During my eighth trip around the sun, my dad came home from work one night with a surprise for the family. It was a shiny new PC! It was the first PC I had ever seen, an interesting contrast from the terminal stations I was used to seeing at my father’s office. My dad had brought this computer home so that he could work overtime from home instead of the office. I took this as a double blessing as I would see more of my father and also have a new toy.

I was already familiar with the QWERTY layout from my constant exposure and experimentation with the several typewriters we owned, but the keys on this keyboard were very different. They made a more satisfying clicking sound, still mechanical but less so than the typewriters. The orange monochromatic monitor was superior, in my opinion, to the green terminals at dad’s work. Always a proponent of white noise, the sound of the chassis fan was soothing and comforting. My first time seated in front of this now less-powerful-than-most-modern-cell-phones device was absolute heaven.

We had to boot the computer off our MS-DOS disks and even then we could only run a few programs available on the hard drive or choose from the multitude of black, truly floppy disks with so many programs. My dad primarily used the computer for work, which meant he would write up reports in LEWP, or compile spreadsheets in Quatro Pro. I also used LEWP, but to write creative stories, some of which are stored on the floppy I recently found. My working with Quatro Pro consisted of filling cells and compiling massive images I would print off our form fed printer.

I used to enjoy the sounds of the floppy disks as the system booted. It was nearly melodic and not as stereotypically repetitive as you would expect. My excitement would build in the 10 minutes it would take to get the blinking command prompt cursor. When I would finally type my first command after boot, I was experiencing a euphoria that rivals any I’ve felt since.

This computer was the reason I choose computers as a career. It was the start of my love for computing. These days, I sometimes dread touching a computer. I get annoyed at waiting “short” periods of time to load programs or download content. It’s difficult  to even comprehend how it once was and how much better off things truly are. But, finding that floppy took me back and reaffirmed my love for computers.

We recycled the family Leading Edge Model D several years ago. I was sad to do so because it was still in perfect working condition and had outlived 2 PC’s we owned since. It was a sad day to lose something so pivotal in my life. I felt the same way about recycling that computer as I did losing my first pet.

Here’s to you, PC of my past! You may no longer buzz and hum in my living room, but you will always do so in my heart.

Related Posts

• No Related Post