Commodore Free 35/Commodore_Free_Issue_35_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/evil pc

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 12KB | 356 lines

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          Evil Computers
          by Lord Ronin
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I rant on the glory and wonder of the
Commodore PC in my writings, irc and
in real life. As it is the system
that took a computer phobic to a
fanatical C= user But what did it
have to overcome? I don't just mean
me, personally, but for my
generation. Making the question of
what was wrong with computers and my
generation?

The question is answered in the title
to this piece.

OK I am a baby boomer, somewhere
around 60 years of age. Well
physically if not mentally. So lets
take the TARDIS and jump back to the
late 50s, and into the 60s I think I
can remember the 60s. Sort of all in
a purple haze to me.

Computers and Robots which were the
same thing back in that time, were
vile evil creations of ancient races
or mad scientists or alien invaders.
Trying to destroy mankind and or the
Earth. Well that is what we were told
as kids in that time. Tossed at us in
the Saturday night monster movies You
know those 2nd features at the drive
in, (does that show my age?) Given to
us for entertainment. even Gort in
the Day the Earth Stood Still, is a
computer Robot, and could destroy the
world. And that movie was tame
compared to the others we saw in that
time. Comic books, (and I read a lot
of them at that time). Computers
controlled people and robots. All of
them seemed to be the enemy. T.V.
shows gave us mixed messages. Some
robots and computers where friends,
and more intelligent than the
characters, self sacrificing servant
(the slave) of man.

My mind remembers that those shows
were pretty lame even for my age.
Take Star Trek, how many good
computer - robotic systems existed?
Even the one on the Enterprise gave
them problems at times. Though I have
not seen it for over 40 years. I
remember in the Avengers, that there
was a mad computer thing. Then in my
favourite show the Prisoner in the
episode 'The General". The computer
is programming the members of the
Village. Another one had a mind
transfer story, with of course was
completed with the aid of a computer.
Then at the end of that series. #1
sees them using the computers to set
off the missile.

Of course there are also the novels.
I still have many of them with the
(get ready for this one!) 35 cent
cover price! Paper back books in the
Sci-fi field. Good ones and ones that
make my work look like Pulitzer prize
winning material. One I remember was
computers running star ships to
conquer the universe. Or was that a
collection of books using that very
same theme? This went into the 80s as
well. Can't remember the series or
the author. But I remember the
computers going after "bad life" in
several books in the series by the
author. Even today, in the prequels
to the Dune series, there are the
computers as bad guys (Butlerian
Jihad for Dune fans)

I love the Geny and Sylvia Anderson
shows. FireBall XL5, Stingray,
Thunderbirds, Joe 90, U.F.O.. and
Gerry's show TerraHawks. Those are
the ones that after, more years than
I want to count. I have collected on
DVD. Few more that I want to find as
well. But for this piece of text. Oh
yeah there are stories about bad
computers Even for a kids show.
Another one of that time that I like,
though to be honest never saw the
show just the movie, till 1982. But
have rented all that I could find and
am buying them up now on DVD. "Dr.
Who," and for those that know me I am
not the William Hartnell Doctor.
Though about as cranky and goruchy
(LOL). And yeah computers are also
the bad thing. One episode in
particular sticks out in my mind.
Keys of Time series, where the enemy
planet is run by the computer.

OK you are getting the idea that my
generation. Based on the media to
which we were exposed. Have an image
of computers that is a bit off. Not
only that they are evil things But
that they are impersonal and are
stripping the user of all
personality. Take the stereotype
image of a computer user in the 60s
and early 70s. Short haired, thick
glasses, held together with tape.
White button down shirt with plastic
pocket protector. Stuffed with pens
and diddle sticks. Absolutely no
personal life outside of dealing with
the computer. Ah for the record. I
don't look like that at all. (EDITOR
hmmmmmmmm I do! and come to think of
it I have no life outside computers,
wouldn't it be cool to live in a
house shaped like a Commodore 64 !
Sorry go on ..)

More like something that crawled out
of the jungle from the war, and or a
crazed biker. Blow that stereotype.
But then today EC all break that
image.

Well there is a lot of input to my
generation. So far I have related the
media input and social input to our
impressionable minds. Remember also
that in the 60s we were a bit
rebellious against the established
order of the establishment. Oh wait I
still am. So computers where looked
upon as impersonal things that also
would take jobs away from people.

But there is another input that made
computers evil for us. This one I
witnessed. My Dad got in the gas
bill. Can't remember the amount, but
it was way over the monthly income.
He hit the roof, well he hit the
walls. Went from English to German. I
knew that meant he was ticked off,
and then into Yiddish. OK that meant
it was time to head to the bunker.
Dad was livid. He went to the phone
and well. I can't repeat what he
said. As this is not a restricted
publication. Oh he was hot on the
phone. Didn't help when they told him
that computers don't make mistakes.
Now it isn't that the amount on the
bill was wrong, though it was! Ah you
see, we had propane. We were many
miles from the gas line. I mean, we
didn't have natural gas in the house.
But they said we did and that we owed
that gigantic amount of money.

