Diskettes, DOS, and Data Imaging
TCW’s History with Infrastructure
As we think of what our network infrastructure is today, back in 1988 and into the early 90’s, it was non-existent for training centers like ours. We had stand-alone machines in our classrooms and offices. DOS was the operating systems for the PC’s which were custom built by a local consultant. Our Macintosh computers were also stand-alone computers with external hard drives. Our computers all had hard drives although many computers at colleges and elsewhere didn’t. You had to play ‘switch a disk’ – first the program diskette was inserted, then the diskette to save your work and back and forth. The process was, SLOW.
As we may know, the computer and training industry changes, and changes quickly. What used to take hours to prepare our stand-alone computers for classes, now takes minutes. We were all thankful when networks came into existence and made operating more efficient. “Ghosting” machines, creating data images of the content and configuration of a computer, made it easier to get our classroom desktops ready for the next day with a clean operating system and files. The ability to store and house information within a network or on the cloud, makes diskettes a ghost of the past.
The Computer Workshop has always and will continue to make sure we evolve to keep up with the latest technology. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our networks, software, courses, and learning environments as newer and more efficient technologies are available. We may think of the phrase “bigger and better”, which is not necessarily the case in the information technology landscape. We’re sure you can agree the sleek smartphone tucked in our pockets can do many, if not all the tasks our computer can do.
Does new technology create challenges? Yes!
But we continue to evolve, and we will work through those challenges together.