But back then… “Sherman set the WayBack Machine to the year 1978…”

What was the world like in 1978? Who was president? What did telephones look like? What was television like? How big and fast were computers? Who won the best picture Oscar? What about fashion and hair style?

If I wish to indicate that a particular sentence is meant with tongue-in-cheek, I would write it so: "Of course you know I agree with all the current administration's policies -)." The "-)" indicates tongue-in- cheek. Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, states: "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." "There is no reason for anyone to have a computer in their home."

1977: TRS-80 Radio Shack "Trash-80," 4K Of Memory Could Not Handle Lowercase Letters Only Three Error Messages: "HOW?" "What" "Sorry" Cost Only $400! Some 55,000 Machines Sold In First Year

1978: CsC101 Computer Class Programming Language: FORTRAN Punched Cards

1981 You are standing in front of a closed door. Next to it you will find a letterbox. What will you do.>_ "640K ought to be enough for anybody." Bill Gates Vic Mhz 3.5kb RAM Tape Drive

1984: Macintosh Revolutionary Graphical User Interface (GUI). A Device Called A Mouse Pictorial Symbols (Icons) On The Screen. Select Commands, Call Up Files, Start Programs, Etc. Original Selling Price: $2,495

"The problem of the virus is fleeting and will only last for a few years" -- John McAfee "This is an urban myth. It is like the history of the crocodiles in the sewers of New York. All world knows of them, but nobody has seen them." -- Peter Norton

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In 1992, I complete my MBA

Kevin Mitnick is arrested on suspicion of stealing twenty thousand credit card numbers from Internet service provider Netcom.

Deep Blue beats world champion chess player, Garry Kasparov. The Frauenhofer Institute (Germany) releases the MP3 format. They don’t ask for royalties.

In 1954, the average price of a transistor cost $5.52. In 2004, the average cost was 191 nanodollars, or 191 billionths of a dollar.

New Jobs in Computing Natural Science Information Technology Engineers Physical Scientists Life Scientists John Sargent, US Department of Commerce, 2004 Seventy percent of new jobs in science and engineering fields will be in "information technology" … even AFTER considering trends in outsourcing

In the beginning… Original Eniac Programmers

Programming the Eniac

In the future…? Ian Pearson, British Telecom, futurology unit head 'If you draw the timelines, realistically by 2050 we would expect to be able to download your mind into a machine, so when you die it's not a major career problem. If you're rich enough then by 2050 it's feasible. If you're poor you'll probably have to wait until 2075 or 2080 when it's routine. We are very serious about it. That's how fast this technology is moving: 45 years is a hell of a long time in IT.'

What do you think? How have computers changed the world? How will computers change life in your lifetime? In your kids’ lifetime? What kinds of things do people say about the future of computing? What do you think is true? False?

Draw your own timeline When will you Get Married? Get a Masters degree? Have Children? Start your own business? Patent new technology? Get a PhD?