Thursday, June 27, 2013

Search, Copy And Paste

Cover of CHIP Magazine No.1
Cover of CHIP Magazine
It started with The Register's Retro Week. Later, around this time last year, when I received a (printed) copy of a magazine on the 30th anniversary of the Commodore C64, it came with a USB thumb drive which contained the PDF version of the very first issue of the (German) CHIP Magazine. Flipping through the virtual pages I became quite nostalgic, even though I have to say that I haven't been aware of the whole matter back in 1978. But that changed only a couple of years later.
 
I still have quite vivid memories of a German distance learning TV series that has been aired back then called Telekolleg. (The program still exists but is different today, of course.) They had a set of episodes during which they covered what was called computer basics. They explained the computers' core components and functional units in theory (based on the von Neumann architecture, if I am not mistaken) and later programmed a simple computer that was based on this design. Programming meant flipping switches and running a program made some LEDs blink. Back then, this was amazing, and it still is pretty cool when you think about it! (Note2self: get a copy of those episodes.)

Talking to (more often than not younger) colleagues about "computers and stuff" can be quite interesting. The junior developer I work with, for example, was born when the C64 became publicly available. The guy missed those "early years" completely. He only knows PCs as boxes with exchangeable components, expansions, running some kind of "highly sophisticated" operating system, well hidden underneath a graphical user interface. And for some reason he, like many others I know, have no interest at all re learning about what is under the hood, what makes things tick.

Well, I have no idea yet why the junior developer is less curious about the tools he is actually working with, but obviously the "entry levels" for those joining the field of computers today are different from those I found when I did. Which makes me wonder what that could actually mean. What are possible differences between how young people are getting to know computers these days and how my generation got in touch with this kind of machines, while what we have in common is that we are interested in this technology?

Thinking back, what comes to my mind first is that only few things were ready. If you were lucky enough to be allowed to work with the equipment at school (or even luckier because your parents could buy it for you) you found almost "naked" machines. For quite some time getting a computer wasn't easy, but getting informations on them and examples or ideas where and how to start with was pretty hard and time-consuming, too. There was no Internet, well not the kind we take for granted today. There were only BBS', and you could cosider yourself lucky if you had the means and allowance to connect to one.
Apart from teaching each other, over the years magazines and books opened new horizons: making the machines work meant coding, meant understanding this computer thing as a whole. The printed media provided lots of listings, and working with those listings meant reading them, typing them in and understanding them. And when the last typos had been removed and the whole thing finally did what it was meant to do, starting to change parts of it was the way to go, thus gaining an even better understanding the (basic) concepts and ideas. It was quite an adventurous time.

So, what is so different today? First off, most things are ready to go. Which on the one hand is great as it makes consuming stuff pretty easy. Unbox it, set up the cabeling and you are done. There is a full-blown operating system taking care of almost everything, coated with some kind of graphical user interface, and all you have to care about are applications. And most of the times those are as easy to get as the loads of information you might feel you should look for: the Internet and a variety of search engines are at your service.
Talking of which, the skills of doing good searches have become very important. But with all that information and data at your fingertips it is tempting to solve problems by just doing a search, copy and past the results. Still not what is needed? Another search might fix this! For people like "my" junior developer there was and is no real need to deal with basics, learn elemetary electronics or coding.

Of course, those who have a significant level of curiosity will always try to find out what is under the hood. And there are lots of curious people, which is a good thing! But I still think that today, folks can (and do) start on a completely different level, which in a way resembles driving a car than anything else: it might be helpful to understand some of the machinery, but you can drive a car without that knowledge. (If you have what it takes to be a "good" driver, that's a different story.)
The whole universe of computers has become so normal and so "userfriendly" that you don't have to learn things the hard way any more. You can reach almost every goal and create amazing (sometimes even highly complex) solutions with amazing little in-depth knowledge and experience. If you are good at search, copy and past, some might think of you as a wizard.

In the end it is a question of the personal mindset, a question of (personal) curiosity and a question of means. Those who don't want to just solve a problem, but are aiming at providing a really good solution will always try to find out more, will try to get the bigger picture, will try to use the tools at hand in the most creative way possible. Maybe it makes them feel more complete, maybe it is simply satisfying to have learned about the details and knowing that one doesn't have to take care of them at the moment, maybe it is just for the fun of it. Either way, it is a level those who are masters of search, copy and past will never reach.

I have plans to visit my parents this weekend. Maybe I should rake the attic for my old Commodore VC-20. And there are some small unfinished projects based on my Raspberry Pis waiting for me. All good fun - and it might include some search, copy and paste, too.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Red, Red Eyes

I'm not sure why it happened. I cannot say what triggered it. But when I started to cry I couldn't stop for a while. And I cried quite violently.

I felt angry, I felt alone. I felt strangely trapped. I felt betrayed, I felt – empty.
And this emptiness was quickly filled by a kind of world-weariness. My mind started spinning around while tears streamed down my cheeks. The salty taste is special.

I thought about my parents and how little time will be left to be shared with them. For some reason I hate the idea that parents witness their children leaving this world.
I thought about all my plants and that they need someone to look after them. They cannot survive on their own, at least not for long.

The only living beings that depend on me: my parents and my plants. An interesting mix, to say the least. And like a wave, I could feel it, running through my body, towards my eyes, and I cried even more.

Something to live for, something to die for. I tried to focus on that, but failed to do so. I could still feel the tears running down my cheeks. It sounds weird to hear yourself sob.

I don't know how long it lasted. I think I don't want to know. Somehow I calmed down.

When I managed to get up and walked around my flat, I passed a mirror. And looking at my face, all I could see were my red eyes. It has been a while.

Maybe it is time. Time to move on. Time to start something new. Time to – get some sleep.

Red eyes. They hurt.