Back when I got my first computer I used to get a thrill out of trying out shareware - crazy applications I would never use to sort recipes or learn to type. I would customise every aspect of my computer - the welcome screen, the desktop image, the colours and fonts and definitely the sounds. I was like a kid decorating the cover of an exercise book. It was the same when I first discovered the Net - I would go looking for things randomly - whatever came into my mind, and spent many late nights downloading Monty Python scripts, poems by Edgar Allan Poe, and Smashing Pumpkins images.

These days, my behaviour is completely different. My PC is a tool. I only customise it to enhance my productivity. I rarely browse the web for fun, and when I do, if were completely honest with myself, it’s probably because I want to appear interesting ("Did you see site xyz?"). I can’t remember the last time I discovered a new application. I use the same old comfortable suite of applications, and invariably any new piece of software I load up comes as a recommendation from a trusted friend. I even shy away from upgrading the software I do own. Unless the latest version has a new feature I’ve been wanting my first thought is that the new version will probably screw up something.

This change in attitude is due to a change in the way I use the technology. These days I’m almost always using my computer for work related activities. At work, the PC helps me to achieve my goals - writing documents, communicating with people, helping me to work with other people, getting me the information I want. These goals are a far cry from when I first got a PC - I was learning DOS commands, browsing the world’s biggest library and computing was a hobby. Now it just helps me get things done. In some ways I miss all the tinkering.

Trent