THE HOME PC EXPLOSION
1. BELLS AND WHISTLES
Like many old-timers in this field who strive to remain at the cutting edge of new technology, I have had continually (and sometimes reluctantly!) to step up to a new platform - with all that this implies in readjusting to a new set of procedures and attitudes.
After some years of working at home with an IBM AT ("Advanced Technology") '286 under MS-DOS version 3.30, in 1993 I hesitantly decided to invest in a Pentium Multimedia PC.
Successive generations of "Windows" have led to a supposedly far more "user-friendly" environment - but, of course, this fully applies mainly to newcomers rather than to those who have already come to terms with earlier ways of working.
The incredible increases in computer speed, size of working memory and hard-disk capacity seem largely to be taken up by what we used to call "Bells and Whistles".
By these I mean novelties and adornments superimposed on to the otherwise stark functionality of working programs. Some of them do have a useful purpose in creating a common environment (and thereby reducing the learning time) for a host of different applications. Useful also is the provision of a common set-up for dealing with peripherals such as printers.
The overhead in terms of computing power required by these
luxuries would be quite unacceptable were it not for developments
which have made it possible to be profligate in the use of such
power, now abundantly available at low cost.
2. THE PC - A TOOL OR A TOY?
The computer is the most flexible and versatile tool yet devised by man. Like all tools, however, it requires a sense of purpose, the identification of tasks and the application of appropriate abilities and understanding.
Imagine the most modern fully-equipped kitchen, packed with labour-saving devices and "high-tech" facilities.
Of itself it definitely will not enable everyone to produce a Cordon Bleu meal for their guests! The small minority that could do so would probably have fared equally well in a century-old farmhouse kitchen, although they are likely to prefer the more up-to-date resources.
One unfortunate side-effect of a high-technology tool is the erosion of the traditional skills and insights previously required. Thus a computer-familiar (I do not here use the term "computer-literate") populace could well suffer an atrophy of true literacy and numeracy compared with previous generations. We have all come across shop assistants who, faced with selling ten identical items together, resort to a calculator or ring up the till ten times to arrive at the total!
I must admit that for a while I still tended to do most of my real work (correspondence, financial matters, address lists, creative writing, etc.) on my older machine. This was not mere obstinacy, but mainly because it housed my data, templates, "macros" and familiar methods. A progressive migration to the new systems soon occurred, however (as had often happened before!).
There is no doubt that the new machine offers a wide range of stimulating (even addictive) delights, indulgence in which could sit uncomfortably with one's ingrained Puritan work-ethic conditioning!
Important aspects of the new PCs lie in the fields of interactive educational programs, the Information Superhighway and ever-more-elaborate computer games!
The PC is both a tool and a toy. It is whatever the user wants
it to be, or is prepared to undertake.
3. WHITHER?
Market forces and imperatives rule! Selling hardware and software into millions of homes and workplaces is seductively profitable compared with creating highly advanced equipment for more esoteric purposes.
To a considerable extent, today's developments have been constrained and hampered by the needs of "backwards compatibility", since completely new architectures and operating systems would be isolated from existing software.
When I consider what could have been achieved with the present resources had they been available in the late fifties and early sixties, at the time that I was working on radar and tactical simulators, I am overwhelmed by the possibilities.
Were we still in a "cold war" confrontation and had identified the development of a nearly-omniscient computer as a strategic necessity, then a well-funded project team would be set to work on it.
Of course, valuable spin-off does not always come from military or Space projects. It can be the other way round: for example, the prewar boom in wireless transmitters and receivers for home entertainment created the basis for the development of radar.
If a foundation were now to be set up dedicated to the creation of a heuristic self-evolving thinking machine, it could well run to seed in the absence of shorter-term goals and commensurate commercial payback.
Future developments in home and business computing will undoubtedly see yet further advances in the power of computer chips and information storage and retrieval capabilities. Of themselves, these will open up ever-widening possibilities for imaginative and creative exploitation. Who can say to what this might eventually lead?
