2008: My Ten Year Anniversary of Personal Computing

What I enjoy is accessibility. The cruise ships have installed Internet Cafes in their lobbies and even have "Happy Hour" discounts. I now have an ASUS/Linux traveling computer that is purse-size and has no moving parts--Skype-capable with camera built-in; voice commands, Wi-Fi...and no moving parts (flash memory). I carry it everywhere.
I have wikis and blogs (like this one) and also participate in a blog that offers podcasts of meetings...a technology of inclusion, asynchronicity, learning, collaboration, and community.
At home--even in the kitchen--if technology (any appliance) is involved--cooking is more enjoyable to me. Maybe it's because I come from a legacy of women who worshiped technology as the salvation to womankind. My grandmother waxed and polished all appliances from her washer-dryer to her ice crusher, coffee pot, and blender. All had protective dust covers, as well. My mother's washer-dryer set (in pink) and fascinated me and helped set the tone for my pursuit of all kinds of interesting gadgets--before computers.
I studied electronics. Computers were first introduced to me from the inside out. Industrial computers that ran NC and CNC machinery came into my career-life in 1978. My world consisted of power supplies, amplifiers, integrated circuits, motors, feedback systems and manually-installed operating systems and programs (before floppy disks, we used punched mylar tapes and tape readers). Building, fixing, but not using computers until much later, when the desire to finish college fueled the opportunity to acquire a comouter of my own in 1998. This year I celebrate my tenth anniversary as a personal computer user. I feel like a beginner, but don't mind a bit.