When (year) did you first start using a computer, both at home and at a job? Kind of job you had where you used a computer? I started using a computer around 1987 at local library. I had already used an electric typewriter to do my resume and had been using an electric typewriter for many years, before jumping on a computer. Most everything I learned about using a computer, I taught myself. Since I have had keyboard experience before, I didn't do the "hunt and peck" thing. My typing speed was well above 55 wpm. Not at all bad for a guy, back then. My first job using a computer was working as a Stockroom Supervisor for a laser manufacturer (medical lasers) in 1989. For this company, I checked Stockroom inventory and done BOM's for manufacturing. The next company I worked for, I learned how to use a FedX, UPS and USPS computers. Also, learned how to do Freight BOL on a computer for shipping. Working in an electronics stockroom, warehouse, shipping/receiving, purchasing and inventory, I used: Basic4, MAS90, Platinum and Solomon. Accounting programs/software. Here at home, we have Windows 10 and each Monday AM, I run all necessary programs for keeping both our desktop and laptop clean and organized. After buying each computer, I installed all of the software programs we use. I also installed both printers. I have re-installed Windows, when we had a problem. I use the desktop for many, many things besides going on this forum. How about you?
I started programming computers in 1959. I was going to Northeastern U in Boston on their co-op plan and got a job with an aero-space firm, I stayed with them until 1967 when I went to work for a company that sold it's system/programming services to firms in the Boston area initially then to all New England....Until 1986 i worked in the field both as an employee and eventually as a self-employed contractor.
I was a systems analyst for a major corporation; my first experience with computers was the early 1980s on IBM mainframe systems. Desktop computers became standard in the workplace around 1985, so I have been using computers for a while.
We got a desktop around 1990. Hubby used to go to the library to use theirs. I needed post-it notes just to turn the thing on! I was so afraid I would do something wrong and break it or something. I did surfing which was horribly slow-- it was dial-up. Eventually I did email and shopping and... I tried day trading. It was like a casino in my house! Made and lost lots of money. But I am still not to good with technology. My VCR is still blinking 12:00.
YOU still have a VCR? We had a lot of home-made videos on VCR tapes. All of that video has been transferred onto DVD's. I hooked up my MIL's VCR to a DVD Player/Recorder we use to have and transferred all of the video to DVD's. Put the VCR tape into the VCR and put a blank/recordable DVD into the DVD Player/Recorder. Started playing the VCR and, at the right moment, hit the "Record" button on the DVD Player/Recorder and everything from the VCR tape went onto the DVD disc.
Shoot, a former girlfriend of my wife, had/has a complete computer setup, including printer, still in their boxes in her living room. From what we know, she had never had it unpacked and set up. My SIL (wife's sister) gets along a whole lot better with her iPhone than she does with any computer. She use to get on her deceased husband's desktop and, somehow/someway, mess it up. He'd get pretty upset with her about it. He showed her numerous times how to use it and it never sank in. My step-brother and I have had a major disagreement over computers. I will say "I love them" and he will say "they took jobs away from people". Before he retired, he was a Large Equipment Supervisor for the state of PA. Had his own office, with a computer, but he didn't like office work and would be out in the shop helping his mechanics. He let his secretary take care of most clerical stuff that came his way.
In the early 1980s, the church where I was secretary-treasurer (as well as a deacon) bought a Coleco Adam. Learning to use the one at the church, I also bought a Coleco Adam for myself.
I also remember, back in those mid 80 years, when a person would apply for a job, that included using a computer, the company or employment agency, would give a computer test to any people applying for a job. And, sometimes, even an Aptitude test, which consisted of spelling, math, filing and other things. I never had a problem taking either the computer test or Aptitude test.
