Being brand new to this whole blogging thing, I figured I’d share how I got started teaching basic computer skills as my first blog post.
Like many people I know, going online in the early ’90s was a very exciting time. Computer access had been restricted to classrooms and large companies, and when personal computers (PCs) became an option, there was a lot of interest. Owning a computer was such a new idea that few people in my circle were prepared to buy brand new: prices were much more expensive back then, and personal experience was limited. More often than not, owning a PC meant buying a used or rebuilt computer.
One such system I purchased came from a couple of friends who were pet owners and smokers. Now, you’re likely wondering what either point has to do with basic computer training, but there IS a link to this story…
The nicotine from their smoking habit coated the parts inside my computer, most notably the fan on the power supply. The dog hair from their pets – which was all over their house – found its way into the computer and stuck to the nicotine-coated fan, gumming up the works and preventing it from cooling the motherboard like it’s supposed to. The end result was that my entire computer over-heated and crashed; I couldn’t use it anymore!
… to be continued in Part 2, here