Years later when I was in college. I
learned some key punching in Fortran
for my electronics degree. There I
learned how a misread line by the key
punch operator could smeg everything
up. OK and how to make those cards
disintegrate in the machines. Dad
eventually won the bill problem. When
the meter reader came out to the
house. Not being able to find a gas
meter, let alone a gas main within 10
miles of the house. This happened to
many people with utility bills, as
well as bank statements. I still
remember the "Please do not fold
spindle or mutilate" messages on the
bills. As they where the punch cards.

That class I had to take, is where I
heard more of the honour stories of
computers and people in the 60s.
Fingers being smashed or cut off in
the machines. In fact I remember the
room with the actual computer. Ran on
magnetic tape reels. Was a super
clean room. Hat. coat, booties, and I
had to have a mask because of my
beard. Went in there just once. Swear
it took most of the class time to put
on and then remove all that stuff.

So take all of that, and you can get
the idea why members of my generation
were computer phobic at my level, and
just not that interested at the lower
level. But what could turn us around?
Ah. kids man, kids. When the C=64
come out. I was on my 3rd marriage.
My kids by my first wife were 6 and
11. And not living with me. So it
puts me out of the field. However in
talks with others of my generation, I
gained the information. Computers
didn't have the same feeling for the
kids of our generation, that they had
for us. They really hadn't entered
the work place in any real force. OK
I had them where I worked, because I
was the Chief Tech for a local Radio
Shack store, and dealt with the
TRS-80 4k units. Which I sold to
parents for their kids. I think the
cost was like $400 or $600 for them.
Really can't remember that one.

OK many of you know that I am into
Role Playing Games. For over 30
years. Well not all of these games
are sword and sorcery. I enjoy the
Sci-Fi ones, and the Espionage ones.
But my feelings towards computers
became a road block. In fact I took
my favourite game Top Secret, the
first espionage game. Putting it in
1971. Besides being a familiar time
frame for me. But it also meant not
having to deal with computers. But in
games like Traveller, well there are
computers. I could have the dice
rolls for the players to do things
with for and to the computers. But
couldn't story tell that part of the
story for the game. Made the game go
flat when there was anything dealing
with computers. One gamer at the time
had a Franklin computer. He tried to
get me to do something with it. and I
bloody well near had a panic attack.

My mum had been trying to get me into
the computer thing. Saying that I was
a writer and needed the computer for
that sort of work. Well it took  a
late Hannukha present, and her having
a quintuple bypass for me to go visit
her and pick up the system. Scared to
death of thing. All the way on the
400 mile drive, then worse when it
was sitting on the coffee table, and
two of the commune members hooked it
up for a test. More scared to do
anything with it. like I would
destroy something. Well I did later
and more than once with disks. But
that is another tale.

Eventually I went over the 64 guide.
Can't remember how long it took. But
it was over a day and I did it in one
sitting. Not a thing I would suggest
to anyone. What is the most important
about this book is that it was made
for me. Not for the kids of the early
80s. But for me the non computer
liker of some level. That book takes
you from putting the system together
into making Michael row the boat
ashore, as a musical piece. I never
did that part to this day. What I did
do is change in that one session from
the computer phobic, to tolerating
and then wanting more. Now today a
Commodore fanatic. Sure I can say it
is because of the greatness of the
Commodore system. But no that isn't
the truth of how I changed. Only why
I still use the Commodore PC. That
book is what created the change.

Now it may be only my own mind that
feels this way. But it is my theory
that the users guide was made for the
father to read, and not the kids. I
have this image in my mind. Where Dad
has been badgered like only kids can
do to a parent. Finally buying the
64. Taking it home, hooking it up on
a coffee table to the T.V. Just to
make the kids happy. Then to
understand the thing. So he could
tell the kids what to do and not to
do. he went over the manual. I have
that feeling because of the way the
manual reads to me. Writing style and
the presentation of the contents.
Maybe it is just me, or it was
intentional by CBM or it is just an
accident that it happened that way.
But for me that manual was what
turned me from scared to death to
fanatical devotee.

Now I also use a Linux. Know many
people that use other PC platforms.
They don't have the relationship that
I have to this Commodore. That is to
their other computer platforms. I see
them or hear about them, going online
to do e-mail, play games, watch TV.
get the news, listen to a radio
station, and all of those other
things. I have even heard about a
parent using an instant messaging
thing to let the rest of the family
know it was dinner time. Having like
4 computers set up for the entire
family. Thinking about that and how
we were media blasted about computers
controlling us. Well I guess for non
C= users that tag line I saw long ago
is true. "The Computer Wars are over.
The Computers won!" We programme the
C=. the other platforms seem to
programme us. Guess for many what we
feared as kids has become a reality.
We are the servants of the computers,
they have taken over. Except for us
C= users. Oh wait a moment. I spend 5
or more hours a day working on
writing stuff with my Commodore.
Guess I was taken over as well, but
at least by the friendly PC (VBG)

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