The Computer Comfort Zone

The Computer Comfort Zone

FTLComm - Tisdale - Wednesday, January 30, 2002

taking stock As I look out on this bleak and chilly January morning it seems like a good time to discuss where we at in this seemingly overwhelming technological age. There is a need for some perspective on what has happened and just where are we on the time line of these phenomena.

proliferation It is twenty years now since we had our first computer in our house and that alone should give us some perspective on the state of progress. Now just to struggle through each day three of the four computers in our household have to be working and functioning properly. The fourth, a Windows antique is standing by for test work on web pages but is rarely brought to life. Five or six others are now set aside and in storage although three of them could be plugged in and up in running in no time flat. Of my three sons one has four working machines in constant use and the other two only have two each. This does not include the machines they use at work in their various roles in the computer and film/video world in which they work. The point that I am making is that proliferation is now the norm.

network Where we once considered having a “computer” the issue now several with specific tasks and functions are to be found as the normal way of doing things. Not only are multiple computers the norm but also so are networks. In our house we have had a running network since 1995 but each of my sons have networks in their dwellings and my brother is setting up his network in his house this coming month. During Christmas break on three straight evenings we each engaged in a complex network computer game against one another, the three guys on laptops, I on my machine and a girlfriend on my wife’s machine. Then when the eldest and his girlfriend went home a day early we still all played another game only this time they were using the Internet to connect to those of us here in the house.

Internet network So not only do we now engage multiple computers but also we do so in concert with one another over networks and sometimes over the Internet. Perhaps another example would even better illustrate these growing phenomena. My wife and I went down to Swift Current for New Years but I try to publish Ensign and Saskatchewan News each and every day so we took my wife’s iMac along since it had all the software I needed and away we went. I could have used my father-in-law’s iMac but that would have required installing several pieces of software and it was decided it was easier to just take my wife’s machine. Now all of the parts of my web sites sit on this main computer here in my Tisdale office but the server for these two sites is sitting in Winnipeg in one of my son’s places. So here is how I did the work. Using the networking capability of the Macintosh and the Internet I signed on to the Tisdale machine with my wife’s iMac in Swift Current using the software in her machine and the files from Tisdale. When the work was completed on each story the material was moved from the Tisdale machine to the server in Winnipeg.

connected Here is another example, my father is developing excellent skill with handling pictures both ones he takes with his digital camera or with those he scans. In the course of the work he does he and I share these images and I provide some assistance in modifying these pictures. Though we can use email to move them back and for from his iMac in Regina and my system in Tisdale we have found it simplest for him to just log onto my machine using an Internet connection. My computer and files we are sharing appears as a folder on his desktop and he merely puts images into and out of the folder, which is actually in my Tisdale computer.

servers The new Windows XP is allowing Windows users the first taste of this kind of connection, which we who use Macintoshes have been using routinely for the past five years. Every Macintosh is a server and every system has the server capabilities built in. But servers are yet another issue. Each of my sons maintains at least one server and I have one here in my office that provides e-mail and web hosting. Computer technology now has become a server technology, which brings with it a special set of confusion. The seemingly endless run of worms and virus attacks emanating from the open and poorly constructed Windows world has taxed every server, PC and non-PC alike. Our Macintosh systems are immune to most of these attacks but the added loads of useless data transfer with every one of these infections truly overloads the systems.

where we are
As I have been telling you about the current state of computing in my world you must realise that three main conditions now exist.

The equipment we now use both Windows based and Macintosh is at a level that real efficient work is possible.
Network and Internet connectivity is now routine and completely reliable.
Proliferation of computers themselves is a basic part of the technological scene.

operating systems In terms of the progression from infancy to actually doing what it had promised to do we have entered the computer comfort zone. Surprisingly enough there are two things that have allowed this to happen. The speed of technological advancement has slowed or at least become adaptable enough for us to use the same computer system for more than six months before moving on to the next model. In my case my G3 Pro is three years old yet runs the most modern applications and does so with the same reliability as brand new machines. The second factor that has made things work has been the dramatic improvement in the operating systems. In our Macintoshes the 9.2.2 system is almost bullet proof and the OSX is absolutely rock solid. I have not yet converted to OSX as I have to make a few minor hardware adjustments. Similarly in the Microsoft based Windows machines the added capabilities and stability of Windows 98 is remarkable and XP though rife with programming errors and open back doors, adds considerably to the usability of the barely functional non-Macintosh computers.

