Flashback Friday: The Dark Ages

I think I can best show my age [35] when I tell you that I remember when computers were a new-fangled entity.

In fifth grade I sat in Mr. Stillman’s class learning the keyboard skills I would need to use the gigantic Apple computer that sat in the corner. You know, the ones with the plate-sized floppy disks that could save a whole one page paper on them. We were in the big leagues. And I can still hear the recorded voice saying, “J, K, L, semi, semi, semi…” as it instructed us to hit the keys on our paper replica keyboards.

The good old days.

Just to further the amazement, I took a typing class in high school… not a computer course. I’m not sure ‘the young-uns’ have ever even heard the term typewriter. They’ll never know the joys of white-out strips or pushing the return handle to start a new line… or the gentle whir of a contraption that needed a minute to warm up before typing. Now if my computer makes a noise I’m fearful it’s self destructing.

Oh, people, we have moved into the big leagues here at the gitzengirl blog. Mmm-hmm. We’ve gone from this:

to this:

Isn’t it pretty?

Someone thinks they look pretty sitting next to it, too. As if it’s not enough that his furry mug is already on the screen…

See that, people? That’s a lighted keyboard for all those times I type in the dark. At first I thought that was just this side of silly, but as migraine season is settling in I’m starting to think it’s kind of a brilliant idea.

And the part of this computer that has me freaking giddy? It’s an organizational playground. See how clean the desktop looks, free of all of those annoying shortcuts to programs that normally line the screen? That’s because of the ‘Dell Dock’ … the strip on the left-hand side. It has categories that you can put your shortcuts in, so they are accessible – yet out of the way. And on the right-hand side? WIDGETS! I can put widgets on my desktop!!! It syncs with the weather and the time and my email and my Google calendar.

I think I’m in love.

And grateful to be off Ambien… I’d hate to think of a marker touching the lovely spring green. :)