Backward compatibility

As time moves forward and Moore's law continues to play a role in our daily lives, systems are continuously replaced by newer and (improved?) game consoles (we have piles in our closets at home), software, and hardware while the list goes on... but what happens to all of that old knowledge that we lock away?

Yesterday I realized the importance of having an understanding and acceptance for legacy systems. I was helping out at my parent's office when I was instructed to address a few envelopes. The IT in me immediately reached for a computer when I was pointed to a typewriter. Yep, a TYPEWRITER. The only thing I can remember about typewriters is that the font is courier and the type is monospaced and the comic character snoopy is usually depicted typing away on top of the doghouse. Anyway, I quickly found myself in some trouble using this typewriter, as I was having trouble lining it up and feeding the paper. After messing up a few envelopes, I asked where I could find extras.

bottom line: I didn't know that there was an erase key on the typewriter. I kept hitting backspace (naturally). wow.

RSS what??

If one of your new years resolutions is to learn more about computers, or to keep up with the news, then dive into RSS.

In discussing with a few people, I noticed that most were not familiar with RSS. Pretty much, the whole point of it is that it gives you a chance to stay updated with news, your favorite blog (how about mine!), and anything else available on the web. How it works is that most sistes have syndicated content, which therefore makes web feeds available in one of two standardized formats, RSS and Atom. Users can subscribe to these feeds and view the content of many sites/blogs/etc. easily by using an aggreator (such as google reader or news gator).

Recently I've been loving SimplyHeadlines, but I realized that I wanted to have more options-- so I moved over to Google Reader. SimplyHeadlines was great because it compiled all the feeds into an easy e-mail "newspaper." I like to think of it as a great starting point if you are not familiar with RSS or you want to ease yourself into the world of syndicated content, which is why I've moved onto Google Reader.

Why blog?

Each year, TIME magazine names someone the "person of the year." In the past, it's been John Paul II, the Gates family, former mayor Guiliani, MLK and now it's You.

"This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person. It's a chance for people to look at a computer screen and really, genuinely wonder who's out there looking back at them. Go on. Tell us you're not just a little bit curious." -Time

So why blog? I'm curious, it's really just as simple as that. The beauty of web 2.0 is that it gives each one of us a chance to make our mark on the 'net, and hopefully a few lives.

I hope that what I have to say in this blog for the next four months while studying abroad will provide an outlet not only for me to reflect upon my experiences, but to share them.