speed

Now we are on the wide plateau of computer technology, after fifteen years of promises we have equipment and software of remarkable capability and functionality. Basic computers are now truly inexpensive with complete serviceable systems at that $1500 mark including printer and monitor. The outstanding basic iMac is at that price and for most folks the basic computer system will do what they need. Where we are see remarkable development is in the mid range and high-end computer systems. Monday Apple introduced its new line of multiprocessor 1Ghz machines while Intel based computers have for some time had processors counting off up to 2Ghz. These awesome speeds are for high end and graphic production where they will dramatically increase productivity and simply accelerate the creative process in video, design and image editing.

digital hub Mac
For the average user the new challenges are in new uses for the computer. Steve Jobs speaking to a convention in the first week of January referred to the new LCD screen iMac as the “digital hub” being able to handle music, movies, and images with seamless ease.

For those people who for whatever reason did not get involved in using computers during the formative stages they are faced with an enormously steep learning curve if they decide they want to buy a Windows based computer. So if you know someone who wants to get a computer but know little about them steer him or her toward a Macintosh. My father-in-law bought his last summer and has no problems snapping off email to us every day, checking out the web and printing off the things he wants all on his iMac.

more Now we have to consider what is on the horizon, magazine stories and futuristic television shows have been touting handheld wireless appliances and gee whiz products that seem far removed from the convention multiple use computer. There is no doubt that MP3 music players and hand held devices using the extremely compact inexpensive memory capabilities of today will continue to move through the market place but the future of computer technology seems to be based on the simple concept of “more.” Home networks, often wireless, computers used for specific functions around the business or home and everything connected to the Internet all the time.

Timothy W. Shire


The Computer Comfort Zone
FTLComm - Tisdale - Wednesday, January 30, 2002
`taking stock`	As I look out on this bleak and chilly January morning it seems like a good time to discuss where we at in this seemingly overwhelming technological age. There is a need for some perspective on what has happened and just where are we on the time line of these phenomena.

`proliferation`	It is twenty years now since we had our first computer in our house and that alone should give us some perspective on the state of progress. Now just to struggle through each day three of the four computers in our household have to be working and functioning properly. The fourth, a Windows antique is standing by for test work on web pages but is rarely brought to life. Five or six others are now set aside and in storage although three of them could be plugged in and up in running in no time flat. Of my three sons one has four working machines in constant use and the other two only have two each. This does not include the machines they use at work in their various roles in the computer and film/video world in which they work. The point that I am making is that proliferation is now the norm.

`network`	Where we once considered having a “computer” the issue now several with specific tasks and functions are to be found as the normal way of doing things. Not only are multiple computers the norm but also so are networks. In our house we have had a running network since 1995 but each of my sons have networks in their dwellings and my brother is setting up his network in his house this coming month. During Christmas break on three straight evenings we each engaged in a complex network computer game against one another, the three guys on laptops, I on my machine and a girlfriend on my wife’s machine. Then when the eldest and his girlfriend went home a day early we still all played another game only this time they were using the Internet to connect to those of us here in the house.

`Internet network`	So not only do we now engage multiple computers but also we do so in concert with one another over networks and sometimes over the Internet. Perhaps another example would even better illustrate these growing phenomena. My wife and I went down to Swift Current for New Years but I try to publish *Ensign* and *Saskatchewan News* each and every day so we took my wife’s iMac along since it had all the software I needed and away we went. I could have used my father-in-law’s iMac but that would have required installing several pieces of software and it was decided it was easier to just take my wife’s machine. Now all of the parts of my web sites sit on this main computer here in my Tisdale office but the server for these two sites is sitting in Winnipeg in one of my son’s places. So here is how I did the work. Using the networking capability of the Macintosh and the Internet I signed on to the Tisdale machine with my wife’s iMac in Swift Current using the software in her machine and the files from Tisdale. When the work was completed on each story the material was moved from the Tisdale machine to the server in Winnipeg.

