Behold the computer
a history
One Bamboo
 www.onebamboo.co.uk
 copyright © 2001 One Bamboo

click for home    click to email  
Optimised for Firefox


Sections
1. In the beginning
2. The PC is born
3. The PC grows
4. Open Source
5. The Web
6. Out of the wilderness
7. the fears


scrolling version - ugh!
Site Navigation

The screen is landscape oriented, the printed paper is portrait oriented. The display is designed to be dynamic in the way information is viewed which can't be transferred to paper.

Mousing over an icon or highlighted text will show a panel with related details. So you can read all the information in the document without scrolling or having to click on a new heading. Just point at the item.
NB some information is only visible while the mouse is over the icon, others remain in view until another item is selected (mouse pointed to it).

If there is more information on another document, it will also have an arrow icon () to show that a new document will be loaded.

Use the Printer Friendly Pages for paper copy.

The Zonepad will make it so that you don't have to point.
1.  In the beginning

In the beginning there was the microprocessor, it was the greatest invention of Man but he did not know how to use it. Some men did come and developed programs for it to do tasks. And they saw it was wondrous. But these Anointed Ones all used different programs for different tasks and the people did find it difficult. They realised that before there was program there must be something else which they did call the 'Operating System' then they found that they could do many more wondrous tasks.

The Anointed Ones did teach that first there was the processor then the Operating System, then the program and then the data. The people could see that it did wondrous things and were happy.

The Anointed Ones had seen that to generate data the people had to have programs. This made the Anointed Ones more powerful. To write programs the Operating System Anointed Ones provided routines. This made them more powerful than the program Anointed Ones, so they were happy.
2. The PC is born

But there were many Operating Systems and the people did get confused. Then, one day an international box maker did say that they wanted to put the magical microprocessor in their box. One of the Anointed Ones for the Operating Systems did realise that this was the way to become the most powerful Anointed One and said to the box manufacturer that he would provide the Operating System. The box manufacturer was happy because they thought that the box was the most important thing, and the Anointed One was happy because he knew that it was the Operating System. In time, he became the Almighty Anointed One.

And so was born the PC. And it did wondrous things and the people came to worship it and were called Users. And it came to pass that the box for the processor was not as important as the Operating System.
3. The PC grows

But the Almighty Anointed One was not satisfied for he saw that it was possible that others might produce a better Operating System so he added a Wordprocessor and other applications to go with his Operating System. Soon these became the most important ones because they went with his Operating System. This was good because even the Users were beginning to see that his Operating System was not so good but they remained faithful. This made the Almighty Anointed One even more powerful.

A few Users realised that they were giving homage to the Almighty Anointed One for something that was their birthright. Speech was their birthright but for printed text they paid their dues to the Almighty Anointed One. Soon these Users realised that there were many applications on the Almighty Anointed One's system for which they gave up their birthright. They realised that Enlightened Anointed Ones could produce these applications and offer them to users without them having to give up their birthright. They also realised that these applications were better, for other Enlightened Anointed Ones could improve them, whereas on Almighty Anointed One's applications only his servants could do so. But most users were blinded to the truth and continued to worship the Almighty Anointed One and considered the Enlightened Anointed Ones as heretics.
4. Open Source

And so it was that the Enlightened Anointed Ones did produce applications that other Enlightened Anointed Ones could change when needed, and they called it 'Open Source' and it was good. Users did not have to pay homage to the Almighty Anointed One to use them and when there were bugs they could be quickly cleared for there were many Enlightened Anointed Ones ready to put it right.

Then one day an Enlightened Anointed Ones came forth with an Operating System that used the Open Source and there was much rejoicing for it meant that Users had more control of their own system and did not have to pay homage to the Almighty Anointed One.

But many Users did not want to change for it did seem to be more difficult. And also many Users that controlled the systems for their groups were afraid that if things went wrong they would be blamed, whereas, if they were faithful to the Almighty Anointed One and something went wrong they could say that it was not their fault as they had put their trust in the Almighty Anointed One.
5. The Web

Another Enlightened Anointed One realised that Users had difficulty sharing documents produced on different Operating Systems so he devised a document structure, a display, and a way to link to others that could be used on any Operating System and he called it 'The Web'.

Users were overawed at the wondrous things they could do using the web and the multitude of people that they could communicate with. The word spread and the Web became a big thing.

And soon the Almighty Anointed One did see it was good and set forth to make it his own.
6. Out of the wilderness

There came out of the wilderness an Unknown Anointed One who did speak to anyone who would listen. He did say that the web had shown that the Operating System was not the most important thing and that the most important thing was the data, the Web did demonstrate it.

Right from the beginning it was believed the order of importance was first, the Operating System, then the program and then the data. Now the Unknown Anointed One was saying the reverse.

He did say that a single application should do all the textprocessing and then be displayed on a screen not controlled by the Operating System. And these two together could be what the User had to link into the system, the web and the Operating System. He did say that then Users could do wonderous things for themselves and leave the Anointed Ones to do greater wonderous things.

In this way Users would keep their birthright and would be able to use the system according to their needs.
7. the fears

But the Unknown Anointed One was fearful that the Powerful Anointed Ones would take his words and twist them for their use so that they remained the Powerful Ones. He was also fearful that the Users would be afraid of the wrath of the Powerful Anointed Ones and refuse to listen. And he was fearful that the Users and the Anointed Ones, even the Enlighten Anointed Ones, would scoff at his words for they had believed in the importance of the Operating System for so long that they could not bring themselves to believe anything else.

