[ Downloaded from Societal Glitch , gopher.ddns.net ] Retro Computing is... Once technology is introduced it cannot die. It can be abandoned, it can be transformed, but it does not just die. Flaming torches were replaced with candles and gas lights, and eventually electric light bulbs, which have given way to the LED. Flaming torches and candles still exist, can be produced and used. We perceive LEDs as more efficient because they are widely available and use less energy. Do we need efficiency? Do we need light available to us twenty-four hours a day? The abacus can still be used today. It will function and complete the tasks needed, provided the user has the intelligence to do so. Electronic calculators are “efficient” because they reduce the mental labor (or energy) needed to achieve the same result. When calculators first came to market they were very expensive at over $1K USD. Today we can purchase a working calculator at a dollar store. However, they function the same. Yet we still expend very little mental energy to complete the task of arithmetic computation. Washing machines and clothes dryers reduce the time needed to clean our clothes. The trade off is that we pay for the electricity or propane to run those machines. We need to work to earn money which we can then in turn exchange with the local energy company for electricity to run our machines. The is the way. Our computers have always been tools for information. Processing numbers, documents, or collected data has been the primary function of these devices. The modern computer does many of the same tasks as earlier computers except with fancier presentation and less mental expenditure for the user. The Palm Pilot, a now classic PIM, (personal information manager) completed the same functions as a daily paper based organizer. It could hold contacts, notes, and calendar appointments. The new features and technology it brought to our mobile fingertips were functions we did not need prior to. Enter mobile email. The PalmOS allowed the user at the very least the option to sync their email between their desktop computer and the Palm device. The user could compose and respond to messages while away from their computer and sync the device later to send those messages out. This feature was received as a technological advancement. But was it? I believe we need to understand fully before we engage with any technology, its inherent consequences, both good and bad. Being able to answer email in the taxi or on a train on the way to work only promoted the “always on and always available” mentality. Previously we would not consider trying to write a letter or type a memo on the way to work or on the way home. Yet simply because it was now possible it some how became necessary for some and eventually for most with the introduction of the smartphone (aka slavephone). ***Retro Computing as Nostalgia*** Using retro computing platforms, operating systems, hardware, and software are for many an opportunity to own and use the technological marvels of an earlier time. Perhaps we could not afford them when they were first introduced. Perhaps we enjoy the memories remembered as we rediscover the applications and games we grew up using. Whatever our nostalgic connection and motivation, these devices still hold value to those who use them. Many hobbyist and enthusiast have take to extending the capabilities of these retro devices to interact with more currently developed technologies. But the fact remains there are people who are still using and enjoying these systems. ***Retro Technology as a Movement*** Using retro computing platforms, operating systems, hardware, and software as a social experiment, political statement, or plain rebellion is also a reality. Here is a movement we should pay attention to. Are people able to function with the use of older technologies. Absolutely! An old computer may not be able to access the internet but it can still compute documents, spreadsheets, play games, and compose other creations with the right software. Presently retro platforms do not need to be upgraded. We understand their limitations; which are generally only limitations in comparison to what has been produced or discovered since their invention. ***Technology Philosophies*** The UNIX philosophy encouraged people to create programs that did a single thing well. The philosophy encouraged the interoperability between those programs to shared their output with others for further processing. This was great. While not a philosophy, we have lived that way with many tools and devices. A shovel is used to dig, a fork is used to eat, a car is used to move from one location to another, and a camera simply takes pictures which can later be developed for viewing. The electric word processor is arguably more “efficient” than the typewriter. Yet the typewriter required a skill and mental energy that is discarded with the word processor’s ability to overwrite, save, and spell check documents. Faster is not always better. When one sits down to write a letter either handwritten or typed on a typewriter there is intention, thought, and generally focus. The same can be argued for a computer, assuming there is not an internet connection or popup notifications to disrupt the user. The point being that the device that does one thing and does it well is most useful. ***Retro Technology as Life*** If I decide to light my home by candle light, download my email for later response offline, wash my clothes by hand and line dry them, no one would be the wiser. If I uploaded this text to the internet over a dial-up connection from a OS/2 desktop computer, no one would know the difference. If I wrote this text offline and on a PalmOS device before upload, it wouldn’t matter to you as the reader. But all of those older technologies still exist and can be used to bring this information to you. You may not be able to comment on the fly, rather you may need to send an email later in response. Or perhaps an open response on a BBS we mutually visit, allowing others to engage in the conversation and a trail to flourish. ***Conclusion*** Retro technologies are always slower and more intentional than their successors. The younger generation views retro as limiting, the older generation knows retro technology is freeing. With new tech comes consequences in management of their accessories, demands, and impacts. With consolidated devices and applications come the loss of more functions in a single compromised device. Retro technologies will always be predictable and known. New technology requires new balancing acts. Choose wisely.