Power to the PC revolution

By CHRIS BARTON

1981 was quite a year. The music was Spandau Ballet, Adam and the Ants, Grace Jones and Blondie.

Ronald Reagan was sworn in as 40th president of the United States and in March was shot by John Hinckley. Charles and Di got married and the space shuttle Columbia completed its first flight.

It was also the year Aids was first reported and John McEnroe uttered the immortal words "you cannot be serious" on a tennis court.

In New Zealand, we were preoccupied with Springbok tour demonstrations - almost too busy to notice, on August 12, IBM launching its first personal computer.

But that was 20 years ago and since then - judging by the extraordinary response to our essay competition - quite a few New Zealanders have not only noticed this device, but embraced it as a part of their lives.

We got nearly 400 entries about how you joined - or managed to swerve - the PC revolution.

Picking a winner from the range of stories told was harder than herding cats.

After much sorting into "read" and "strange" categories, I corralled 10 beauties into the "good" pen.

Val captured perfectly the older generation coming to terms with this newfangled gizmo:

The 50-year-old computer illiterate abdicates the throne of wisdom. After years of parental control, the computer generation dons the regal robes of power.

"Mum, this is your power button."

"Mum, are you paying attention?"

"Mum, now tell me, why did you do that?"

"Double click ... good girl ... I'm impressed."

"MUM ... you're not listening."

"Mum, what have you been doing, you've deleted the whole program!"

"Remember, Mum ... take it slowly ... read what comes up on the screen ... it's a logical sequence of events ... you'll get the hang of it."

Michael explained with style how Space Invaders got him hooked and why the geeks will inherit the earth:

Here was a language that you could use to tell the computer what to do and it would do exactly that (whether you intended that or not). It was also a language that was organised and had rules, so that if you followed the rules you could make your own pictures (sprites) move around the screen where you wanted them to go. Not quite space invaders, but a lot easier to understand than a past tense imperative French verb, or using a subjunctive clause properly. Here was a language that made sense.

Matthew is 21. As he points out his life before the birth of the IBM PC comprised crying, crawling and making a mess in his nappies. He is of the generation that grew up with the thing and he has the internet sussed. His discoveries so far:

* There are a lot more obsessive people than I ever knew existed,

people who are perfectly willing to devote hours of their life to creating pages for cartoon shows, rock bands and weird humour.

* The sheer number of people who thought Hendrix said "'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy".

* Apparently, I can be debt-free in a few weeks if I answer that email.

* Naked people are everywhere.

Lance wrote and sent his poignant essay hands-free using Dragon Naturally-Speaking software. A car accident left him unable to walk or use his hands:

I can hardly bear to think what life would have been for me without the computer. The PC has indeed revolutionised my life. It has given me something to live for.

Susan gave us glimpse into her world full of acronyms and strangeness:

I, as an unwitting 13-year-old, was dragged into the seamy underworld of MIRC and ICQ, embroiled in a league of MP3 hoarding. The internet became my only source of social interaction, isolating me from many of my friends and occupying a significant proportion of my consciousness.

Then there was Graeme, a peacekeeper patrolling the border in East Timor, whose intro was a killer:

As my armoured personnel carrier drove off the landing craft its tracks dug into the soft sand of the beach. Through my night vision goggles I could see sporadic green spots of light that my nose confirmed were still smouldering house fires. In the back of my carrier in a black rigid case was my laptop. There is no escaping the personnel computer.

Sarah understands better than many how man can become infatuated with Machine:

Dear Diary,

Marc bought Miss PC some "enhancements" today. He said she needed them and she'd be so much better off now. These "enhancements" cost $1300. Last thing he bought me was ... man I can't even remember. I'm so depressed. I thought that there was no possible way to increase the time he spends with her but boy was I wrong! She's even more attractive now.

