I am pretty confident that the new screen technology CCFL is going to fail, it has a 4 letter name. Clearly you need a 3 letter variant to be a successful display technology.

Well back in the day I actually started on monochrome screens based on EGA graphics. Some were black and white and some orange orange and black.

I have used  Wyse terminals. Yuck

Those were the bad old days (the eighties)

When VGA became the standard I used a slew of 12″ to 15″ Monitors. For a very long time the 15″CRT monitor was the most common monitor in use. This is undoubtedly the reason I wear glasses today.

Finally 17″ CRT started appearing on the market, very expensive, very desirable.

Then 17″ CRT became the standard.

In a spinal tap homage I used 19″ CRT’s Sony Trinitron’s for a while, they were the same price as 15″ TFT at the time.

I moved from my single 19″ CRT to Twin 15″ TFT using a Matrox video card. That was really good for a while.

After I broke up the twin 15″ TFT’s I moved to a twin 17″ TFT setup but soon got bored.

This brings us up to date I use a single 20″ Widescreen as a primary display. I am itching to go back to a twin setup. I was tempted yesterday by a 24″ Display but I think I would be more productive using two 20″ Displays over one 24″ Display.

I use Remote desktop day in, day out and having multiple computers running on multiple screens, from multiple remote locations is pretty cool. 

Anyway the days of CRT are long over.

Tip: If you are still using a CRT Monitor, replace it with a more energy efficient TFT model. You will save money in the long run and have more room your desk back.

The Apricot Zen

My first ever job in technology was working for Apricot Computer World in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I was 18 at the time and I was classed as junior technical support.

I remember a sitting in on a demo with a salesman and a client interested in buying an Apricot PC. Back then the PC would have cost about 2000 pounds.

The demo consisted of Wordstar the word processing application of the day.

This is DOS remember 3.3 or something like. 

The hardware would have been a 80286 or 80386

As part of the demo the salesman would print a letter to a Dot Matrix Printer. (how exciting that must have been for the client).

I vividly remember the salesman explaining the hard disks, this boiled down to a choice of 20mb or 40mb. “With the 40mb model you will never need to worry about running out of space”.

I love the fact I was introduced to the PC at just the right time for technology to capture my imagination and here I am 20 years later.

I was very lucky at age 17 (1987) I got access to my first PC and here we are 20 years later.

I still feel like the youngest old person in Technology. Example I grew up using Intel’s 8086, 80286, 80386, 80486, Pentium etc.

The first PC I spent my own money on was an intel based 386SX it ran at a whole 16Mhz and cost a whole month’s salary.

Here some examples of how technology has changed in the last 20 years.

Music:
In 1987 I was debating if CD was going to replace Vinyl.
In 2007 I am debating if downloading is going to replace physical CD’s. Although the debate would be over if the issue of DRM didnt exist.

In 1987 I had a Sony Walkman with its 90mins worth of music (45mins per side)
In 2007 I have an 80gig Video iPod with my entire music collection in it.

Lifestyle:
In 1987 I used to write letters to my girlfriend who lived in Australia.
In 2007 if I had a loved one far away I would use e-mail and Instant Messaging.

Radio:
In 1987 I would listen to BBC Radio or Local Radio.
In 2007 I listen to KCRW in Santa Monica

Shopping:
In 1987 I would actually go to the shops.
In 2007 I don’t.

Computers:
In 1987 If I needed to install or configure some software on a computer I would actually have to go to the computer and sit in front of it.
In 2007 The majority of this type of work can be done remotely.

In 1987 I had one computer.
In 2007 I have several.

In 1987 I wanted a pocket sized computer.
In 2007 I have one.