Technology: Today and Now

Alex Lasota
DTC 355
Essay 3 Wdcnt. 1,314
March 12, 2009

                                                      Technology: Today an Now

For this essay, I chose to interview my mother Mary Lasota.  Mary is mother of two, whom presently utilizes her time as a homemaker.  Throughout her life Mary has spent the majority of her hours interacting with various mediated forms.  Graduating from Villanova University with a major in Mechanical Engineering, Mary made frequent use of the analogue technologies such as the typewriter.  Mary states that the typewriter was a difficult medium to utilize, for it wasn’t nearly as efficient as the computer.  When writing her thesis back in 1979, Mary states “if you made a mistake on the typewriter, you had to redo the whole page.” Obviously analog technologies posed as a time constraint, for many individuals, causing them to take twice as long in there thought process as they do today.  

 With the advent of computers, Mary has experienced an easy transition. Mary states that the computer has “brought the world into our home.”  It allows her to manage the household efficiently, as well as research documents at a much faster rate. Not only is the computer a more efficient form of communication, but also is more economically sufficient.  She is able to research products, such as automobiles, rather than traveling from dealership to dealership. Yet even with this improved form of communication, Mary states that she feels her writing has remained the same.  While it may be a more efficient way of writing, individuals are still able to improve their dialect with the aid of a thesaurus. 

Throughout the entirety of the interview, it became quite apparent that individuals, whom utilized analog technologies, feel that the computer is a very beneficial medium in our culture today.  It allows it’s users to budget their time more efficiently, and to some degree can even be more economically sufficient.

Alex: What writing method did you utilize in College, before the advent of computers?

Mary: Hand-written notes, primarily. There were typewriters. But you didn’t take a typewriter to class to type. I had taken a typing class…so I knew how to type.

 Alex: When you were at Villanova, what were the various difficulties you came across when using the typewriter?

Mary: The only difficulty was, I had to do a thesis, and if you made a mistake, you had to redo the whole page. So the secretaries had these programmable ones. So if you got to know the secretaries, you could use theirs. And it was a little more modern. It was almost like the computer, they had these cartridges or something, so you were able to correct your mistakes. backspace…ect. It was somewhat like the precursor of the lab-top.  That was the only time during college that it was great to know the secretary, because the thesis was pretty long. And needless to say, I got to know the secrattieres for this reason. I believe they were IBM computers/typewriters…you were only allowed to them after-hours as well, and not many people knew about them.

Alex: How do you feel a typewriter helped to improve your education? 


Mary: No effect. It didn’t have any effect on my education. The only time I needed a typewriter was for thesis or to type up papers for the required English courses, because a professional document need to be submit.  It did aid in submitting professional papers. But it only aided in 5 percent of my classes, overall I didn’t need one in my major…


Alex: When were you first really introduced to a computer and began to understand how it works? How did you feel about this? 


Mary: Desktop? We had computers in college but they filled the whole room.  We had desktop computers at work.  We had these things at work that you could use computers, they weren’t the desktops that we use today.  The first time I was introduced to a desktop was in the early 80’s when my brother in law left us a computer, and let the family play around with it. They weren’t connected to Internet, but were used for word processing.  In that we had at work and at home. It was like a glorified typewriter, to me. The Internet came to us in the early 90’s.  Computers, I wasn’t afraid of...because I had been introduced to earlier computers…the Internet I was. I thought by accessing the Internet I could somehow mess the computer up. I didn’t understand it. I was never fearful of the computer, technology doesn’t scare me.

Alex: When did you transition from being afraid of the Internet, to feeling that it is safer, or do you even feel that it is safe?

Mary: I think when we were first exposed, we had these trial periods with the internet…because it was dialup and my cash was full, you didn’t really get to experience the internet, because it was eating up your time going from one site to another, and that was frustrating. My husband understood things from work, but I had nothing and was learning the Internet on my own. It made the computer slower, and I didn’t understand how to empty the cash, which really impacted your speed. When we signed up for an Internet provider and didn’t have the time limit.

 Alex: What did you think about the Internet when you got a better understanding of it?

Mary: I really liked it a lot. It’s very efficient, really eliminates having to go to the library to do research. Now you can do research from the comfort of your own home.  I would have to spend my time in the library looking for jobs, research…ect…and now I can stay at home and utilize this piece of technology. It brings the world into your home; to some degree…I can even shop at home.

Alex: Do you feel that the computer has helped you express yourself in a more efficient manner?

Mary: No. I don’t think it’s impacted me from that perspective. For the most part, I don’t think it has made an impact on my writing style.  I mean if you need a thesaurus you can go online, which I also do when I write.  It does change the ease of writing…so I believe it only aids in the efficiency of writing, not how you’re writing.

Alex: What do you feel you use the computer most for? 


Mary: Organizing the household, finances. It illuminates paper and file cabinets. You can fill everything on a little disk, as opposed to storing numerous files at home. I also use it for shopping needs…I now shop from home. The Internet, I believe, saves me quite a bit of time and money. And it also aids in doing your research, and also makes you more informed.  Like for example, buying a car. We are able to research the cars…and then able to make an inform decision…rather than running from car dealer to car dealer, because we know exactly where to go. 


Alex:  If you were able to have the Internet back when you attended college, do you believe this would have benefited from this in your education?

Mary: Yes I do. In my field, my field was a technical field…so research would have been a lot easier. Computer wise, they don’t do the problems on paper anymore.  They do it all on computers. Engineering wise, they don’t run numbers anymore; it’s all done on software.

Alex: Any predictions on future technologies? Do you think the computer will be the same in 10 years that it is today? 


Mary: I don’t know how much farther they can go to improve it. As much as I like it, and makes life easier. But I am glad I was exposed to life without the Internet.  I just don’t see what more they can own up.  I just hope they will eventually improve the malicious attacks, like viruses and stuff.