statement
of purpose
September 2006
Purpose of this website (http://PRoComputing.org)
dedicated to helping users/readers "discover" common sense in using their Personal Computer (PC)
. . . the care of your physical hardware. Anti-virus, security, backup, ergonomic topics.
Most of this website will be useful to Mac-, Linux-, and, of course, Windows- users.The world PC's are mostly using Microsoft Windows. Therefore, procomputing.org presents programs
that run under Windows. Sometimes, software producers will also make a Mac-version.Unless there is a major operating system, maybe Linux, that PC-users (like us ??) adopt:
Very useful to ALL PC-USERS ==> Check out Internet REFERENCES.
A reoccuring [PRo] theme is "Keep It Simple" (KIS)
Also you'll notice [PRo]: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Computers/technology is changing daily (hourly !!!) -- that's the excitement of "compuking" [CRo]
Website developed [and maintained] by PRoComputing ==> http://www.olliephonics.com (w/sound)Also ==> enjoy the humor webpages.
How does PRoComputing [PRo] support itself:
From PC-users that have machines that fail:
from a virus?, from a failed hard drive?
from a knowledgable(?) friend, from an amateur repair
that "bollucks" your PC setup? In the military it's called:
“Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition” (polite form)Sometimes it can be cheaper to replace your "box"
(the container that houses your CPU, DRAM, hard drive, power supply,...)PRoComputing has NO ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP/AFFILIATION
with any company discussed on this website.
That would be an obvious “conflict of interest” in presenting
unbiased recommendations and reviews.ProComputing can repair/upgrade or replace your PC with ROBUST components
(e.g., hard drive). Or WE can replace the whole box, at a reasonable cost.And if your PC stops talking Windows, I am known to provide some magic to
save your data (documents, accounting data, email's. email addresses, bookmarks,
cookies, etc.) when you thought all was lost. From there,
PRoComputing [PRo] can rebuild your machine, hardware and software
or help you replace your PC, and restore your data.I've been in the computing biz' for 40 years (see below).
And if you practice “safe computing” as I descibe on this website,
you will avert future computing problems/catastrophes.The operating system ("OS", Windows ver.?) and tools/applications/programs
really define your PC. That is the focus of this, procomputing.org website.
Abbreviated History of the Personal Computer (PC)The origin of the Personal Computer occurred in the 1970's in Palo Alto, California, at Xerox PARC
The Xerox Alto was at least a decade ahead of its time
But:
Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented Then Ignored the First Personal Computer
By Douglas K. Smith, April 1999In fact, it took Apple to introduce the LISA (~$10,000 PC) in the early 80's,
for some of PARC's Alto innovations to reach the general public.The most powerful early innovation was the Graphical User Interface (GUI) developed at
Stanford Research Institute (SRI), nearby to PARC, by Doug Engelbart, along with the mouse.Of course, then came the Jef Raskin (who just recently passed away in February 2005) Apple Macintosh and Bill Gates' Windows
-- both based on the friendly/desktop-metaphor GUI architecture.The bulk of the world's PC's are Microsoft-Windows-based, which explains this website and PRoComputing's focus on Windows
PRoComputing (Peter Rowe [PRo]) 808.887.1777 has been in the computer business full-time since 1968
I, Peter Rowe, spent my first 40 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, 20 years, full-time in computing -- first at U.C. "Berzerkeley's" Lawrence Hall of Science; next I founded an educational software company, "CAI" (Computer Assisted Instruction). In the early 80's, I taught Apple's first technical class -- on the ill-fated Apple ///.
Before becoming the R&D director of The Learning Company, I was an application's programmer
for Nestar Systems, an early, PC networking company in Palo Alto, CA.
Here, in Hawaii, besides specifying and installing 600 to 700 PC's,
I programmed database applications for DHHL/OHA-sponsored projects
and HawaiianAir projects (for some years, my programs tracked all HawaiianAir traffic).Will the future Operating System [OS] of choice be Linux? Stay tuned ???
You will notice [XYz]'s throughout the website
Example: [PRo] is my mnemonic for Peter Rowe.
Other mnemonics, like [HHa] [MHa] identify others -- that make this website possible (thx)
