The more things change the more they stay the same

So I have a few requests that I post more often, most of them from the same baby crazed sister. So I feel that I need to explain that my computer is running slow as molasses and even though one might think a person with 7 years experience in the computer software industry might know everything about computers, I am actually hiding a very embarrassing secret. I am a luddite. I had enough time mastering how to use our first family computer, the TRS80 aka "Trash 80". Next was the Apple IIGS which I would play countless hours of Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail on. Then, we had to get a new computer, some large IBM contraption, with the prodigy communication software so that my younger brother could tie up the phone line for hours. Then it was on to college where we had Macs. Then my first job where I had to learn and use Windows and develop software for various notepads and palm devices. I got my first personal laptop for christmas of 1999: an apple ibook. It seems like just when I get the hang of computer, it is old and a better and faster one is needed. We now have a 4 year old Dell at home and it is slow and I really do not want to get a new computer...but what about my music and picture files? Surfing the web at faster and faster speeds? Playing video games and movies? It is really an out-of-control "keeping up with the electronic Joneses."
Why do I see a new "Quick Start Guide" in my near future?




Our first family computer. It is hard not to feel a bit nostalgic when looking at this picture.