An Abacus to a Sony Xperia Z?

I’ve managed to pretty much be “on the scene” during the acceleration of the “Electronic Age” and into the “Information Age.” As amazed as people are today about the advances in Information Technology, there was a time when that term had not even been invented. We still had to learn, if we could, each new technology that makes up Enterprise Systems today.

I doubt anyone in our class uses a Palm® device (currently called a WebOS device) but that was all we had for the first smartphones. It kept track of our lists of things to do, appointments, calendars, favorite contacts; It could also communicate with a network over an InfraRed wave connection, to sync information. Basically, the Palm replaced our DayPlanner®s. It had no Internet access, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, camera, weather report, not even a background picture. Some “bleeding edge” businesses used them for writing notes when with a client and synchronizing with the company network server when they returned; but, for tackling databases, spreadsheets, real written documents, network administration, and passing data to a co-worker without returning to the company’s location, it was “Not ready for Primetime.” Moving from a paper system that we learned during the course of focused face-to-face classes seminars and training, to a handheld that had a 60+ page User Guide to read, and many other steps in advancing technologies, each took less time than the previous technology; but stilt least a week for the Palm®. Today’s smartphones use apps that are so user friendly that learning to use the new system doesn’t need a 60+ page instruction manual. You just read the description of how the app works online, then download it.

Before that, plotting or rendering designs, architectural plans, and engineering specifications were all handled by written instructions on paper until the inkjet plotter came along. When the drawings became more detailed, the builder of the product could learn more about the job at hand and fewer mistakes were made. Then another process, the existing Internet which had to be accessed through portals made up usually of Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), became useable enough to pass the source files on to the builders. Learning to use new software allowed the builders to see the plans in 3 dimensions and rotate the plots of the product. Additionally, numeric controllers were advancing far enough to be used in more applications, so trimming materials or machining a part could occur using output from those same digital plans. Tolerances closed up as a result of those two advancements, for much higher quality furniture, homes, and the aforementioned Palm® as a result of the planners and builders training themselves in some cases through trial-and-error, to use the electronic communication and systems.

Going back further, communicating with someone away from home or the office was practically impossible. What we call cell phones today do not even actually use cellular strategy for their operations any more (towers are used instead) but the name stuck because we coined the term as the service became available. Those who could afford the commitment flocked to one of the introductory carriers to demonstrate how they could use mobile phones. I had to suffice with using payphones to call my colleagues and loved ones. I’ve seen the kiosks left from torn out payphones but the last functioning unit I’ve actually seen was in my apartment complex three years ago, and that was removed before I left. I could count on my sister or my Mom to trip over the cord that connected our home phone to the wall. At that time, even cordless phones (and facsimile machines) were only available to “the rich uncle” or they were a sign of moving up in the world for those who could afford them. The device that most closely resembled the collaboration process today, did not support teleconferencing…teleconferencing is one of the most effective teaching methods adopted for distance learning.

Instead of running printouts and copies (we got in the bad habit of calling those, xeroxes, in the same way a tissue is often called Kleenex®) of assignments and worksheets, and items that needed multiple copies; we had carbon paper, for large quantities we had a printing service handle it, and for quick large quantities on-site we used a mimeograph machine. That device involved making a master, sliding it into a carrier slip, attaching the assembly to a small drum, then (few numerical controls) turning a hand crank until the drum spat out the required number of copies. If you watch an old movie and wonder “Why are the students portrayed as sniffing the assignment sheets as soon as they are handed out?” The explanation is due to the mimeograph’s consumables. Strong solvents evaporated from inks to leave a purple or brown impression on the pages. Today we can depend on digital printers to electronically transfer our downloaded homework—without any ink sniffing.

Practically any advance in technology, even a bigger bomb or improved firearm, can be considered an advance in communication. Learning as many advanced technologies as we have today can only be accomplished thanks to even the most unnoticed electronic devices. I think I have seen nearly every advance, albeit some observations were in museums, Betamax® or on film. Learning each new technology rewarded us with the ability to create newer technologies to learn but also made learning faster and easier as the technologies progressed from analog through hybrid to digital methods. I became in some ways jealous of the younger generations that could skip directly to the current technologies without spending the time to learn obsolete ones.

You still want to know “What is an abacus?” That was the device that people used when they ran out of fingers and toes for mathematics. How long would it take (without Google, or any other electronic assistance for that matter) you to gain the knowledge to use the device?