Five years ago, Microsoft “pulled the plug” on Windows XP as a viable operating system (OS) for most of our computers.  Next January, Windows 7 will get the same treatment.  Like we found with XP, Windows 7 will…
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Calculators.  We take them for granted now; they are everywhere and often for free.  However, it might come as a surprise to anyone born in the last 40 years that this wasn’t always the case. Let’s travel back…
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At Harrisburg Academy, the safety and security of everyone is a top priority.  A new electronic visitor management system (VMS for short) was recently installed.  In the first phase of implementation, we have eliminated the paper visitor sign-in…
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Fifteen years ago, everyone was excited about the new SMART Board systems revolutionizing classrooms at Harrisburg Academy. Over the course of five years, every classroom was outfitted with one of these. The components included the SMART Board itself,…
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One does not often think about music and computers getting along. Music is all about warmth, creating pleasing sound, and expressing emotion. Computers are usually thought of as cold and calculating, embodied by logic and a need to…
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In part 2 of this series, I left off sharing that I was learning to program a Z80 Starter computer in its native machine language — and I reported that the computer still works! It has evolved quite...
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In part 1 of this series, I left you with the cliffhanger of whether or not 15-year-old me was able to collect the $500 needed to purchase one of the first commercial microcomputers. Here’s what happened next. It…
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Computers have been around for a long time. Back in 2005 when I was teaching our introductory course in computer science, I devoted a whole week to the history of computing because I felt it was important for…
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I spend a large portion of my waking hours dedicated to the technology of Harrisburg Academy.  But as you may have learned from a previous blog, I also have a strong interest in Scouting.  You may also know…
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For me, the love of Scouting goes back to when I was eight years old as a Cub.  At 18, I just barely missed making Eagle, the highest rank in Scouting, but that’s another story.  I am certainly…
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