Personal Computer Crisis

First computer in our family was bought when I was about 11-13 years old. It was a 486 IBM PC. During that first period I learned a lot about DOS, Win 3.1, OS/2 Warp, all kind of Linuxes and FreeBSD, and so on.

Different operating systems were installed, along with games and all kinds of software just out of curiosity.

By playing with a computer, I was able to learn many different things about how it works, how hardware works, how software works, how to write a code or create a digital image, and many-many different things that we can call computer science. Or “hacking” in the old sense of the word.

My main point of interest was computer graphics, but I also learned how to make music, 3D renderings, set up a network, write an app or compile kernel for FreeBSD operating system. Because it was fun and interesting.

iPad is not a computer

Apple often claims that iPad is a new computer, and I don’t agree. With its closed software, you can’t install other operating systems or software beyond iOS, and your experience is limited to App Store apps.

With a computer, you should be able to build another computer - from 3D to CAD and PCB to manufacturing. Can you build another iPad with an iPad? I doubt it. But you can use a computer to make another computer, or even an iPad.

iPad as a teenager dream

All the people around me, from 11 to 22 years old, yearn to have an iPad or an iPhone. Most of the time they use it as a device to consume content: to watch a video on Instagram or YouTube, to post on social networks, and in rare cases to work with Procreate. I have never seen anyone use it to make music, to work in 3D, or to write code.

With this obsession with content-consuming devices, we will soon have fewer and fewer good IT professionals with a broad range of skills. And that is pretty sad.

“Computers are like a bicycle for our minds,” said Steve Jobs. Back then, computers were a miracle for our generation. It’s sad to see that when young people are asked, “Would you like to have a computer?” the most common response I hear is, “What for?”