News

Sod IT

July 2010

Twenty five years ago, sitting in a pub with a mate who worked in "computers", I was being numbed by his description of his job. His firm looked after the reels of data which high street banks sent to them by goods vehicle to store safely in a huge old mill near Huddersfield. Noticing my ill-concealed boredom - I was trying a bit, he was also my cricket skipper - he announced over his Sammy Smiths that in the fullness of time everyone would have a computer on their desk. I fear that some excellent Dark Mild may well have hit reverse at this juncture.

Knowing little about the subject but, as an engineer, recognising that most computers would melt a standard four bedroomed igloo, I embarked on an ill constructed argument. With the exception of writing letters, for which the IBM daisy wheel seemed to suffice, I definitely did not agree with the proposition that one day, yes, one day, computers would be used to buy things and look after bank accounts plus loads more other stuff that my pal could not think of whilst in a pub.

Yeah, right.

So in the here and now, securing data by back...