My Apple PowerBook 140: How 140 Megabytes Changed My Life Forever!
I opened it, press the power button, and wait for my new Apple PowerBook 140 to come to life. The grey brick was my first laptop. My first personal computer, and I was breathless, waiting to dig in and get to know my first technology tool.
Today, I have laptops, a desktop, iPad, iPhones, Apple TVs, and countless Bluetooth/wifi-enabled devices. I am on most social media platforms, shop online, store data in the cloud, and, in general, live the typical digitally connected life.
In 1993 the Powerbook was the technology that changed my life. I had a cell phone which was a tech game-changer, until my laptop arrived. That was the device that ushered in a life-changing love affair with tech gadgets.
In the beginning, I found that a laptop, email account, and being remote gave me the ability to do more in less time. I soon learned the power of data and the internet. Once my company expanded beyond a few users to a networked organization, we found greater efficiencies. Then a whole new universe opened up as customers and suppliers would come online, and we could collaborate, communicate and operate via email.
Then my life as a connected worker exploded with the introduction of the iPhone. This little beauty enabled me to connect the internet, email, a camera, and a phone into one pocket-sized gizmo. Whoa! I was on it all the time. My time online went through the roof!
This loosely connected world of disparate devices and platforms become more integrated year after year, which increased screen time, engagement, and sphere of influence. Driven by easily accessible and fast broadband, we connected everywhere- even on airplanes. My day expanded to the point where I was connected more than I was disconnected. I was working at all hours and from all places, and as a heavy traveler, I quickly became my own mobile IT support team. I could log onto any network in minutes, troubleshoot, diagnose and fix just about any problem and maintain my own devices so that my security was always up-to-date and fully operational.
The cloud made life infinitely better and took us to a place from which we will never return. Online stores quickly disrupted traditional brick-and-mortar retail, and marketplaces are disrupting everything. Thanks to the iPod and iTunes, the music industry has been turned upside down. And now platforms and marketplaces are disrupting banking, real estate, car shopping, and film and TV. Technology touches everything, for better and worse.
Today, how we work, where we work, how we find work changed. Everything changed, and we now live in a world where we spend our lives online, search engines, and often addicted to social media. We have become voyeuristic, envious, and seeking things we never thought would interest us as we seek sameness. At least two generations cannot recall the pre-digital world. Those who do, find it difficult to imagine themselves without the machines, networks, and platforms that power everyday life. My PowerBook 140 turned out to be one of, if not the most, influential thing in my life. When I booted it up, I booted up a new age for humanity.
