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Judi McDowell, president, started our celebration by recounting her first
interest in computers. Then 19 other QCS members followed, as they each gave a
brief computer biography and a description of their association with the Quad
Cities Computer Society.
Each story is unique. Every person described and shared the wonder, mystery and enthusiasm of working with computers in the 1980s, 1990s and up to the present. These voices portray the genius of the QCS Society members from different backgrounds: hobbyists, business people, electronic engineers, photographers, genealogists, computer programmers, ham radio operators that have assembled together over these 25 years to help each other. Together we encourage one another as we unravel the mysteries of using these marvelous machines which amaze us, sometimes frustrate us, and always challenge us.
People started on a diverse set of systems: Commodore 64, Radio Shack TRS-80, Apple IIe, Macintosh, IBM, Timex Sinclair, Atari and on and on. In many ways computing is more powerful and less expensive today, but in the past these immature and less complex machines allowed users to create and experiment on their own.
To complement this communal dialogue, the club had a PowerPoint picture display that covered the QCS in photos, logos and graphics. It was fun to watch the panorama of people, places, and things as we listened to the description of days gone by.
As a hands-on counterpoint, a display of old hardware and software that members brought was arranged along the north wall. Old 5-1/4” floppies, 5-1/4” drives, a Commodore 64 opened up for display, and an IBM terminal that ran on 3-1/2” floppies and a small LCD screen that accessed mainframe computers. There were photos of old computers, and photos taken of our club events and members. 1981 issues of QBITS were available. Just a brief perusal of these issues described the wide range of topics that were covered in our meetings. After a short intermission we gathered for cake, ice cream and punch. The cake had the Club’s logo imprinted on it which was appropriate. The cake image technology wasn’t in existence or even imagined when the club was formed in 1981.
Each member was asked to select their favorite program and place their name in a raffle. Several members won door prizes as they came forward as their favorite titles were announced. The QCS thanks the publishers of Smart Computing for providing a copy of their latest issue for each member attending the 25th Anniversary celebration.
The QCS main meeting, over the years, featured new software, new vendors, new hardware and computing trends. Rightly so, for our computing world is changing daily.
The QCS thanks all of those for coming out of the woodwork and sharing their stories. For these personal reflections demonstrate why this club exists; we help each other as we learn ourselves. Jim Kristan made a valid observation. When he first joined, he asked help of others. Later as time went by, other people began to ask him for help. Each member can testify to that same transition. And so it goes.
In the years ahead as our club will chart new horizons, and different computing directions, let us keep this “Members Helping Members” mantra in mind. In the next 25 years, we will get our new machines, install Microsoft Vista, and get new devices and new games. At the 50th Anniversary let us share again the stories of personal computing. It will be a refreshing pause in the onrush of technological progress.