A familiar face

The ubiquitous computer was once seen as a foreign object to be dreaded.

When personal computers first came to Malaysia, a very senior bank officer told the participants at a seminar that his son had one at home but he would not go anywhere near the contraption.

His candid remark drew chuckles from the participants. Most of them were in the same boat and readily sympathised with him.

That was more than two decades ago.

Today, if the same remark were made at any business meeting, people would be more shocked than amused.

The bank officer could be forgiven as, in those days, the PC was as foreign as Hollywood's ET, an extra-terrestrial with human intelligence that happened to drop in from outer space.

Most of the PCs then looked like 14-inch TV sets with a CPU that stored data and information, and a keyboard with a strange gadget called a mouse attached to it.

You could go online and get connected with a whole new world by moving and clicking the mouse on a piece of rubber called a mouse pad.

It was excusable then for one, especially someone from the older generation, to have a phobia towards the new gadget. After all, it was set to "infiltrate" every government department, commercial firm, auto workshop and even individual household 20 years down the road.

The invention of the computer ushered in a new era; communication became a whole new ball game, ever changing and ever improving.

But the computer was intimidating in the beginning. It was new, intelligent and could communicate in different languages. I must confess that, for a very long time, I merely used it as a word processor – nothing more like an electric typewriter, really.

But the digital revolution has been swift and has encroached into our lives – slowly but surely. Eventually, we gave in and embraced it with feeble resistance.

However, there are still people these days who are still intimidated by the computer. The fear causes a mental block that prevents them from taking the first leap across the digital divide.

So, while others are happily joining the Internet community, roaming online, playing games and getting connected with other Netizens, there are some who have dug in their heels and refused to learn.

The computer is here to stay. It will gain a stronger foothold and further impact our lives as it takes on more human functions, including surgery.

There is no doubt that teenagers have welcomed the computer age, and taken to computers like ducks to water. The teens may not be able to write meaningful essays but they sure can teach older folk a thing or two about computers.

How about those of the older generation who prefer to stay on the sidelines and miss out on all the fun? Will we keep giving the excuse that we are not computer-savvy, and then remain an observer forever?

A recent report from Singapore highlighted the increasing number of silver-haired geeks who are as passionate as teenagers about the latest gizmos.

Retired, and with money and plenty of time on their hands, they happily surf the Net and acquire the latest PDAs, handphones and digital cameras.

They are proof that, yes, the proverbial old dog can learn new tricks. You can, too, if you are willing to take the first step!