Remember when?

I’m finally getting caught up again on some correcting and lesson planning and looking at the article on hyperlinks gets me thinking about my own computer literacy and when it began exactly. Using Outlook confused me initially. When I began temping in New York City, I have to laugh at how dim I was, perhaps because I was working with a PC, which tells you to click on “Start” to shut down? When I had to give another employee a message, I simply walked down the aisle and peered over a cubicle. Very soon, she tiptoed down to my cubicle and told me that they used email to communicate all messages.

The article mentions that in 1980 few people were using computers for writing prose, and I am reminded that I didn’t purchase my first computer until 2000, twenty years later. I remember feeling so behind during the nineties until I bought my first laptop (a Sony Vaio…at vast expense). And then I used dial up. I don’t remember how slow it was because eventually I had wireless.

Getting lost in hyperlinks does make sense, though. When I read an article with hyperlinks, it is simply out of curiosity when I use them, and I wind up reading losing myself in another blog or article. For example, I was reading from one of my favorite blogs, Digby, then followed a link to a blog I’ve heard of but never read, Suburban Guerilla. I think from there I clicked on something else and read a great blog condemning Sarah Palin. Reading hyperlinks takes time. Then again, I find it useful when I want to know where additional information can be found.