How Software has Changed

It is strange, that someone like me, who is not a software expert at all - should be giving a historical overview of its development. But perhaps the experts are too close to the action - and I am far enough away from it, to get a wider view.

I am far away, in rural Costa Rica, in a small scenic town surrounded by coffee fields - but with a fast Internet connection. An unusual combination.

I was looking back over my life, something an old man sometimes does, that ended with me doing time in the Computer Industry in California, in the Eighties and Nineties.

I noticed then, and I continue to notice, that the people there had no idea what was going on. And seemed determined to not notice. Perhaps they were suffering from too much change, and had to protect themselves from it.

Rapid change was happening, for sure. And most people did not know how to cope with it. Someone should do some research on this, and find out what this really means, to them. I think they will be surprised, by what they discover.

In the Eighties, we did not yet realize, that we were into Computers. We just called it High Tech - and became obsessed with making money out of it, whatever it was. Often by the shadiest of means - people were stealing things from other people, at an incredible rate. This was highway robbery,  in other words, although the highway was new.

As soon as people smell money - they want some of it. And money was there.

I had been working in Southern California, along the Pacific Coast. From Ventura County, southward into LA country, then into Orange Country, and into San Diego. All this was being developed, and High Tech was part of this rapid development. The area was transformed from beautiful small towns, into a horrible megalopolis. It was time for me to get out.

I moved North, into Silicon Valley. It continues to amaze me, to this day - how many Americans do know know what the Valley is, or where it is. I can hardly blame them, it was so new, and so strange - we could hardly believe it ourselves, at the time. But real it was - in a weird way.

By this time, we knew we were into computers, but a new kind of computer - the Personal Computer. A big thing three feet high, two feet deep, and a foot wide. I had one, complete with all the adapters, you added to it, so it could do anything.You bought the extra software you needed also. These were sold on optical disks, you inserted into your Desktop.

I had a whole table loaded with equipment - a fancy monitor that could be rotated from horizontal to vertical orientation, three printers, and a scanner.

This was so complicated, I used a computer shop to do all my customization for me. I would lug it over to them, in back of my car - and pick it up, a day later, with all my improvements installed.

Here is where my story begins.

It's been a long buildup, but it was necessary. Things were changing, once again - and everything was changing fast.

The Desktop was being replace by the Laptop - were everything (hardware and software) was included in one tidy, low cost, package! 

The Java programming language was introduced - it wasn't sold, it was given away, for free - by Sun Microsystems - who wanted to get rid of Microsoft. They didn't succeed in getting rid of Microsoft - it was too clever and ruthless for that. But they did succeed in reinventing the Software Development process. 

It was made part of a much larger package - what came to be called an Ecosystem! From then on, you became part of software company's protected territory - sometimes call its Walled Garden. Apple had one of those - along with Google (a big one!) Amazon, and Facebook. All of them were tied together, by the Internet - something brand new. 

And they all created a financial boom, that still has not ended. Startups still come and go, like mushrooms on manure. The usual insanity. 

But quietly below all this sound and fury - a new kind of Software Development was taking place. Developers were quietly helping other developers to do their work. And the work they were doing was amazing! 

It's so amazing, I cannot understand it - but I can clearly see it is based on cooperation, not competition. 

They have created new people (Computer people) that are extremely well paid. But these are putting almost every one else out of work. 

And everyone else, meanwhile. is having a panic attack - and doing everything wrong.