To say I was poor during grad school is not an exaggeration. Many of my peers had the support of generous parents while I lived on a tiny stipend, loan money, and earnings from working in nearby Emergency Rooms and ORs for odd shifts. The first personal computers started appearing in grad student homes during these years. The conversations at the Potlatch Coffeeshop veered away from dissertation topics onto which computer you would buy to prepare your dissertation. Colleagues formerly pontificated on Human Social Organization now did the same regarding word processing programs.
I tended to drift away from these discussions. My financial situation was such that repairing the venerable Smith-Corona typewriter was more of an anxiety-provoking concern.
A few years later, I put all my pennies together and bought my first computer – a seriously underpowered Apple II – c. While very unimpressive, the Apple computer and a dot matrix printer allowed me to enter the world of computers. I pushed that little machine. While not a serious number cruncher, it did yeoman service in helping me do statistical analysis on census data I gathered while working as a practicing anthropologist. It also was put into overdrive preparing field notes on various projects. It did scripts for a documentary video and field notes on techniques used by Portuguese and Italian winemakers. And notes on the ethnomedical use of plants grown in their gardens.
The little computer prepared grant proposals and newspaper articles and eventually returned the initial investment many times. This observation convinced my wife that it was a worthwhile investment. While we were no longer poor, we weren’t exactly well off. Equipment that made money for the household was worthwhile.
But you could hear the rumble of space combat coming from the speakers at night. It was my imperial forces faced off against the dreaded enemies of the Yokunian Empire. I had discovered the world of computer games. The game “Reach For The Stars” was an early space empire game and an omen of what was to come.
The day came when the little computer was obsolete, and so damaged in a move that it was unrepairable. But it lives on in my memory as a massive game changer for me both in work and leisure.
Discover more from Louis N. Carreras, Woodcarver
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
My first computer was an Amiga. I wanted a Mac but since I was married to a programmer my wishes didn’t prevail. And then, Amigas kind of went by the way and I got my Mac. I loved it. So did the kids in the neighborhood.
The Mac was the successor to the Apple II c. They run with very few issues unlike some of the Windows servers I have at work.
I do have a PC to run the laser, but I really hate it.
We had Apple ll e computers in our lab at the language school. They were great. I got into Apple BASIC and used them to teach simple programming to my little group of Indonesian bankers. Once they wrote and de-bugged their spreadsheets we went to the university PC lab. Stupid stubborn fucking students. They typed their programs onto the PC and, of course, they ran. “See teacher? PCs are better.” I had to walk back to my office very fast to avoid going off on a bunch of middle-aged Indonesian men who wouldn’t have understood anyway. After, I’m just a woman… 🤣
I’m not sure which is worse Martha, chauvinism, willful ignorance…Oh! that’s right they are pretty much the same thing.
It is a pretty chauvinistic culture. I don’t think they were happy to have had a woman teaching them. Overall, though, it was a fun program.
My first computer was a Commodore 64. Every time I wanted to print my essay, I had to print the document whether it be 5 or 30 pages. My dot matrix printer ran out of ink pretty quickly. I could also play Pac Man on it.
The Commodore 64 had a ferociously loyal fam base as I recall.
I wasn’t privy to all that. It was all about getting those essays in on time for me. 🙂
Memories! Our first computer was an Apple IIGS, purchased in 1988. When I was writing my Masters thesis in 1983, I depended on the computer lab in the library. Strange to remember monochrome screens, ASCII, command lines, dot matrix, etc.
I’m not sure I’d go as far as to say ” ahhhh…the good old days!” but yes I remember. I also remember how much coding times one friend put into coding ASVII artwork of nudes that his program would print out on the old main frame computer at the university’s computer center.