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.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Backward compatibility
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2 comments:
Maybe it's the writer in me, but there's something organic about typing on a type writer. Not that I own one, but I daydream about typing on a typewriter instead of a desktop/laptop computer. I'm probably just punch drunk off the images I see of writers in movies....
lol, I've used a typewriter since my first job in an office around 13 years ago. All I really remember was having to type really slowly so not to make mistakes as the erase button didn't work :D
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