For he knew that Users and Anointed Ones alike do fear change.

The history goes no further for it has yet to be written.


These are the words of the Unknown Anointed One,
Man likes to walk the known way, but to forge ahead he must try the unknown way.
He seems to have lost his direction even along the known way.
      1
1.  In the beginning
In the beginning there was the microprocessor, it was the greatest invention of Man but he did not know how to use it. Some men did come and developed programs for it to do tasks. And they saw it was wondrous. But these Anointed Ones all used different programs for different tasks and the people did find it difficult. They realised that before there was program there must be something else which they did call the 'Operating System' then they found that they could do many more wondrous tasks.

The Anointed Ones did teach that first there was the processor then the Operating System, then the program and then the data. The people could see that it did wondrous things and were happy.

The Anointed Ones had seen that to generate data the people had to have programs. This made the Anointed Ones more powerful. To write programs the Operating System Anointed Ones provided routines. This made them more powerful than the program Anointed Ones, so they were happy.

2. The PC is born
But there were many Operating Systems and the people did get confused. Then, one day an international box maker did say that they wanted to put the magical microprocessor in their box. One of the Anointed Ones for the Operating Systems did realise that this was the way to become the most powerful Anointed One and said to the box manufacturer that he would provide the Operating System. The box manufacturer was happy because they thought that the box was the most important thing, and the Anointed One was happy because he knew that it was the Operating System. In time, he became the Almighty Anointed One.

And so was born the PC. And it did wondrous things and the people came to worship
      2
it and were called Users. And it came to pass that the box for the processor was not as important as the Operating System.

3. The PC grows
But the Almighty Anointed One was not satisfied for he saw that it was possible that others might produce a better Operating System so he added a Wordprocessor and other applications to go with his Operating System. Soon these became the most important ones because they went with his Operating System. This was good because even the Users were beginning to see that his Operating System was not so good but they remained faithful. This made the Almighty Anointed One even more powerful.

A few Users realised that they were giving homage to the Almighty Anointed One for something that was their birthright. Speech was their birthright but for printed text they paid their dues to the Almighty Anointed One. Soon these Users realised that there were many applications on the Almighty Anointed One's system for which they gave up their birthright. They realised that Enlightened Anointed Ones could produce these applications and offer them to users without them having to give up their birthright. They also realised that these applications were better, for other Enlightened Anointed Ones could improve them, whereas on Almighty Anointed One's applications only his servants could do so. But most users were blinded to the truth and continued to worship the Almighty Anointed One and considered the Enlightened Anointed Ones as heretics.

4. Open Source
And so it was that the Enlightened Anointed Ones did produce applications that other Enlightened Anointed Ones could change when needed, and they called it 'Open Source' and it was good. Users did not have to pay homage to the Almighty Anointed
      3
One to use them and when there were bugs they could be quickly cleared for there were many Enlightened Anointed Ones ready to put it right.

Then one day an Enlightened Anointed Ones came forth with an Operating System that used the Open Source and there was much rejoicing for it meant that Users had more control of their own system and did not have to pay homage to the Almighty Anointed One.

But many Users did not want to change for it did seem to be more difficult. And also many Users that controlled the systems for their groups were afraid that if things went wrong they would be blamed, whereas, if they were faithful to the Almighty Anointed One and something went wrong they could say that it was not their fault as they had put their trust in the Almighty Anointed One.

5. The Web
Another Enlightened Anointed One realised that Users had difficulty sharing documents produced on different Operating Systems so he devised a document structure, a display, and a way to link to others that could be used on any Operating System and he called it 'The Web'.

Users were overawed at the wondrous things they could do using the web and the multitude of people that they could communicate with. The word spread and the Web became a big thing.

And soon the Almighty Anointed One did see it was good and set forth to make it his own.
      4
6. Out of the wilderness
There came out of the wilderness an Unknown Anointed One who did speak to anyone who would listen. He did say that the web had shown that the Operating System was not the most important thing and that the most important thing was the data, the Web did demonstrate it.

Right from the beginning it was believed the order of importance was first, the Operating System, then the program and then the data. Now the Unknown Anointed One was saying the reverse.

He did say that a single application should do all the textprocessing and then be displayed on a screen not controlled by the Operating System. And these two together could be what the User had to link into the system, the web and the Operating System. He did say that then Users could do wonderous things for themselves and leave the Anointed Ones to do greater wonderous things.

In this way Users would keep their birthright and would be able to use the system according to their needs.

7. the fears
But the Unknown Anointed One was fearful that the Powerful Anointed Ones would take his words and twist them for their use so that they remained the Powerful Ones. He was also fearful that the Users would be afraid of the wrath of the Powerful Anointed Ones and refuse to listen. And he was fearful that the Users and the Anointed Ones, even the Enlighten Anointed Ones, would scoff at his words for they had believed in the importance of the Operating System for so long that they could not bring themselves to believe anything else.
5
For he knew that Users and Anointed Ones alike do fear change.

The history goes no further for it has yet to be written.


These are the words of the Unknown Anointed One,
Man likes to walk the known way, but to forge ahead he must try the unknown way.
He seems to have lost his direction even along the known way.
4
Page8
Text here