Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
You.went.to.a.family.reunion.and.started.talking.with.her.
and.your. aunts. about. your.ancestors,. and.she. remembered.
that. work. she. did.. You. decide. it. would. be. a. great. time. to.
gather.up.that.information.and.update.it.with.recent.events.
like.the.birth.of.your.children.and.your.nieces.and.nephews..
Well,. we. already. discussed. the. problems. with. the. loppy.
disks,.but.you.are.in.luck..Your.mom.actually.saved.her.old.
Commodore.computer.with.a.5.25.inch.drive.
You.plug.it.in.and.ire.it.up,.but.it.only.boots.up.to.a.DOS.
prompt..There.are.no.windows,.there.is.no.mouse,.and.there.
is.no.“user.interface.”.Just.a.black.screen.with.C:\.at.the.top.
waiting.for.you.to.do.something..(This.is.what.is.known.as.the.
DOS.prompt,.or.the.computer's.way.of.telling.you.in.the.old.
digital.operating.system.that.it.is.ready.)
If.you.are.old.or.geeky.enough.to.remember.what.to.do.
next,. you. might. manage. to. plug. that. loppy. into. the. drive.
and.even.navigate.over.to.it.to.see.what.is.on.it..There.is.a.
command.for.that..You.can.type.it.in.after.the.DOS.prompt.
(if.you.are.interested,.it.would.be.DIR.D:\.assuming.the.com-
puter.was.recognizing.your.loppy.drive.as.D:).
Let's.assume.you.got.this.far.either.because.you.are.old.and.
geeky.like.me,.or.because.you.found.some.help.somewhere..
You.can.actually.see.ile.names.that.end.with.the.extension.
.wp.for.Word.Perfect..Excellent..Now.you.just.double.click.on.
them..Oh.wait,.there.is.no.mouse.and.no.cursor.
OK,.so.you.do.some.more.research.or.call.that.old.guy.
back.and.you.igure.out.the.command.that.you.need.to.type.to.
open.those.iles.in.Word.Perfect..You.try.that.out,.but.it.does.
not.work..Unfortunately.the.way.those.old.systems.worked,.
you.had.to.have.the.loppy.disk.with.the.Word.Perfect.appli-
cation. on. it. and. load. it. up. irst.. Once. you. loaded. it. on. the.
computer,.you.could.then.open.those.iles..Do.you.have.that.
old.application.loppy.disk?.No?.Oops,.game.over.
Again,.this.is.all.meant.as.an.illustration.of.one.of.the.many.
ways.important.data.might.be.dificult.or.in.fact.impossible.to.
gain.access.to.when.needed..In.the.example.just.given.or.in.
a. similar. situation,. your. choices. would. be. to. ind. someone.
