Nostalgia for old tech

I remember the days of Windows 95. I remember my Dad first introduced me to the internet via his Gateway desktop computer in his office. He logged me into AOL when I was 5 years old and showed me chat rooms. Within 3 minutes of being in this chat room, he told me that I wasn’t allowed in there until I’m an adult.

My first internet experience was memorable for that reason, but I quickly became hooked on computers afterwards. I looked forward to going to my Dad’s office on Saturday mornings to play on the PCs. It wasn’t long until I got my own PC which ran Windows 95.

Those days were special. The load computer trying to boot up. Waiting for the AOL dial-in connection. Waiting for a few minutes to load a webpage. It felt like I had a superpower on my finger tips.

Nowadays, tech has evolved exponentially and it has become ingrained in our lives to the point where it doesn’t really feel special anymore. I wake up, check my phone. Get into work, log onto my computer. It’s almost an afterthought now.

Yesterday, I got a new work laptop for the first time in a few years. It was fun and shiny for about 10 minutes and then it just became yet another laptop. When I had my first new desktop when I was a kid, I remember almost wanting to sleep with the computer. I was that excited. I miss those days from time to time.