Aaron Luhm
English 191
Prof. Hennes
9/5/2012
My
Generation
Technology is one of the greatest milestones our
generation has ever experienced. We see it all around us, It’s everywhere. I
will guarantee there is some sort of electronic your living room, in your kitchen,
and hell even your pocket! Daily living is now nearly impossible without it. At
a very young age, I remember one of the first times I used a computer. It was on
one of those ancient Mac computers that had all the hype back in the day. When
my dad finally bought the first family computer, I was about five or six. It
was crazy; I didn’t know what to think. The workroom was the new computer room.
When I walked in the room, all I saw was the bright screen reflecting off the
walls of the room. My brothers were huddled around the computer, so couldn’t
really get a good look at it. I wasn’t extremely interested because I was six
and probably more amused playing with action figures.
After a couple hours of waiting while my brothers to
configured everything, I glanced at the giant 15-inch screen. I kept seeing
this tiny little arrow running across the screen side to side. I wondered what
it was. I didn’t want to ask or say anything to my brothers because I knew
there was a simple answer. Plus, my older brother Ian (aspiring meteorologist) would
give me shit for it. I noticed my oldest brother Justin (the computer junkie)
doing something strange with his arm. He was holding something in his hand
moving his arm back and forth. It wouldn’t stop clicking in his hand; It had a
high-pitched click that wouldn’t stop. Sounded like something you’d hear from
an African beetle or small rodent. He was moving it back and forth across the
table, doing the same motions over and over and over. His eyes were glued to
the screen like a zombie fixed on prey. Finally, realized that the arrow on the
screen had movement because of the object Justin was holding in his hand.
After watching for a little bit, I had a good idea on how
to use it. My brothers had finally grown tired, so now it was my turn. The start
screen showed two pieces of information: Username and Password. For about ten
minutes, I sat there trying to figure out what the word username meant. I
repeatedly typed random words into text box with repeated failure. I was about
to call it quits because I was so frustrated. I found a note above the computer
in the cupboard. It appeared to be written by my dad because of the sloppy handwriting.
It gave a list of everyone in the family’s usernames and passwords. Username: Luhmaar08 Password:12673. I typed everything word for word, and I
was inside the computer.
Finally, got inside my as account and I immediately
started to fiddle. I was timid to click on any applications that the computer
had. I was afraid I might cause a malfunction and make the computer break. My
favorite accessory on the new computer was the Paint application you find in ‘tools’. I spent hours upon hours
just making meaningless pictures any kid would draw. Except there was a
difference, I didn’t need a piece of paper. I didn’t need crayons or markers; I
didn’t have to get my hands dirty. With a couple delicate clicks I could make a
work of art on the computer. I even printed out a picture that I had made
because I was so proud. Every picture I made on Paint was a picture Van Gogh
would approve of.
I began to grow tired of the
painting, so I decided to explore the computer some more. I looked at so many
different applications that did so many different things. I found one called Word that lets you type papers for
letters and schoolwork. Another one was call Solitaire. The application symbol was the King of Hearts, so I knew
it was a card game. I didn’t really know how to play so exited out of that
pretty quick. As I wandered on the endless supply of data, I found Internet Explorer. Curiosity hit me
quick, as I moved the arrow above the logo. When I clicked, I waited a moment
for it to load. I sounded like an exciting video game where you “Explored the
Internet”. I didn’t even know what Internet meant. “eeeeeeee aaaaaaaa e-ung,
e-ung pththththththththshshshshshshshshsh eeeeee uuuuuu doo doot!” I
immediately jumped out of my seat as the noise started. The computer was
talking to me.
Where in the world did that noise come from? The computer
made the strangest noise I had ever heard. It sounded like a Transformer from
those old 80’s cartoons. I was so startled I shut the computer off immediately
after it stopped talking. I was ready for bed; my eyes were burning due to the
computer screen. It felt like I had learned how to ride a bike again. I had my
fair share of amusement for the night. It was my first time ever using
something like that. I never even knew something like that had existed. My mind
was wandering.
