This is not a new tech story, this is an old story about the first time I used technology that I clearly remember and that impressed me and the people around me.
I always had new gadgets and in 1997 I had a Palm Pilot that I used for contacts, calendar, some reading and very few one color games. At the end of 1997 I was applying for graduate school and had some communication with the school via email. I believe it was a CompuServe email.
In addition to the Palm Pilot I had a modem that would attach to the device. I was at work one day and I was showing the Palm Pilot to a friend. First he was impressed with the PDA, then to impress him a little more, I disconnected the office telephone and connected the cable to the modem. I still remember the sound it made. It was the classic modem connection sound.
Once the modem connected, I went online and showed him a few basic sites, those I don’t remember, but what happened next was the first time that I truly discovered the power of the Palm Pilot and what the future will hold. I went to the email app and downloaded the new emails, or rather, I downloaded the only email. It was from UCLA and they wanted to schedule an interview and needed a response as soon as possible. Immediately I responded and sent the email… I did get the interview and latter attended The Anderson School of Business at UCLA. But that moment there was an eye opener. I was away from my computer and I was able to check my emails, and respond from a little device that I can hold with one hand and this was in 1997 in Venezuela, the world had truly opened up for me.
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