Chapter 14

For this exercise we had to interview someone over the age of 40 who has owned multiple computers.  The questions given to ask were: Describe your first computer: What was it?  What features made you decide it was the right computer for you? Describe your second computer: What was it? Did you purchase the same brand?  Why did you buy a new computer? What features made you decide it was the right computer for you?

Having witnessed computers change from your first computer to your second (or more), what features do you expect to see in the future? After our interview we wrote an essay summarizing the responses. 

Essay:

Amy Windmiller

Visual Communication

November 15, 2017

Interview with Jeff Windmiller

            For this interview I decided to ask my dad the questions, because I know he has owned a couple of computers in his life so far. My dad is not the most tech savvy person but I knew he would be honest with his answers about why he chose the computers he did, and what he liked and didn’t like about his past computers.

            The first question was hard for my dad to answer because he could not remember the name of his first computer because that would have been from about 25 years or more ago. However, he made a guess that is was either an HP, Sony, or Toshiba. He told me he wanted a new computer because he was tired of using a type writer. He recalled that the price of his first computer was probably reasonable and he needed a computer with a word processor program to write and store information. My dad said he initially wanted these features so he wouldn’t have to use a type writer, or use paper anymore but he still ended up using paper to write on a lot more than the computer.

            The second computer my dad owned was a Dell. He said that he was still a fairly new computer user and if he remembered what his first computer was and if performed well, he probably would have purchased the same brand. His reasoning for buying a new computer was because his first computer broke. He recalls switching from HP to Dell because he liked Dell’s price and performance, and HP’s computer broke too soon. As for the features of my dad’s computer, he really only cares about price, reliability, and ease of use. But the main need for my dad was that the computer had a good word processor program.

            Since my dads first couple of computers he says the changes he has seen are light years ahead of his first experiences with computers. My dad sees computers now with larger storage space, faster operation, user friendly, and portability. We can use computers for almost everything and almost everyone can use them. My dad predicts to see changes in the future such as the average desktop computer will no longer be sold, and even laptops will keep getting smaller, more portable, even more user friendly, and less expensive devices that will easily electronically connect the world.