Bernie Michalik's posterous site

This photo was taken around 16 years ago, in 1996. This is the first of
many photos of her sitting in front of a computer. It may seem laughable
now, but I loved that computer. It was a very fast (at the time) 486 PC
with an orange plasma screen. More importantly, I could take it home, dial
into the office over a screamingly fast 28.8 kbps US Robotics modem (or was
it 14.4 or 33.6?) and do my work. I loved that: i could work at work or i
could work at home. Working at home was still a big deal back then -
technically and culturally - and this big portable computer (a luggable)
allowed me to do that. (It was so heavy that after a summer of taking it
back and forth, my shoulders were more muscular than before i had it).

Around this time, web browsers were coming out (IE 1 came out the summer
before) and in the second half of the 90s people rapidly adopted email and
then the web. (I still recall people being so excited to have an email
address. Really!)

My daughter has grown up with portable computers and web and the internet.
When this was taken, it was done light heartedly. But now i am glad it was,
because in a way it positions her life historically, like an old photo you
might come across of a relative in a model T.

So much was changing at the time in terms of technology. Of course the most
important change in my life was sitting on my lap, not sitting on the
table. But it was a revolutionary time, and my daughter was born during it.
For all that i am glad.

That said, i am also glad personal computers no longer weigh 40 pounds. :)

Thanks for ready this.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.