Twenty-nine years ago today (November 22) my wife and I bought our first computer. This Genesis 2 "XT clone" was made and sold by a Renton company called Trinity Technology. The specs were impressive: 20-megabyte hard drive, 640K memory, AT&T-DOS, monochrome monitor, Citizen 120D dot-matrix printer.

I wondered what on earth we would use it for, but my wife was certain it would become well-used. She was right. Over the years we have purchased about 14 computers: desktops, laptops, and iPads. A life without computers seems impossible.

My present computer, a Dell 8700 desktop, has a one-terabyte hard drive (15,000 times the space of the Genesis 2) and 8 gigabytes memory (12,500 times the memory of the Genesis 2). The Genesis 2 cost $695. The 20-Mb hard drive was extra, costing $395. My 8700 cost less than what I paid for the Genesis 2 and hard drive.

I wonder what computing will be like in another 29 years.

Geotagging shows the location of Trinity Technology in 1986.