Too dependent on computers

By Staff
Jason Cannon
I am barely old enough to remember what life was like without computers, but I do remember it.
My family bought our first computer when I was in the eighth grade. It was massive by today's standards, and it probably cost a small fortune.
When we first brought it home, Windows was virtually unknown.
Today, computers are smaller, faster and better. Some of them are cheaper and I would count myself as one of the people whose lives would be unsettled if I lost computer access for an extended period of time.
As reliant as we have become on computers, I know little about them.
This week, our server crashed. For those of you who are lingo challenged like myself, the server is where we store all the information we use for the newspaper.
When the server goes down, the newspaper goes down with it.
For the last several days, we've managed to make it through the day using email and a series of makeshift, rigged servers.
When I was a kid, I would never have imagined a small metal box about six inches square could bring a company with 15 employees to its knees. But, that's exactly what happened Tuesday night.
The funny thing was, we were all a little shocked. It was like this tiny little box had let us down. It hurt our feelings.
We were at a loss.
No pictures. No stories. No idea how to get it fixed.
Thank God for the people who know how computers work and how to make the computers that don't work anymore work again.
When I was 12 years old computers were good for one thing and one thing only – minesweeper.
That was, and still is, the extent of my technical know-how. Sure, I know how to put a paper together and manage a Web site, but I don't have the technical knowledge to support that.
If the buttons I usually press don't do what they normally do, it's time to call technical support.
As often as I think about how much fun it would be to live in a world where computers weren't so important, I'm too afraid to find out what that would be like.