Thursday, April 9, 2015

Apple Z

At 10:01 last night, TigerBlog sent an email to four of his Office of Athletic Communications colleagues looking for a specific piece of information.

He didn't say he needed the answer ASAP or anything like that.

He heard back from all four of them by 10:39. That's 38 minutes. Late at night. All four still connected to work.

It just shows how the world - especially the work world - is today. Always connected. Especially when you're in the business of providing information. The demand is always for more, and faster.

Oh, how it has changed through the years. 

For some reason yesterday afternoon, TigerBlog started to think back to when he first started to use a computer.

When he was in college, he had an electric typewriter. It had a built-in correct tape, which meant that he didn't need white out.

It was cutting edge.

That might as well be a million years ago.

His first experience with a computer was actually a word processor, which he used during a summer job in New York City after his freshman year of college. His first actual project was when he had to mail a bunch of books all over the world, and he used the word processor to do the mailing labels.

Again, cutting edge.

It wasn't until he first came to Princeton that he was exposed to the wonders of the Mac. It makes him chuckle to think about how rudimentary the first Macs he had here in the OAC were, how slowly they moved, how much harder simple tasks were than they are now and how wired they were to one specific spot.

And yet, it was cutting edge.

TigerBlog may have exaggerated his computer background a tad on his interview here. Maybe he didn't, actually - he can't remember at this point. And to be honest, the statute of limitations on that has long since expired.

He does know that when he first began at Princeton, he barely knew how to turn his computer on. Actually he probably couldn't turn it on.

Enter, then, Chuck Sullivan.

Back then, Chuck was an intern in the OAC. Today, he is the assistant commissioner for communications for the American Athletic Conference. And one of TB's favorite tweeters.

Anyway, the weekend before TB started at Princeton, Chuck taught TB how to use the computer. He taught him about shortcuts, using the "control" and "alt" and "apple" keys.

TB distinctly remembers learning how to use the "apple-Z" function. This was a stroke of genius from whoever came up with it.

If you've never used a Mac, "apple-Z" enables you to undo the last move the computer made. It's even better than a built-in correct tape.

TB doesn't think he'll ever forget how Chuck taught it to him. It was like, Chuck said, the appeals play in baseball. It had to be done before any other move or else it wouldn't work.

That was the case back then. Today "apple-Z" just takes you back and back and back, undoing move after move.

TigerBlog remembers being a good student. Or more likely, Chuck was just a really good teacher. 

TB has probably "apple-Z'd" more than he's done any other function on the computer, except for copying, cutting, pasting and of course selecting all.

TigerBlog's first Princeton computer had a tiny monitor and made weird noises when it was working right. Every computer in the office was connected to the same printer, and no two people could print at the same time.

Now? TigerBlog can sit on his couch and print to the printer in the office.

It's incredible how much technology has evolved in the time TB has worked here. It's good to remember back every now and then what it used to be like, when the world was just starting to be connected - to the internet - but still moved really, really slowly.

Actually, it was known as the World Wide Web, or, as it was often written, "the information superhighway." When was the last time you used either of those expressions.

TigerBlog can trace the history of every car he's ever had, back to his first car, the 1977 Dodge Diplomat he used to have. Computers? He's not sure how many he's had.

His current version is a MacBook. He thinks it's his third.

He does know that the MacBooks did the most to change the dynamic, since the advent of the MacBook is what enabled the people in the OAC to literally take their work home with them. TigerBlog doubts an evening goes by when the people in his office aren't on their own MacBooks, doing work that used to have to be done in the office.

The job didn't used to be a 24/7 sort of enterprise. Well, maybe not 24/7. But way more than 8/5. Back then, it was necessary to do the majority of the work from the office, because the computers weren't portable.

They became portable as reader demand for more and faster content mushroomed. These things happened together. It's how the job works.

Last night's email experience was just the latest confirmation of that.

TigerBlog doesn't have an iPad or any other tablet. He does have an iPhone.

When he was at the men's lacrosse game at Lehigh Tuesday night, TB did the live tweeting on putigers_live from his phone, rather than his computer, because of the rain. He did it standing on the Princeton sideline for much of the first half.

He's seen the commercials for Apple's watch. What else is out there? What else is coming down the tracks?

It's imperative to stay current on technology and to be ready - and open - to what's next.

For TigerBlog, though, it's always fun to think back to the good old days - the 1990s - when all of this started to become part of everyday work.

Hey, his kids and all of their friends seem to know how to use all of these things instinctively.

TigerBlog had to learn it on his own. Well, with a big assist from Chuck Sullivan.

He's not sure why all of this came back to him yesterday afternoon. It was after he an "apple-Z" though, he thinks.

Today, the laptop has knocked down the walls of the office. Figuratively, not literally.

But the office is everywhere, and it's always open.

It's way more fun this way.

Of course, there's no "Apple-Z" in life. 

No comments: