Week 12: Technology (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 12 is "Technology." When we think of technology today, we often think of computers, genetics, or the Internet. But technology for our ancestors would have been something we take for granted today, like electricity or indoor plumbing. How did technology affect the life of one of your ancestors? Click here to check out all the 2024 prompts.

I don’t have to look at the life of one of my ancestors, I only have to reflect on my own life to see how technology has changed and affected my life.

When I was born, we didn’t have personal computers, microwaves, or even Cable TV in our homes.

I remember some technology milestones from my own life. I remember when handheld calculators first started popping up. They cost $100’s of dollars, before you knew it, you could purchase a calculator for under $10. But think about it, if you have a smart phone, you have a calculator. They can be the fancy kind too. 

I remember when Cable TV came to my hometown, while I was still in middle school. Before cable we had about four or five channels. We had ABC, NBC and CBS. On a good weather day, we could get PBS and then I think we had an independent station on the UHF channels. We were so excited thinking that Cable TV would bring us lots of channels. We also thought it was going to be commercial free, well it was on Showtime or HBO. We got HBO and watching movies that weren’t formatted or edited for the time frame was exciting. Now people are cutting the cord from Cable and are subscribing to streaming services.

The next big electronic purchase my parent’s made was a Microwave. The huge box sat in the corner of our countertop. It could cook a meal in fraction of the time that it would take in the oven. Funny, I now use my microwave less today then when we first got them. They too have come down in price and size.

Personal computers didn’t really come out until I was in high school. I even knew some friends who were going into the computer field. I didn’t jump aboard until six years later when I returned to college and obtained my Computer Programming Degree. Computers made me feel stupid and I didn’t like that feeling. I loved the DOS operating system, and I always tell people, I went kicking and screaming into Windows. I can’t image using my computer today with the DOS operating system. Plus, my first computer, which was a “luggable”, cost over $2000. It didn’t even have a hard drive, just two 5 ¼” floppy disk drives and a built-in thermal printer. 

Does anyone remember Prodigy? It was the Interactive Personal Service, similar to AOL but cost less. It was a long-distance phone call for me, so I had to keep my usage down to a minimum. They had message boards for genealogy and I was so excited using it. When the Internet first was introduced, it was a little intimidating. Did you know that the World Wide Web became available to the broader public on April 30, 1993. That is only 30 years ago. I even tried my hand at creating a genealogy website for my tree. 

Even my favorite genealogy software program, Family Tree Maker has taken leaps and bounds over the years. I first stated using it in 1997 with version 4. It came on a CD, and had a Family Finder Index for its numerous family tree CD’s. I remember saving my money, so I could afford to buy it. After inputting so many names, it would prompt you to save to a floppy to send in for future CDs. The program went through changes as Windows and computer logic was changing. I don’t take to change really easy. However, I forced myself and always end up loving the changes. I can't image doing my genealogy without this wonderful program.

Finally, we can’t forget when cell phones were first coming out. How expensive it was to have, you paid for every call. I guess I really changed my cell phone habits around 2004 when I got my first iPhone. I still had a landline in my home until 2020, however when we moved, we got rid of the landline and only use our cell phones. Our cell phones are really powerful little computers, I can browse the internet, take pictures and even facetime people like on the Jetsons. 

Thinking back as a young child, watching my favorite shows like the Jetsons and Star Trek and thinking about what my future would look like is pretty amazing. I never imagined the technology we would have today; however, I am still disappointed that we don’t have flying cars like on the Jetsons. Perhaps that is a good thing, considering how badly a lot of people drive.  

Genealogy has really benefited from technology, with all the information we can find online, even though everything still isn’t online, so much more is, compared to just 20 years ago. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!