Susan impressed with her unique observations on how PCs appear to be a lot like cigarettes:

* ers could not get by without them

* Once addicted, physical activities are a distant thought

* They have this ability to raise or lower stress levels

* They can be used as a status symbol

* Marketing hype has, at some stage, placed them "in your face"

But for astonishing creative cleverness you couldn't go past Eddie (these are all real websites):

I get up, have a shower and get dressed in my www.versace.com suit - "Hmmm ... looking good!" I make my way downstairs to www.getbreakfast.co.nz. Breakfast is bacon and eggs on www.drtoast.com and a glass of www.orangejuice.com. I quickly read the www.nzherald.co.nz and then I leave for work.

I jump into my www.bmw.com and reverse down the driveway. I stop to www.google.com at the sexy www.amazon.com woman from next door. "I'm feeling lucky", so I ask her out and she agrees to accompany me to dinner tonight.

I arrive at work and make a few calls on the www.telephone.com. I find myself gazing into www.space.com thinking about my date tonight.

My boss calls me into his office. I am a www.bigfanof.com his but he is one of those www.menwholooklikekennyrogers.com. He keeps telling me that "www.u2.com can look like me!" Yeah right! I www.thinks.com I will ask him about an increase in my www.wages.com.au and how the company can contribute to my www.retirement.org.nz fund.

But, sadly, there can be only one winner and she is ... Clare Robertson and her 10-year-old son, Keith Merritt, for their compelling and beautifully told story about how the PC really did change their lives.

PART ONE

By Clare Robertson

The year was 1995.
I lived in a state house in Orakei and was on the DPB with two children. I moved up from Rotorua mid-year.

My marriage had fallen apart because of all the usual problems - no money, no car, no job, no prospects, no money, sick children, no money (did I mention that?), interfering in-laws, etc, etc.

I was poorer than the poorest person in poorland. On one particular night I had to feed my kids porridge. My son who was four at the time thought this was a wonderful adventure.

I, however, went to bed and cried myself to sleep. This was just not how I thought my life would be like. The following day I was back in DSW applying for a food grant. POVERTY SUCKS!!!!

In the waiting room at DSW, I picked up the Sits Vac page in the newspaper. Browsing through the IT section, I was staggered at how much they were offering for entry-level positions. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I had just chosen my future vocation!

There was of course the minor problem that I knew absolutely nothing about computers (details, details). I enrolled immediately in a night school class at Selwyn College. It cost $80 (thanks DSW).

Sixteen weeks later I held a little certificate in my hand which said I knew the basics in computing.

On the strength of that, I purchased a Pentium 75 computer with a whopping great 8MB Ram and a 14.4Kbps modem to get me connected to the internet. I got a flatmate in and rather than charge him rent, phone and power, he made my monthly payments of $250.

It's taken a few years, but today I work for a company as a network and desktop support technician. In August last year I passed my A+ exam and am now a qualified service technician and I will be sitting my CNA (certified Novell administrator) this month.

There's still a long way to go before I can earn $100K per annum.

But without Bill Gates, IBM and my own determination I'm pretty sure I would still be feeding my kids porridge for dinner!

Oddly enough I think I defy the stereotype of the geek!

I don't own a laptop, I don't spend all night surfing the net (according to Telecom, I spend 20 hours a month surfing) and I don't go on holiday and log on to the network using remote access.

PS: My ex-husband now lives in a caravan park.

PART TWO
by Keith Merritt, aged 10

The year was 1995 when I got a huge surprise when my mum had bought a Pentium 75 computer. Before that I did not have much to do but watch TV or bounce on the trampoline.

Soon I explored the computer world. My mum started to teach me how to do the basics, like how to control the mouse and open the CD drive, etc.

Then I learnt how to have more fun on computers - like play Golf (CD-Rom) and use Paint, and I can type my own letters using Word.

Now that my mum has passed her A+ test exam we are living happily with lots of money and a good job. Yahoooooo. The Sims are a really cool game too. Mum reckons I'm better at using a computer than a lot of people she works with.

PS: I hated the porridge that mum made. (I'd rather eat cat food.)