haven’t noticed, everything seems to be available to us in just a push of a button. While it has definitely made life easier for us, it has also made us more vulnerable to glitches or power outages. It seems that man’s extinction would be caused not by climate change but by power shortages.

I’m not saying that we should gradually rid ourselves of the gadgets that we’re carrying around. I might be the first person who’ll proffer an objection to such a proposal. What I’m advocating is for everybody to be made aware of our dependency and vulnerability so that something could be done about it.

I’m not exactly sure as to the appropriate measures that should be taken in order to prepare ourselves for worst-case scenarios, but I think many of us should be reacquainted with the old and computer-less procedures of our respective crafts.

I wonder if Parker, Cross, or any other pen makers experienced a dizzying dip in sales during the past two decades. There used to be a time when the pen, paper, and the writer made a very beautiful ensemble as far as weaving words was concerned. Nowadays, journalism is an inkless and paperless profession or endeavor.

The computer has greatly revolutionized the way book-writing is done. Keyboards are the new pens. I think the only time John Grisham or Stephen King use their pens which involve their books is when they’re being asked to sign it.

Some say that the computer has dulled the minds of writers. I’m not saying that I agree with their observation, but indeed, current word processors have already taken some of the tasks that pen pushers are admired for. For one thing, many readers put writers at a pedestal for their great mastery of the dictionary. Of course, this admiration is slowly drying out. Everybody could be a quiz bee champion now with the incorporated spelling or word checkers in word processors.

The evolution that computers have sparked has taken a lot of weight off of people. However, some say that it just made them lazy. But if you’re going to ask me, the PC is no different than the old tools that man used in pursuing their profession or other activities. Computers are still just instruments which help man in realizing the things that he want to create or accomplish.

I wonder what it would be like to live in a world without computers.

Writers like me would definitely miss it. I mean, who could live without auto-spacing and auto-indentions.

Video game players would definitely wilt without it. Although there are many platforms that could satisfy their lust for virtual blood, speed, and fury, there are games that could only be played to the max when it’s loaded and ran on the PC.

Researchers would certainly slit their wrists without it. Just imagine life without Google. The computer, along with the Internet, has dramatically reduced the time that it takes to come up with materials on a particular subject. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, try researching for a particular topic about William Wallace in your state library’s European Studies Section. I bet that you’d be camping out in the building for a day or two for that undertaking alone.

I could go on and on and on and on about how the computer has revolutionized everything that we do. I’m sure nobody would dare deny that the PC has, in one way or another, changed their lives for the better.

Do you think that human interaction is getting too impersonal?

Teleconferencing used to be a fixture in sci-fi flicks. Of course, this is anything but science fiction today. In fact, you’re probably having a cam-to-cam conversation right now with somebody who’s several states or continents away.

I have no qualms in conversing with somebody electronically, be that through e-mail, instant messaging programs, or even bulletin board systems (I know, I know, too passé). However, nothing beats talking with somebody face to face while having a good cup of coffee, especially if that somebody is someone very dear to you. But if it’s your boss, then I guess you would agree with me that you’d rather communicate with him through BBS :)

Technology will definitely change the way we communicate, if it hasn’t already. It will most likely make the same all the more impersonal, but it will definitely make it more convenient.

One of the things that I really like about the Internet is its ability to bridge people and make them feel like every person, regardless of where he’s residing, is just a few inches away.

The Webcam is a marvelous complement to the PC. It puts a face behind the sea of text messages that we receive from somebody in Internet Relay Chats or Instant Messengers. It has also curbed fraud in the chat rooms. I guess some of you already have experienced meeting people from the Internet that didn’t exactly match the self-description that they’ve given before you met.

Unfortunately for many workers, it has extended their working hours and the four corners of their offices. Before Web cams became staples, office tasks came to a halt when the boss leaves for a business trip. Nowadays, managers and executives make their presence felt in the office even if they’re hundreds of miles away therefrom. I guess it’s safe to say that the Web cam isn’t that too popular in the office.

Have you noticed how modern-day offices look so spacious?

Gone are the days when office design resembles that of a shoe box with holes on the sides. Many companies are already spending millions for interior design. It’s not surprising then that a good number of the rooms featured in interior design magazines are actually office spaces.

One of the reasons why the traditional paper and cabinet-filled office floor transformed into the more hip and spacious café-look of today is because of the computer. Work places used to be so cramped because of the humungous desks and file cabinets that littered the room. It was said that you could gauge the productivity of a person by looking at the number of papers filed or stacked on his desk. That’s not true anymore.

Gigabyte hard drives have driven storage closets and cabinets out of the office. Paper trays are practically non-existent in some work places as 3.5 inch storage devices have already replaced them.

22 years ago, when my computer IQ bore the same digit as my age, I really thought that the cold virus was the most common malware that infects PCs. I used to stand up and move away from the PC every time I cough, fearing that the virus residing in my body might actually cause harm to the data inside my floppy disks.

Of course, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I was harboring a foolish misconception. My computer class teacher clarified this to me in a manner that mitigated my embarrassment (she told me to cut my joke about biological viruses as being one and the same with the electronic ones). I should’ve realized that even before I enrolled for summer computer classes. I mean, come on, cough syrups for computers?

At present, nobody would most likely commit the mistake that I did in distinguishing biological viruses from electronic ones. I guess I could be forgiven for my ignorance back then since PCs were still esoteric and quite uncommon 2 decades ago. Of course, such a mistake would already be unforgivable today.

Christmas is just around the corner. I’m still swimming over piles of paper that I should have already sorted out and processed, but the mandatory yuletide shopping has wreaked havoc on my schedule.

The Internet has greatly helped in putting my shopping time on a diet. I’ve bought a couple of things on eBay in order to save time in scouring through department store shelves and burning my patience on kilometer-long lines at the counter.

I haven’t checked the dailies yet, but I think there are no reports of postal service problems this season. I think we have the Internet to thank that for, too. If I’m not mistaken, I haven’t sent a single holiday snail mail this year. In case you don’t know, Hallmark moments can now be made or simulated in cyberspace.

I hope my older relatives would learn how to adapt with the changing times. Until then, I think I might still be feed the rusty old mailbox in front of my apartment from time to time.