Introduction

The Evolution Of Electronic Processing Devices

Knowing a little about computer evolution will help you understand PCs better. ENIAC, (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator), the first mainframe machine, was created in 1946. It was huge, and scientists had to set switches to program the ballistic test calculations it made automatically. UNIVAC, a computer that automatically sorted punch cards to reach answers set by programming criteria came along in 1951. Once main frames could store data and programs on magnetic tape, they made a great leap forward. In the early days, main frame programmers used languages like FORTRAN, COBOL, and PASCAL. In the 1970's, IBM introduced the first personnel computer. The machines came with a programming language called BASIC. It permitted users, without a background in computer science, to write routines. A further distinction between PCs and main frames is their use of a group of prewritten machine instructions called a disk operating system, or DOS for short. It enables these smaller computers to perform the functions of a large number of other electronic devices. In the 1980's, the emulation we know as Windows was developed. This shell program, or graphic interface, lead users to believe they no longer needed machine language skills to operate a computer. This isn't the case. On-site programming is what gives these machines the intelligence to operate themselves. A properly developed PC, designed for production work, should be spending a large part of the day running original programming written on-site

The Power Of PCs

NASA commissioned the first PCs for use by astronauts in orbital flight. IBM couldn't fit a mainframe aboard a tiny space capsule, so they had to create a miniature version. Far from the simple devices Windows makes people believe they are, they're actually highly sophisticated scientific instruments. If you take a close look at a PC keyboard, you'll notice that unlike dedicated hardware, their function keys have numbers instead of names. Since experienced PC users write their own programs, this design makes more key combinations possible for use in the routines they write. Commercial software uses programming to emulate features found on dedicated word processing machines. This in no way put the devices to work on tasks you assign it.

Getting What You Pay For

The mouse was invented decades before it was added to Windows, but DOS software developers rejected it as inefficient and awkward. Using a pointing device to select menus and icons slows down the command process. Since you already have both hands on the keyboard, it makes no sense to take one off to activate features. The design of Windows also hinders production. Its nested menus often make you go down several levels to access features you need regularly. Because commercial applications should also be programmed, this design flaw wastes valuable time. Short cut keys, and keystroke macros are therefore more difficult to use under a shell. As if these drawbacks weren't enough, their huge size burdens hard drives unecessarily. Because Windows, and its related software, continue to swell with each new release, storage capacity must follow. Although the larger hard drives you must acquire are faster, you'll see little speed improvement. Disks platters have to spin more times to read through the tons of ease-of-use code they are now forced to carry.

The blazing speed of today's processors and memory chips is nullified by bloated programs that often offer basic DOS services that have always been available. Well designed software puts every drop of computer power it takes to good use. The idiot features found in new shell releases sap machine speed, because they use tons of code to perform simple tasks. You don't need a brain surgeon to lance a boil, nor do you need a programmable device, with advanced math and logic capabilities, to download files and manipulate data. Shells are easier to use, but almost everything achieved by one can be done faster, and more efficiently outside a graphic interface. Programs that run in the operating system are straight forward, less troublesome, and more flexible. They can also be incorporated into menu systems of your own design.

A yacht isn't a sound investment if you're afraid of the water, and keep it moored to the dock. The best way to enjoy these powerful boats is to fire up the engines, and head for the open ocean. If you lack technical expertise, you can only sit on the deck of your cabin cruiser and drink the warm flat beer you're served. Programming is both a way to enjoy your machine, and a means to keep costs down. Those without this skill must trust others to captain their ships. It's to their advantage to do all they can to keep them reliant on their skills, instead of developing their own.

The High Cost Of Shell Depndency

Because Windows has so many supporters, most people assume that it's the best way to run a PC. This is far from true. The corporations that made this product popular had money to burn, and time to waste. What they, and those that followed their lead, fail to grasp is that the power of a processing device is defined by the type of software it runs, and the skill level of its operator. Commercial products should only play a small part in how you use a computer. Windows complicates tasks that are often handled better by other DOS software, while slowing devices down tremendously to achieve this end. You won't win the Tour De France on a bike with training wheels. A computer is like any other tool. In order for it to do the job for you, you have to know its purpose, and have the skills required to get the most from it.

The amount of speed, intelligence, and cost effectiveness you get from a PC depends of your level of expertise. You must know which class of software fits the job at hand best. If you can't program, and use the power of the operating system, you lack the fundamental skill needed to run a desktop computer. Doing everything with a shell is like using a nail gun as a hammer. You'll get the work done eventually, but will waste time and energy needlessly. Those that go beyond the limitations of Windows software aren't prepared to take of the challenges of this modern world. I can say with certainty that there is no place in the Age of Automation for cave people. Windows dependency has led this country into a trap. We are playing with pretty pictures that magically do things that most users lack the skills to do themselves, while other industrialized nations are programming their computers to beat what's left of our brains out.

