[Schaumburger]

I have been watching the CNN series "The Nineties." Last week's episode was about technology in the 1990's, and the focus was on how during the 1990's many Americans purchased their first home PC (or Mac).

Do you remember when you purchased your first home computer? What was your first internet service provider?

I bought my first home computer in 1997, I think it was either a Compaq or an HP desktop running Windows 95. Had a dial-up modem, so if I was on line, people calling me on my landline phone got a busy signal. I'm pretty sure my first PC cost over $1,000. America Online (AOL "You've got mail.") was my first internet service provider.

Does anyone use a dial up modem any longer? I don't think the connection would be fast enough for today's internet.

Now I'm on my fourth home computer, a Toshiba laptop that is pushing 5 years old, which will probably get replaced sometime early next year. My office recently switched to Windows 10, so by the time I replace my laptop, I should be pretty comfortable with Windows 10. My work laptop is a new HP, and it really boots up quickly.

As a side note, in this episode, Bill Gates did not come off as a humanitarian as Microsoft was being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for antitrust violations.