What was Wrong in Computers

This is a continuation of I Knew Something was Wrong, that ended in 1980, when my career as an Electronic Engineer, ended.

I decided to become a Technical Writer, instead. And I was introduced to a new kind of insanity - the Computer Industry.

I had no idea what I was getting into (no one did, actually) I just needed a job, and there were jobs in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. We didn't know what we were doing - so we just said we were into High Tech.

It gradually became clear to us that we were into Computers - and they were the wave of the future. I bought the first portable computer - the Kaypro, a heavy thing I could barely lug around. But it had a keyboard, a tiny display, and two 5 inch floppy drives.

I could write my computer manuals on it and give one, on a floppy disk, to the Word Processing gals, who had their own computer. All they had to do was send it to a printer - who would print as many copies of it, as we wanted. I was much more productive than any of the other writers.

I learned the C programming language - so I could illustrate my manuals also. I learned, right then - that Software is hard. But before long, I was showing our programmers, my programming skills. And they hired me as a programmer! And I was soon a productive programmer. I could really crank out the code.

Then the company went out of business! They didn't know what they were doing, and the company went completely off the tracks. This would be the story of my life for the next twenty years - going from one company to another.

But let me continue my story. Programming back then was boring, so I stopped being a programmer, and became a Tech Writer again. And I became sick of Southern California - the traffic there was terrible! So I moved North to Silicon Valley - and lived there throughout the Nineties.

Two important things happened next - the Java Programming Language; and the Internet. If I had been smart, I would have learned the Java Language - and gone to work programming for the Internet. I would have become a highly paid Software Developer.

But I was not smart (most of weren't). I was part of the boom, in the late Nineties. The biggest boom ever, that was followed by the biggest bust, ever.

I got out, and moved to Costa Rica.