Cogito, ergo sum (I am thinking, therefore I exist) René Descartes
All this (whatever THIS is) began as a pet project. That is, what you find here is the result of want to create a local database that could be used for quick-referencing. Like using a highlighter to (mentally note) hard-copy texts, while reading.
Keep in mind that I began this as an after-work; and when online search engines were not as pervasive as they are today with the likes of Google, Bing (among others); nor was it as authoritative as Wikipedia has become (again, among many others). I’m speaking about a period of internet time whensites like Site Crawler, Ask Jeeves and Netscape constituted a part of that evolvingdigital footprint that online search now encompass.
My objective has been far more modest in conception. I sought to provide (local) access to reference sources via my personal network. In the process, as with the Internet and in the process of doing so, it has grown and taken on a life of its own.
[An aside – my way of saying that I’m about to rant]
It annoys me: listening to the general public (newbies) refer to the World Wide Web as The Internet. I’m at the point where I, now, tolerate the misuse of the two. I blame it on the marketing crowd and the public’s, apparent desire to be fed bits and bytes of (morsels) of information. Why? The entire ‘buffet’ is right there at the Their fingertips. Explore with a purpose.
Appealing to the headline-seeking crowds that populate ‘feeds’ like Twitter or Facebook – remember AOL and its walled portal? – how are they or any other social networks different?
I can recall the derision that was directed at Newbies by geeks, such as myself, who were sucked into the ‘walled’ internet experience that AOL’s portals presented to its users. Today everything is about ‘Get The App’. Which is, essentially a window dressing that relieves the end user of the trouble of actually navigating around the internet. Instead, the App is launched, and like on auto-pilot, they are given a tour of a tightly curated segments of The Internet. Like a trip to Disney World.
Instead of a dial-up modem 14.4Kps running on an Intel 486Mhs or a Pentium Pro connecting to a Bulletin Board services, we now have, always connected, High-speed Fibre connections that can connect you with another person (computer) around the world in nano-seconds, so that you can Zoom (and/or bore) them about your rather ordinary day.
Just think – all that computing power in their hands and the general public is so blase about the devices. Kids with toys. Where’s the MTV crowd today?
I remember the ‘good old days’ when ICONS (Applications/programmes) were invoked via icons situated within the GUI. Icons that, essentially, hid the operating system commands that invoked (scripted) the execution of applications via the clicking of a mouse-pointer. D.O.S or i.O.S command syntax are not for the casual computer user, as any computer-geek will tell you.
As you may surmise, I’m on the techie side of things. I often see irony, while appreciate the ironic humour. The Big Bang Theory, sitcom, thrived on its believability of the show’s characters, across the board.
[Rant Off]
The maintenance of my pet project has evolved to the point where considerable amounts of time is required for its upkeep – especially since the contents were not originally intended to be dynamic in structure. Then there’s the rest of it – the security, backups, updates.
Then BAM! It’s a web, dummy! Hyperlinks are the keys to the World Wide Web). My, once side-project, has become a full-time endeavour; it helps that I’m now ‘retired’. Wait!, that then makes me one of those ‘ole Baby Boomers’ that some among us think ought to be put out to pasture or set adrift on ice floes – like a certain recent ‘retiree‘ should have been. Bite me!
I like my externally attached keyboard, mouse (a precision that touchscreens don’t provide), 32inch flat-screen monitor, all the computing power (Ghz) and storage (Terabytes) that my custom-built computing workhorses provide. Laptops and other mobiles with their tiny screens (seriously, HD on a 7 -10″ screen? There’s a reason why computer visual displays have evolved into what we have today.
Squished keyboards with ‘touch-pads’ don’t move me. Mobile devices are for convenience. Nothing more. Even though they’re capable of massive digital storage and (near-instantaneous) communication with anyone who has access to a corresponding ‘receiving device’ in (almost) any part of the world.
We’re not talking about Dick Tracy’s wrist-watch radio or Get Smart shoe-phone gadgets here. Selfies, anyone?
If you feel the need to attach an external keyboard, mouse or monitor then you might as well go all the way and get yourself a big-boy, that is my position.
Taking into account the tasks involved with maintaining all the devices connecting locally to the single point-of-access to the Internet [gateway] – Anti-virus, Firewall configurations, user-access, hackers, etc, etc., has made me a Home Network Administrator. Sans expectation of fee. Of course. it’s what I do, in my free time – maintain the utility.
Think about that the next time you go ask your buddy or neighbour to ‘help you out’ with something that’s in their field of work, interest(s) or specialty. Geeks like the buddy who loves fishing, automobiles or electronics, for example. Geeks ‘R Us. A geek’s work is never done. Geek, you say? A badge of honour!
For some, modern computing is on par with public utilities. For other, it’s a passion.
31/01/2022 19:24:09 -0500