Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

In which I try to understand why I own a computer.

I bought my first personal computer in 1983. It was a Kaypro portable (luggable) that ran CP/M and had two new-fangled floppy disks that held 360KiloBytes of information each (a huge upgrade to the prior model that had 180KB floppies). I bought this because I was in graduate school and had to write papers for classes, frequently. The alternative was to go to a computer lab on campus and write the papers there. By owning a computer, I could stay home with my wife on weekends. Good reason, right?

Today I have an Apple iMac of some sort or other. I don’t recall if it is two or five years old. I lose track of these things these days. I also have a MacBook Air to carry about with me. I bought it because my prior Apple laptop quit working after five years (or was it seven years, I forget).

If I didn’t own my personal computer, where would I go to compute? I have no idea. The Internet is out there with everything a computing person wants. Still, I need a screen and probably a keyboard to reach the Internet.

Still, if I didn’t own a computer, where would I go?

I guess I would go to the public library and signup for an hour of time on a public machine. I could also go to a university lab and use a computer there. Still, having my own means I can stay home with my wife on weekends.