The times..they are a changin'

Most folks don't realise how far and fast computers have came in the last decade. Those who do have probably thought the guys and girls in the IT industry were making a mint. Among those who do are those who know better and they probably are the guys and girls who were supposedly making a mint.

The world of computers (now called Information Technology by some Political Correct Weenie locked in his brrom closet in Silicon Valley) has changed immensely.

So I thought for a mild change of pace I'd let you see what it looks like from the Tech's point of view, but without all the big words and acronyms and a lot of techno mumbo jumbo.

This is a story of change. Not the latest system,
Roughly in 1995 Calimus was self education himself on PC systems and basic PC construction. I was going to what was then called North Metro Technical Institute, and now called North Metro Technical College as they finally became acredited after I left. I studied what was then called Micro-Computers. A really high tech way of saying I studied how software operates. No I don't mean coding. You see college is yet another place where political criteria struck. I was learning how to use things like Word, and Excel as well as Lotus. But the labeled it Microcomputers. Go figure.

Anyway we both had tinkered with main systems. I must confess Calimus's experience was then, and still is, way above my own. He dealt with whats called overclocking as well as system intergration. I had a Commodore. I was more content with the damn thing just to run.

By way of my college's job placement program I found us both a job with a company called Integrated Services Marketing, or ISM. I'm pretty sure they are out of buisness now as I can't find anything on them that actually pertains to our line of work.

For them we did Field work for Packard Bell covering North Georgia. We also worked ourselves right out of a job. When he and I started they had over 900 regular users who needed their PC's fixed. We did it in about 2 months.

During that time tho, we learned more about the new age cutting edge technology. Not from Packard Bell mind you. Those who know anything about them, know thaqt's laughable. But from their parts providers.

Packard Bell was smart enough to use replacement parts from companies like Seagate and motherboard it doesn't mean its not going to catch on fire and melt in front of your face. Yes, that actually happened.

But we also learned about the future.

I remember, to this day, Calimus and I working on a nice ladies system in Rome, GA. She was getting a memory upgrade from 16 megs of Ram to 64 megs, and a harddrive replacement plus free upgrade to 500 megs. And to Windows 95.

You read that correctly. In 1995, her upgrade hard drive was as much as your average system RAM is today and was a operating system about 1/4 of today's users have never touched.

And we knew then that those changes were on the way. Because we laid in her floor and talked to her about it.

I remember Calimus saying:
"You know...here soon they are talking about 1 gigabyte hard drives...."

Nice Lady: "Gigabyte? WHats that?"
Calimus "Well Essentially its equal to two (2) of these hard drives we're installing for you."
Nice Lady: "Wow, thats a lot of room!"
BS "Yup. You can pretty much hold Japan"
Calimus "You shouldn't need anything else for years with that"

We were so wrong. But it seemed amazing to us then. These little boxes the size of our wallet could hold so much data, and yet not since the 386 PC systems had the hard drives gotten bigger in size. No they had stayed the same size yet could hold more and more data! In the old 386 systems they designed computer componets much like a car. if you wanted it to hold more data, than obviously the system had to be bigger, right? A Good example of this is the IBM Luggable which weighs just under 25 pounds and held a whopping 30 Megabyte hard drive. Compare that to your modern day IBM ThinkPad which might weigh 6 lbs and starts with anywhere from a 20 gig to a 100 gig hard drive.I should know. My Next job was with IBM Golbal Services Division in Kennesaw, Georgia doing end user support.

With that comparison you see the market that Calimus had set our selves up to work in.

In the late 90's the computer industry developed so fast, that if you actually worked with a good IT firm you spent up to half of your work year in training.

For those of us not so luckily we were constantly shifted or replaced in to another company as our skills were suddenly left in the dust thanks to the Dot Com booms and Windows NT.

Ultimately Windows NT made me leave the IT Industry.

I spent 2 years and over $20,000 learning Novell Networking to become a CNA or Certified Novel Administrator. These days say CNA and folks think your a nurse.

Novell is gradually making a comeback but in early 1996 it was being tossed out the door as fast as companies could pay for Windows NT. It was at that point, having already enlisted in the US Army Reserves that I quit college, quit IBM (as I had no desire to continue being support for every Tom Dick and Harry who owned a computer) and went to Active Duty.

Calimus pushed on, learning such no common name systems such as Linux, MySQL and others.

After I left the Army I got into Telecommunications, specialising in Cellular work. They needed folks with a decent IT background and who were willing to work outdoors and with their hands. That was right up my alley as I had no desire to be chained to a desk.

I learned CDMA (Cellular Divide Multiple Access) how it worked, how to establish a cellular network, how to compare them, tower signal strength. Eventually I got pretty damn good that I helped design the Crickett Communications network from Buffalo New York to Syracuse. Which explains how I got in to New York. But thats another story.

Meanwhile Calimus was doing digital phone networking, and cabling infrastructure.

Its ironic now days, that between the two of us there's very little in the IT Industry one of the two of us have not touched. I've since turned to Project Management and system implementation as well as troubleshooting. He has turned in to mainframe installation, support , end user support and a load of database work. We've either laid hands on it, helped work on it, used it, built it or were there when it was created.

Systems now run at 3 Gighz. When we started a Pentium 75 Mhz with "over drive" was considered a hot potatoe.

But new over comes the old, and our beloved mIRC has been overtaken by MSN Messenger, ICQ and AIM.

So what does this all mean?

It means that don't get used to anything in the IT world. The only 2 exceptions to that rule are AOL and Microsoft. By their buisness practices they have dug themselves a very deep and long trench to make them a constant in the IT Community. Where as many other companies will be here one day, only to be overtaken by the latest invention.

Already Quantum Computers are under development. While we may be the first to put in on the shelf, we're still far behind Europe in our use of networking resources.

Once upon a time 2 guys thought dial up and BBS boards were the wave of the future.

Today they write silly stories like this one, that hundreds of thousands of people have read, while they attempt to regain footing in a world they helped create.

I'll probably leave the IT worls again soon.

10 years ago if you were in the IT Department you were the Man, you ruled with a Iron grip.

anything. WHich is, of course not true.

But I will still dally, and I'll still hobby. But for me, I think I've helped make my mark on the world

I've worked in the single largest market anyone can ever drream of. I worked for Wal mart in developing and installing their IT systems for the last four years. I have personally been inside over 2,672 locations nation wide and 25 over sea's. If it makes a noise, shows a picture, gives you an advertisement, rings a sale, scans a product, or plays music, the chances are either I , or one of my field technicians installed it. Or I helped design it. Or helped implement it.

I have long never mentioned the company I did my work for until today

Because next week, with no further adieu, I bid the world of IT Project Management and Design good bye, and enter a new industry, with a complete career change that is nothing like anything I have done before.

And like Bob Dylan said. The Times, they are a changin'

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.