The golden age of computers
Today's high speed modern computers will be outdated junk within five years. As technology evolves at a lightning fast pace when can we say was the golden age of computers? Was it when we first accessed the internet, sent the first e-mail or conversed with someone half a world away? All these are important milestones and for many they represent the moment when the computer truly became ingrained in our lives.
With today's modern computers we have become more obsessed with product specifications and whether it's up to performing the tasks we require of it.
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However for some the golden age of computers was one free of today's problems. A time when we don't need to worry about viruses. When we didn't need to worry about computer requirements when purchasing software. When programs launched in a few seconds and never needed to be patched. When there weren't any unexpected operating system crashes. Sadly the golden age of computers has long since gone.
Interestingly it happened when computers were just barely starting to become mainstream. It was the early 1980s and the era of the Apple IIE and Commodore 64. So what made these computers so great? It was that they did exactly what was required of them. Simply insert the disk of the program you wanted to run and within a few seconds you would be running it. There were no viruses to worry about and no compatibility requirements to consider. You purchased the software for your computer and it just ran. That is what computers used to be focused around; the software, not the operating system interface.
The problem with modern operating systems is that they generate a lot of money for their developers. But to sell newer versions new features need to be added while the old features are "improved". Will we ever reach a point when enough is enough? For some that point has already been reached.
The computers of the 1980s evoked a sense of wonder. The future lay before us with endless possibilities.
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If I wanted to design an article, prepare a CV or write a letter then a word processor from ten years ago would more than do the job. Interestingly the major problem is in fact the old software. Some modern operating systems such are OS X will not run software designed for older Macs. Does this now mean we need to upgrade our software to meet the new operating system requirements? The answer is yes unless we also maintain an old computer.
As much as we are happy to have our old computer we are finding more and more that technological advances in software and hardware are forcing us to upgrade. An eight year old web browser may have worked fine eight years ago but not with today's modern web sites. The problem escalates as to run one of the new browsers you will need a new operating system. This in turn will probably require a computer hardware upgrade. So will we ever see the same level of simplicity and ease of use again? The answer is sadly no as the golden age of computers died a long time ago.
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