Tryst with Computer - Part 2

The journey of next 10 years continue...

In 2001, when I came to Chandigarh, I had a different set of experience. Flashy Pen drives of 512 MB / 1 GB (considered to be highest those days), which replaced the floppies. Windows 98 and Windows 2000 were extensively used. Windows 98 even now considered being most rugged operating system much like our Bajaj Chetak Scooters. It never crashed when other operating systems crumbled like humble pie. 20 / 40 GB hard discs from the usual single digit hard discs were popular. Fox pro replaced Dbase. Multimedia key boards, desk jet printers were replacing conventional key boards and dot matrix printers respectively. Projectors, scanners came in existence. The evolutions were thrilling.

Though, I have seen all of these, Internet was an unknown terrain for me. Lot of hesitations surfaced again. Who to approach? But my savior came in the form of my wife’s cousin. She was a young kid and we brought her during May 2001, to Chandigarh during her final year college vacations. When we were talking something, this internet thing popped out and I said I do not know how to create an ID and to use it further. To my surprise, she told that she will help me. The same day evening we went and she created an ID for me. 

I have been seeing and replying mails from that day onwards in cybercafé. After sometime, an ID was created for my wifei as well. When I was in Bagdogra, we used to “chat” on alternate days for 2 hours. This we did for almost 3 months… The instant messages, mails, sending photos as attachments were amazing me.

On 1 May 2003, I bought my PC (which is working fine even now) at 40 GB and 128 MB RAM. My learning continued even in home from that point onwards. However, we did not take an internet connection at that point of time. Wife joined a diploma course in computer applications and we thought it would be useful if we have our own computer for practice. The same computer has been upgraded to 100 GB hard disc and 2 GB RAM as of now. Beyond this the old system cannot take it anymore. No slots, no old parts available for the same..

After coming to Mumbai in 2007, the pinnacle was having a laptop with internet provided by office. The journey to cybercafés came to an end. Things became as easy as I am connected anywhere and everywhere. Getting an internet connection in 2010 for home PC was another feather in the cap. 

Today Mailing, blogging, chatting, posting status in facebook, twitter has become a normal thing. Adding to that, every transaction has become online. Be it telephone, electricity, internet BB, credit card payments, transfer of funds from one bank to another bank or to different people in the same bank or different bank, booking a movie ,train, air or a match ticket, watching a movie online,  all are done through computers. 

Features like having own web album, own blog have become an integral part. When I look back these 20 years, it gives me immense satisfaction as how my life is transformed and I am witness to all of it. It also tells me that if one is willing enough to put in some efforts, dividends are there to reap. 

Thus the romance with computers still continue.. The only irony is that I do not know any programming languages. May be I will pick up one later from my son as he has to study C++ (part of school curriculum). I see an opportunity striking my door… While, I feel that I am confident in something, a different thing pops out, as a new thing and thus the learning continues....