Tandy 1000 bought in Pow Way Ca. on sale for 885. At the time I was involved with electronics as a hobby and had a lot of test equipment that had computer programs that interfaced with the test equipment. Now to be honest I was familiar with computers since 1967, the first meeting was as a Nike Hercules crewman. On to the war our gunships were using computerized systems. Today I have 6 computers after a 3 set update last year. I was tired of not having fast gear. I have two fast AMD machines and another is a fast Intel machine I built using a couple used parts and all new extras. I no longer need any more computers but I could use another blank door for a desk top. I was having speed problems on my internet and it took a week to finally get someone at the ISP to have the serviceman fix the problem. All I needed was a newer modem because they changed their service speeds and my old modem altho working fine dropped to one half the speed I have had for about 5 years. The new modem is great it has it's own router and wifi. I have no real use now for my two routers, but I can enter the new modem setup and bridge one of the routers if I want. Everything is wireless on the new machines except one and it is hardwired to the modem right now. Finally after all the upgrade today I am still using my favorite old slow computer that has been upgraded until there are no upgrades left ;0)
Did you happen to know anyone at Texas Instruments Houston. My cousins wife worked there as a systems analyst. They lived in Sugarland for years, he passed away 3 years ago after working for Sears for over 30 years. I think she is still living near but not sure where. The last time I spoke to the cousin was 1981. They had one son and he lives in S.A. and works in real estate. Her name was Linda Akins.
Actually, my ex-brother-in-law worked for TI years ago. He left there to start his own company in Austin sometime in the late 80s or thereabouts. I worked in the petrochemical industry.
I worked around computers in the mid-1970s: DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) MiniComputers/PDP11-V03. Memory boards had ferrite rings on them. The programmers worked in Assembly Language...down at the bit level. My first PC (IBM-XT clone) at work was in 1982, and I bought one for home so I could learn spreadsheets (VisiCalc) & word processing (WordPerfect) to be more proficient at work. In the late 1980s I learned how to run queries to extract data from mainframes and created inventory & business analysis programs for my Purchasing/Inventory Management position. I did that kind of stuff for the second half of my career, working closely with real programmers to create task-specific applications but always staying on the business side of the house so I wouldn't get outsourced. I've gone through every single word in many of those 1,000+ page thick "How-To" books for spreadsheet, word processing, and database applications, and taken Microsoft Certified Solution Developer classes. I don't know much about networks, or internet protocols, or routers, or servers.
My first experience with computers was in the mid-1980’s, for a job I had working at a house-rental referral company. It was appropriately called “The Computerized Rental Company” at that time , later just called “The Rental Company”, after computers were more commonplace. My job was to take information from landlords about their rental house/apartment, and then enter the information into the computer database, which was especially set up for this program. We filed the information, so when a property became empty again, all I had to do was pull the file and realist it. Every night, at closing, we had to make floppy disk copies just in case something happened, the computer crashed. I really enjoyed that job, and liked talking to the landlords. The first desktop that I actually owned was around 1993-94. My daughter, Robin, was in the military, stationed in Germany, and it was just not feasible to be able to talk to her on the phone, and even when we did, it was kind of like Hello/I love you/goodbye. My oldest son gave me a computer, and taught me how to use the basic functions, but all I did at that time was use email. It opened the world back up for me because I could send an email to Robin on my time, and she could write back on her time; so we had communication again. Eventually, I learned to do more things, and discovered Yahoo Groups (which was a big thing back then), and they also had the online sales groups, where you could find horses, pets, houses, and just about anything else you wanted to search for. After having several computers get old and crash (losing all of my pictures), Robin gave me an early iPad 2, back in 2011. I fell in love with the iPad, and have never looked back ! It might not be perfect for what everyone needs, but it is perfect for me. Everything is stored in the iCloud, so even if something happened to my iPad, all of my pictures and information is saved for me, I just have to log into my account with a different device. All of my family has Apple devices (phones, desktops, laptops, iPads, iPods, and Apple Watches), so we can share photo albums easily, and use the Apple messaging system. I can even share my calendar with my family. Plus we have FaceTime audio/video when we want to actually talk together.
For quite awhile I had to log in to SoC every time I visited because I wasn't automatically recognized as a member. This was with FF only, but after a recent update I don't have to. ???
Task Bar Tools>Privacy & Security>Drop down to History and make sure it is set to "Remember" it can be set to NOT REMEMBER ! or custom.