2001 Technology, I Just Gotta Have It
By Bill Finney
February 18, 2001
Bill Finney makes his itmWEB debut by looking at his obsessive accumulation of personal technology.
I know that most visitors to itmWEB.com are acquainted with Russ Finney, a prolific contributor of articles to the web site. Well, he is my son, and he has pulled a good one on me. I could not believe it, but the last time we were together as a family he suggested that he would be very pleased if I would consider writing articles for the web site. My reaction was not good- I was inspired with the same enthusiasm I reserve for April 15th. However, in deference to his mother's very effective power of persuasion, I smiled, and said "Sure".
When I asked him "Why?" he replied, "Dad, you're a man who took steps to become computer literate at an advanced age; people will have an interest in learning of your experiences- you're a pioneer." I said, "Yeah, sure!"
My next question was "What should I write?" He said, "Just introduce yourself and 'wing it!'"
I could not deny that I knew how to "wing it!" This was a technique I learned in 1953 flying jet fighters in the Korean War. At that time our 600-mph jets were equipped with gun sights designed for 300-mph World War II aircraft. The trick was to ignore the gun sight and put the plane on a collision course to the target. When in range we repeated to ourselves the phrase, "the time to fire is now, no, now!" This was the time to pull the trigger. We believe this was the origin of the expression "winging it!" While this information is not a pertinent to itmWEB, I think it's interesting trivia.
I bought my first computer, a Commodore 64, 20 years ago. My intent was to become "computer literate." After six months of hard work I was able to put together a passage about a cowboy that, as I remember, contained the phrase "Hi Tex!" My big accomplishment was selling that sucker (the Commodore)! I became a much more effective salesman as a result of that experience.
My next computer was an IBM XT with a 10-Megabyte hard drive. The cost of the computer, monitor (12" black and white), and Epsom dot matrix printer, along with MultiMate and Lotus 123 software, was just over $3000.00. Now I felt I was "cooking"! My letdown came when I then purchased and installed Dbase 3.0. Have you ever experienced this version of Dbase? It opened with a word that meant nothing and a blinking cursor; I could never get pass the opening display- even after reading the manual and buying two "How To" books!
My first encounter with a computer virus came shortly after I had mastered the XT. It was called the "Just Got To Have It Virus." When you get this "virus" you are never satisfied with what you have. I had it bad and in rapid order I bought an AT; then a Pentium; and, then another Pentium . . . ad infinitum. When you have the virus it is easy to explain away the economic reality that the money being made with your computer is insufficient to pay for the upgrades. I think I still have the "virus."
Living in Albuquerque has given me the opportunity to learn a bit about Bill Gates. It is common knowledge that he founded MicroSoft in Albuquerque, and it is local knowledge that he was arrested and incarcerated by the police for driving without a driver's license. They went so far as to put his mug shot on file- he really "ticked them off!"
It is claimed by a small group of "Locals In The Know" that there never would have been a "Windows" program if Gates had stayed in Albuquerque. They say that his first operating system never made it to market, and it was titled Uno. According to them Dos, his second program, was the up-grade of Uno, and Windows 3.0 would have been named Tres. Of course it must be realized that Albuquerque is influenced by its Hispanic population, and I picked up this information at the Rotary Club from a bunch of old guys like me. I must add that I do not believe that this is reliable information!
I think this is a wise place to pause. I need to leave something on the plate for next time. So, until then, as we say it in Albuquerque- "Adios!"
A technology consultant and executive for the last ten years, Bill Finney has a unique insight into the cutting edge of personal technology.
Copyright © 2001, Bill Finney, All Rights Reserved.
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