`connected`	Here is another example, my father is developing excellent skill with handling pictures both ones he takes with his digital camera or with those he scans. In the course of the work he does he and I share these images and I provide some assistance in modifying these pictures. Though we can use email to move them back and for from his iMac in Regina and my system in Tisdale we have found it simplest for him to just log onto my machine using an Internet connection. My computer and files we are sharing appears as a folder on his desktop and he merely puts images into and out of the folder, which is actually in my Tisdale computer.



`servers`	The new Windows XP is allowing Windows users the first taste of this kind of connection, which we who use Macintoshes have been using routinely for the past five years. Every Macintosh is a server and every system has the server capabilities built in. But servers are yet another issue. Each of my sons maintains at least one server and I have one here in my office that provides e-mail and web hosting. Computer technology now has become a server technology, which brings with it a special set of confusion. The seemingly endless run of worms and virus attacks emanating from the open and poorly constructed Windows world has taxed every server, PC and non-PC alike. Our Macintosh systems are immune to most of these attacks but the added loads of useless data transfer with every one of these infections truly overloads the systems.

`where we are`	As I have been telling you about the current state of computing in my world you must realise that three main conditions now exist. The equipment we now use both Windows based and Macintosh is at a level that real efficient work is possible. Network and Internet connectivity is now routine and completely reliable. Proliferation of computers themselves is a basic part of the technological scene.

`operating systems`	In terms of the progression from infancy to actually doing what it had promised to do we have entered the computer comfort zone. Surprisingly enough there are two things that have allowed this to happen. The speed of technological advancement has slowed or at least become adaptable enough for us to use the same computer system for more than six months before moving on to the next model. In my case my G3 Pro is three years old yet runs the most modern applications and does so with the same reliability as brand new machines. The second factor that has made things work has been the dramatic improvement in the operating systems. In our Macintoshes the 9.2.2 system is almost bullet proof and the OSX is absolutely rock solid. I have not yet converted to OSX as I have to make a few minor hardware adjustments. Similarly in the Microsoft based Windows machines the added capabilities and stability of Windows 98 is remarkable and XP though rife with programming errors and open back doors, adds considerably to the usability of the barely functional non-Macintosh computers.
`speed`	Now we are on the wide plateau of computer technology, after fifteen years of promises we have equipment and software of remarkable capability and functionality. Basic computers are now truly inexpensive with complete serviceable systems at that $1500 mark including printer and monitor. The outstanding basic iMac is at that price and for most folks the basic computer system will do what they need. Where we are see remarkable development is in the mid range and high-end computer systems. Monday Apple introduced its new line of multiprocessor 1Ghz machines while Intel based computers have for some time had processors counting off up to 2Ghz. These awesome speeds are for high end and graphic production where they will dramatically increase productivity and simply accelerate the creative process in video, design and image editing.



`digital hub Mac`	For the average user the new challenges are in new uses for the computer. Steve Jobs speaking to a convention in the first week of January referred to the new LCD screen iMac as the “digital hub” being able to handle music, movies, and images with seamless ease. For those people who for whatever reason did not get involved in using computers during the formative stages they are faced with an enormously steep learning curve if they decide they want to buy a Windows based computer. So if you know someone who wants to get a computer but know little about them steer him or her toward a Macintosh. My father-in-law bought his last summer and has no problems snapping off email to us every day, checking out the web and printing off the things he wants all on his iMac.

`more`	Now we have to consider what is on the horizon, magazine stories and futuristic television shows have been touting handheld wireless appliances and gee whiz products that seem far removed from the convention multiple use computer. There is no doubt that MP3 music players and hand held devices using the extremely compact inexpensive memory capabilities of today will continue to move through the market place but the future of computer technology seems to be based on the simple concept of “more.” Home networks, often wireless, computers used for specific functions around the business or home and everything connected to the Internet all the time.

	Timothy W. Shire