Wow!

My dad jokes that he's got the best tech support for his computer because at any time of the day or night he can call either of his sons to help troubleshoot his computer issues. What tickles me is that the issues Michael and I help him troubleshoot typically involve resizing pictures, navigating the complicated procedures for sending an email attachment, or just mastering the intricacies of the cut/copy/paste commands: sometimes the problems prove more challenging when a printer or scanner is involved. I jest because it's fair to say he knows he'd be lost at times without our help. (I love you, Dad!) As my father exemplifies, not everyone is computer literate. Although he has come a long way in his understanding of all things computer related, in Jedi terms my dad would still be considered a Padawan.

One of my responsibilities at work involves answering telephone calls for customer support. Today I answered one such call that had me assisting an elderly gentleman, who preferred to be called Doc, in downloading one of our products onto his computer for synching data with his phone. This customer's knowledge of computers paled next to that of my dad's. Doc made my father look like a computing Jedi Master. Just explaining the simple procedure of clicking "Download" on our webpage and "Save" on the box that would pop-up next so that he would receive the product he purchased from us took all of 39 minutes! My instructions became as simple as "Yes, you will want to use the Program Internet Explorer to access our webpage" and "What does your pop-up blocker advise you to do next?" It was a very interesting half hour of conversational hand holding.

During my online session of Computing for Beginners: Downloading 101, Doc commented on the advantage I had in being able to learn all about computers at such a young age. He said at his age he didn't think he'd be able to learn half of what I already know. This began a short discussion about our ages. As it turns out, Doc is 77 years old. He guessed me to be twenty-four by the sound of my voice. (Not even close, but I wonder if I'd look that young without the beard.) All this talk of age lead Doc to reveal that as a young man he saw the first ever public display of a television set at the New York World's Fair in April 1939. He said as you entered the pavilion for the television demonstration a camera captured your image as you walked in front of the set so that you could see yourself on TV. Wow! Can you imagine how that moment must have felt... to see television for the first time? It must have been like watching the astronauts first walk on the moon or driving in one of Ford's new Model T automobiles. Looking back in modern history there have been several great technological firsts that recent generations have experienced. Even current generations have already seen the start of the Internet and the widespread use of cell phones. What more lies ahead for us to witness? What great things will we see in our lifetimes?

I wonder if forty plus years from now I'll be able to impress some youngster with the claim that I played the original Pong on a neighbor's television set.