The Hidden Dangers Of Windows

Since PCs require an operating system to control hardware. The first graphic interfaces ran on top of DOS. Windows 3.1 permitted computer users to smoothly move between both environments. This flexibility is essential. However, versions that followed this one merged the two environments into a single product. Instead of being empowered by this new design, the operating system is weakened. Since shells mainly serve to make DOS program emulations easier to run, those with computer skills often find it more convenient to use the real thing. New Windows versions stand between you and the native environment needed to do this. They not only don't exit to the operating system, but demand that you turn your PC off once you leave them. Making the real device interface difficult to reach and use is absurd. Since you can only run DOS in a small box under a shell, and must restart the computer to run a full session, your power over the device is lost. The operating system, you are no longer permitted to select yourself, or access freely, is the most powerful part of your PC.

Knowing Your Tools

When a computer is being run correctly it works like a automated bakery. Original routines play a key role in this operation. Running a plant which didn't bake ingredients would be a financial disaster. Failing to teach a PC how to function autonomously is a similarmistake. Merely using one to surf the Web, and run shell applications is like frosting raw cake dough. In order to justify their high costs, a computer should be running itself, by making logical decisions based on what you've taught it to do. Although this will surprise many, those that can only click on icons, pull down menus, and type are actually using these expensive Corvettes as push carts. Commercial software is slow, bulky, and extremely limiting. When you want to put the peddle to the metal, you must leave your shell behind, and head for the open road that your operating system provides. DOS software, and your own programming, give you the tools you need to soup up a computer to the point where it can burn rubber.

The Importance Of The Operating System

Electronic processing devices can perform a wide variety of tasks not directly related to computing. But, none of them helps a machine become smarter. To compute information, you must teach a device how to "think", while executing the instructions you've given it to run. Commercial applications only provide you with hard-wired features, over which you have little, or no control. They have no power once you leave them. Although you can set some defaults, you are basically stuck with the features software developers see fit to provide you. DOS controls everything, so it's always active, and waiting your commands.

Those that learn a computer language that it runs can talk to their machines directly, without using the Window's interface. Now you know why Microsoft goes as far as shutting your PC down to stop you from reaching this key environment. If you could use it, you would have the option of running two different types of software. Since these olderr programs are smaller, faster, cheaper and less buggy, which ones would you prefer to use, if you had the skills to use either? An interesting footnote, did you know that PCs won't even boot without DOS, and that Windows is merely a memory emulation that attaches itself to the kernel that always has to be present on IBM compatible devices? The only reason the small Window they provide under their shell gives access to this environment is so their technicians and programmers can get things done quickly. They don't want them wasting time goofing around with Windows applications. They understand that they are inefficient, and withhold vital information you need to make technical decisions.

The Vital Role Of User Programming

In order to command a computer, you must use some type of machine language. This is why it's important to learn one. These advanced devices are dependent on their users to educate them, so ignoring this responsibility is similar to child abuse. Failing to teach them to carry out own instructions is like keeping a child locked in a closet, instead of sending them to school. Their growth is retarded. It's ironic that Windows fueled the rapid growth of the computer industry. It lacks the ability to create the type of programming needed to train processing devices to function automatically, and it robs them of their true power. It turns these tremendously powerfu devices into crude memory typewriters.

Basically, Windows users are playing games with an extremely sophisticated device, that can do hundreds of times more for them if they knew how to operate it themselves. Without user programming these machines can never grow in intelligence. It may surprise you to learn that there are few thing new under the sun, as far as these devices are concerned. Except for a few enhancements, spread sheets, word processing packages, and databases are still doing the same things they did twenty-five years ago. The main difference is they did them much faster, without crashing, on hardware that was hundreds of times slower. The main difference is that you had to use keyboard combinations to pass commands to the device through code. You didn't have to keep all of these commands in your head either. Software makers supplied templates you put on your keyboard, so all you had to do was look down to find the one you wanted. In the eary days, even secretaries and clerks where exposed to aspects of programming, so it was easier for them to get a handle on this important skill. Today, people are as knowledgable about what is going on when they click an icon as they are about Astro Physics. Although most don't understand this, user programming isn't a luxury, but a necessity that can't be ignored safely. In today's highly competitive world of business, it's program or perish. The question is what do you bring to the table?