...And what’s on it?
Dear me, another strange question and not strictly book-related. I could answer in one word: no. But this is a blog post, so I’ll waffle a bit.
The first computer I used, at work, was a little Apple 2C. It didn’t use a mouse, so no mouse pad needed. It was almost as bad as PC computers in that you had to give commands, and remember what they were. There was no hard drive; you had to slot a floppy disk with the software into an external drive. I had an extra disk drive for my writing, because otherwise you’d have to slot in the disk for the program, take it out and put in your other disk... I vaguely recall reading an essay by Italian-Jewish writer Primo Levi comparing a computer to the Golem; you put something in its mouth, it comes to life. Remove it and it’s dead. A magical description of the kind of computers we had in those days!
By the time I got my first computer, a 2E, it had a hard drive and no commands - much easier to use, but you now needed a mouse. I had a fabulous-looking mouse mat that had a 3D Star Trek image on it. Only problem was, the coarse texture made it harder to use. I gave it away to a fellow Trek fan; I’m pretty sure I did warn them that it was more decorative than useful.
Companies used to give out promotional mouse mats and I did use those at work, where there were desktop computers. The kids had a lot of trouble with the library computers because there were no supplied mouse mats(they would have gone in no time if I’d left some out), so I often suggested they use their diaries or exercise books as mouse mats. Those worked as well as anything.
My current laptop just doesn’t need a mouse, though I could get one. Neither does my iPad. So, no mouse mats, but I do have one I found recently, with an Isaac Asimov robot on it.
There! A book reference! :-) And post complete, about a very odd topic.
Dear me, another strange question and not strictly book-related. I could answer in one word: no. But this is a blog post, so I’ll waffle a bit.
The first computer I used, at work, was a little Apple 2C. It didn’t use a mouse, so no mouse pad needed. It was almost as bad as PC computers in that you had to give commands, and remember what they were. There was no hard drive; you had to slot a floppy disk with the software into an external drive. I had an extra disk drive for my writing, because otherwise you’d have to slot in the disk for the program, take it out and put in your other disk... I vaguely recall reading an essay by Italian-Jewish writer Primo Levi comparing a computer to the Golem; you put something in its mouth, it comes to life. Remove it and it’s dead. A magical description of the kind of computers we had in those days!
By the time I got my first computer, a 2E, it had a hard drive and no commands - much easier to use, but you now needed a mouse. I had a fabulous-looking mouse mat that had a 3D Star Trek image on it. Only problem was, the coarse texture made it harder to use. I gave it away to a fellow Trek fan; I’m pretty sure I did warn them that it was more decorative than useful.
Companies used to give out promotional mouse mats and I did use those at work, where there were desktop computers. The kids had a lot of trouble with the library computers because there were no supplied mouse mats(they would have gone in no time if I’d left some out), so I often suggested they use their diaries or exercise books as mouse mats. Those worked as well as anything.
My current laptop just doesn’t need a mouse, though I could get one. Neither does my iPad. So, no mouse mats, but I do have one I found recently, with an Isaac Asimov robot on it.
There! A book reference! :-) And post complete, about a very odd topic.
^^ i do have and use a mouse since i don't have a laptop, no mouse pad but i love looking at the new one and some are
ReplyDeleteI believe that fancy mouse pads are a big thing even now when so many people do have laptops. They are used as either promotion or merchandise.
ReplyDeleteGREAT answer, and funny, too!!
ReplyDeleteI've never used a computer with a floppy disk. That's because I didn't get into the computer craze until pretty late in the game, lol. Now, my laptop and I (not to mention my smart phone!) are inseparable! Lol.
Anyway.....I used to have mouse pads when I worked in offices. Of course, I used desktop computers. My last office job was pretty boring, so decided to "spice it up a bit" with my Twilight mouse pads! Lol. Needless to say, it REMAINED boring.... :) And I know some of my co-workers (plus one of my female bosses) thought it was weird for me to like The Twilight Saga. Well, inwardly, I just thumbed my nose at them! SO GLAD to be out of THAT company!!!
Anyway.....it's too bad that your 3D Star Trek mouse pad had a rough texture..... :( (and how COOL that you actually own an Isaac Asimov robot pad!!! I wish you had posted a picture of it, but now I'm going to research it on Google! Thanks for mentioning it!!
Thanks for swinging by my planet and commenting on my BBH post!! Live long and prosper!! <3 <3 :) :) :)
P.S. I just found out, from visiting another UK-based blog, that what we call "mouse pads" in the U.S. are known as "mouse mats" in the U.K.! Fascinating, as Mr. Spock would say! Lol. :) :)
ReplyDeleteI love your description of the way PCs used to work. Lots of memories there. It's much different now with mice and pop up screens. Cheers
ReplyDeleteA LOT different! You can even dictate your documents. Wish that had been around long ago, when a dying writer friend of mine couldn’t use her hands any more and was desperately looking for software to do that... :(
ReplyDeleteI remember my very first computer had 4.5 megabytes on it! Not gigabytes - megabytes. And yet, a sweet little computer I’d have gone on using if the Internet hadn’t come along. I had it for eight years with barely a peep of trouble, only a battery change which cost me $50. Nothing like thAt now!
Hi Maria! My sister started her working life on a manual typewriter, then an electric typewriter, then an electronic typewriter, then computers. She has become quite used to them, though she does have a tendency to thump rather too hard on the keyboard, something you had to do with manual typewriters. My late father came to the Internet in his later years and took to it like a fish to water.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I will say for manual typewriters is that they don’t crash and lose your work!