My Computer

Have you ever wondered how the computer business got its names for its functions? Just imagine how we utilized these terms before the computer (as we know it) came along. This was sent to me by my kid brother Phil. If you want a challenge, see if you can add to this.

Memory was something you lost with age
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity

A keyboard was a piano
A web was a spider's home
A virus was the flu
A CD was a bank account

A hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived

I bought my first computer in 1984, a portable weighing 47 pounds. It worked well, more like a typewriter, with few amenities. Then I owned a series of computers, mostly portables. My daughter gave me her used computer which was tiny in comparison, worked well, and I was on my way. Each computer successively was supposedly an improvement but not always. They could do more than the previous, more quickly, and kept adding features until today they are very efficient, fast, with spell-checkers, dictionaries, thesaurus, and the internet.

In my experience they were temperamental at times, did things unexpectedly, changed without being changed, got invaded by bad guys out to get information or raise havoc. Programs were added that I requested only to find out that 4 or 5 other unneeded, unwanted, and sometimes pesky (a polite word) extras tagged along and had a way of hiding.

We were forced to purchase new or updated programs hopefully to keep our computers free from bugs and bullies and did so to some extent.The really clever rascals seemed to be one step ahead of the good guys.

Then, as the years crept up on me, and I didn't have any nearby grandkids to fix my problems, I had to pay dearly for assistance which sometimes didn't last. Now companies that provide the essentials get into my computer and make changes without telling me. So I wake up in the morning with a computer message: WE HAVE UPGRADED YOUR COMPUTER DO NOT SHUT DOWN. They also get in and do things without telling me. Why can't computers be more like the good ol' dependable typewriter? My old electric typewriter never quit. It ended up on a shelf raring to go but never got a second chance.