{"id":1066,"date":"2025-07-30T11:28:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mardo.net\/?p=1066"},"modified":"2026-02-04T04:11:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T12:11:27","slug":"the-obsolete-computer-repair-technician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mardo.net\/?p=1066","title":{"rendered":"The Obsolete Computer Repair Technician"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mardo Makes A Prediction Regarding The Future of Computers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Mart Wilburn AKA Mardo<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mardo\u2019s Computer Repair has been in business for almost 30 years. For the last 29 years, Mardo\u2019s has enjoyed making new customers and supporting the needs of his existing customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the improvement of technology over the years, and with more modern devices, the need for computer repair has diminished since Covid hit the world. It affected a lot of business, and Mardo\u2019s Computer Repair was not spared. Today, Mardo is only doing about 20% of the work he used to do back in 2015. Of course, it wasn\u2019t only the Covid situation that caused his business to slow, there were other extenuating circumstances involved, such as his recent move to Arkansas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that is typical with almost all technology. Particularly with computers. A device is improved upon and the added amounts of processing power and memory expansion, computers today are faster and more reliable than the early days of computing. And a lot of computers today don\u2019t require much maintenance, short of keeping their system and anti-virus programs up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early stages of network computing, if a company had the need for a computer, they would obtain a large, mainframe computer which did all of the processing power.  These mainframe computers were huge and could easily fill a room with all of the equipment. Mainframe computers held the operating system, all the programs that the company used and needed, and of course the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attached to the mainframe computer were \u201cdummy terminals\u201d or \u201cnodes\u201d that connected to the mainframe computer via a \u201cserial data cable.\u201d These dummy terminals had no processing power at all. They were just a simple monitor that displayed shared information from the mainframe computer. The computer technician\u2019s job in those days was focused on the mainframe computer. If the terminal failed, replacing the node was a simple fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time went on, computers became smarter and smaller to the point that people began to want a computer in their own home. In the early days of home computers, manufacturers such as Commadore and Texas Instruments, began to flood the market with affordable home PC\u2019s. These home PCs didn\u2019t require a lot of processing power or memory. It did, however, require the user to learn a computer language. \u201cBasic\u201d and \u201cDOS\u2019 were among the early home computer languages offered, and introduced to the public well after earlier forms of much more complex languages such as Fortran & Cobol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early 1982, the author of this article was the owner of a Texas Instruments 99\/4A, a complete functioning micro-computer that was packed into a keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TI-99\/4a operated on a TI TMS99000 at 3 MHz and included 16 KB of RAM and 26 KB of ROM. The computer included a RS-232 interface card and a 32K memory expansion card as well as a Data Storage cassette. *<\/p>\n\n\n

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The unit Mardo purchased didn\u2019t come with a monitor or any automatic data storage. It also came with very minimal random-access memory (RAM) – which wasn’t needed in those days as graphics wasn’t a thing yet. Mardo connected a small black and white TV to his newly acquired computer to use as a monitor. He would spend 45 minutes to an hour typing in his program, using Basic language, play the game and then lose all of the programing work once the computer was turned off. In those days, data storage for the Texas Instruments 994\/A wasn’t included with the base unit . Mardo eventually purchased a cassette recorder to store his programs he had typed into the computer, so that when he wanted to play a game, he would simply insert the cassette in the recorder and \u201cload\u201d the program into the computer and then play the game. As time went on, Mardo joined a Texas Instruments User\u2019s Group – where different users would exchange programs via cassette tapes and instantly, he had a new way of obtaining programs without the tedious efforts of inputting them into the computer. Mardo even went to the extent of purchasing a voice\/speech synthesizer that attached to the side of the computer and it allowed the computer to “speak” the text out-loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time went on, more and more computers were being obtained and used at home. Some tech savvy people would connect to \u201cBulletin Boards\u201d via a telephone landline. Bulletin Boards were online data bases \u2013 and accessed via a phone line that used a Phone Modem on each end of the connection. A person who hosted the Bulletin Board, had their computer connected to a dedicated phone line and others would be able to connect to the host computer using \u201cDial-up\u201d phone connection, using credentials the host would provide to the user. And it was sloooow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was this style of connecting one computer to another that eventually evolved to what we now know as the Internet. Today, computers are no longer limited to connecting to just one computer at a time, but they can connect to hundreds of thousands of computers in a single online experience. We call this new technology the World Wide Web \u2013 or WWW for short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time continued to evolve and as computer technology began to flourish, the need for someone with computer and technology knowledge became apparent. It also opened the doors for a lot of people who had desires to assist people with computer needs to earn a handsome living in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now here we are, as the second quarter of the 21 century is about begin, we have moved into a world of online computing, we call \u201cCloud Computing\u201d. All of one\u2019s data can be stored in the \u201cCloud\u201d which means no more data loss.  Yay! This new technology is great, but it doesn\u2019t address the constant breakdown of computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the purpose of this article is to do a little \u201cMardo prediction.\u201d Read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mardo Predicts the Future of Computers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We are headed back to the original idea of the ol\u2019 mainframe computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the near future, we won\u2019t have a need for home or business computers. Everything will be on the \u201cCloud\u201d. Operating systems, programs, data. Etc. Everything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home users and businesses will have a monitor similar to the old school \u201cDummy Terminal\u201d like in the beginning, but will have little to no processing power to speak of. This dummy terminal will have a keyboard and mouse, a cable that provides power to the unit, and a cable or WiFi ability that allows connectivity to a \u201cmodem\u201d that connects this device to the Internet. Nothing more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the dummy terminal is powered up, it will connect directly to the Internet immediately. There on the screen, will be a prompt for the user to enter their user\u2019s name, passcode, and a network to connect to, if applicable. And Viola! There it is! Everything! All of your data, including the operating system, choice programs, and all of your network access will be available through this inexpensive dummy terminal. If something goes haywire with this dummy terminal, you just simply replace it. No need to call out a computer tech. – just replace the unit. And you won’t need to worry about viruses, because that service will be provided by the provider of the cloud system. You won’t have to worry about data loss, because the host will secure your data (for a fee). And so there will hardly ever be a need for a computer technician. Pictured below is the infamous Maytag Repairman ** \u2013 sitting there, bored, with his head on his hand waiting for the phone to ring so that he can go fix a washing machine. In the computer world, that will be Mardo.<\/p>\n\n\n

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And that, folks, is where we are headed and it is in the very near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mardo of Mardo\u2019s Computer Repair fell into the technology twilight zone at the perfect time. He was young enough to understand the technology, and yet old enough to see the potential it offered. As a computer technician, there are only a few words that expresses his love and devotion of computers \u2013 and that\u2019s \u201cHe digs it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as Mardo is preparing to retire in the next few years, and with the slowing of his business, retirement is actually welcomed. Not to worry, Mardo will still be around for a few more years, but on a very relaxed schedule. So, if you are in need of computer repair, and you cannot wait until everything moves to the cloud, give Mardo a call! Between dipping his foot in a pool somewhere in the South Pacific and dining at a fine restaurant, Mardo will try to “squeeze you in” on his tight schedule and resolve your PC needs with the fine touch you have come to expect over the past 29 years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Computing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n