Tracing History of PCs From Apples to Acorns
There once was a time when the personal computer didn’t come with a mouse, CD-ROM drive or Web cam. Yes, it is true.
Shortly after Earth’s crust cooled and human beings began to walk upright, there were such devices. (Of course, sitting hunched over a keyboard did nothing for that newfound posture, but that’s another story.) To prove it, check out sites online paying tribute to our PCs’ predecessors.
Take a stroll through the dinosaur hall of fame at https://www.pc-history.org. Like the computers it covers, though, the site is kind of ancient.
But if you really want to see some ancient stuff, check out https://www.compustory.com. The American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Mont., features photos chronicling the beginnings of the Information Age. Think Sumerian.
Another historical tour, but beginning in modern times, is at ttp://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm. This one starts with the invention of the first programmable computer in 1936, goes to IBM growing a personal computing revolution from its “Acorn,” and ends with 1985’s friendly war between Microsoft and Apple in a series that is to be continued.
While we’re delving into history, https://www.computerhistory.org breaks down five decades of computing, the birth of the Web and when the chip came off the old block. The Computer Museum History Center hosts exhibits real (in Mountain View, Calif.) and virtual.
OK, we realize computing is a hands-on experience. As more of us actually hold on to the boxes we’ve got, they get smarter and, well, we don’t--as fast anyway. They will become obsolete, but tech support probably will be around as long as cockroaches.
About.com offers help on computing support at https://pcsupport.about.com. There, you can find its PC Support Toolkit, get an “under the hood” tour of the PC, check out the quick reference library and scan a list of links to articles.
For more, you can check out the About.com writer’s own site, at https://www.pcsupportchick.com, which mostly is a compilation of links.
Some of the popular PC manufacturers’ support sites include: https://www.pc.ibm.com/support, https://www.compaq.com/support, https://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support and https://support.micronpc.com.
And if you just can’t get enough, check out https://www.techsupportalert.com/issues/PC%20Alert%20Issue%2002.htm. The site collects information on the latest service releases, new patches for standard applications and new virus problems, among others.
For folks who insist on calling tech support, https://www.pcmech.com/about.htm will give you something to do for the hours you’ll be on hold. It provides tutorials on tasks from installing a video card to assembling one from scratch.
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Michelle Maltais is a broadcast producer and copy editor at The Times.
