Originally Posted by Lisanne
Originally Posted by Baren*eh*ked_canadian
... honestly I think it so cool that there are older folks who are just as computer savvy and up to date with technology to be able to keep up with the younger generation. ...
I guess I automatically assume that older people can't be bothered to keep up with technology and I was pleasantly surprised to find how many people here are of that generation and just as capable as the rest, and with more experience on the subject at hand than I!
Originally Posted by Blockhead
Lol - guess which generation were young when home computers came to be? Guess which generation played with them, programmed them and improved them? Who were in their 20's & 30's when VCR's were invented?
I got my first PC over 25+ years ago and have used one almost daily ever since. I introduced computers & the internet to my kids, who are now older than you are.
I grant you, Baren*, those of us in our 50s and above didn't grow up with home computers.
Originally Posted by Baren*eh*ked_canadian
I had a commodore 64 when I was a kid, I think those were among the first computers... didn't do much 'work', was mostly games and stuff.
Actually, they did whatever you wanted them to do. The difference is that back then, there wasn't much pre-packaged software other than games. Users were pretty much expected to program their own applications, not something most people took to. And the graphics and the Internet weren't as sophisticated - but both existed.
I would say PCs have been in most people's homes for 15 - 20 years now. Granted, my parents' generation (70s+) has more trouble with them than mine, but there are people of all ages that are savvy and others of all ages that use them without understanding them.
What's funny is that I didn't get my first PC until I was 34. But I'd learned about them back in 1980, when you had to maintain your computer yourself and program any apps you wanted (except for games and word processing - and the first computer spreadsheet had just been invented). When I got mine in 1994, I knew you could buy more apps, but I had no idea most people no longer maintained their own systems, so I set out to learn to do my own upgrades and installs and troubleshooting. It changed my life, because I ended up working in IT (not doing maintenance, though).
Well, I meant older people like, 70s and up, and I didn't mean the computers didn't do much work, just that I didn't do much work :)
That being said, my uncle, who died about 2 years ago and was in his 80s, was the biggest computer genius I have ever met. And I have several friends who are computer geeks.