Through the Looking Glass

CAC’s Technological Advances Through the Years

Joe Pyritz on an Apple II, 1982

Elliot Johnson, Cactus Contributor
October 29, 2015

Times have changed at CAC. What has changed the most, other than the people that fill the campus every semester, is the technology we use. Technology is advancing fast and comparing what the students used way back in the day is fascinating. Back in 1982, CAC had a computer room that had Apple II computers. Joe Pyritz was photographed using one of the Apple computers during an open house in the computer room that was sponsored by CAC Science – Math Club back in ‘82. The memory of these computers ranged from 4 KB to 48 KB. There are apps today that are so much bigger than the memory of these computers.

In 1988, CAC offered classes using the IBM XT computers and students learned how to use the programs that came with itsuch as its integrated software packages, which were programs such as word processors and spreadsheets, similar to Microsoft Office for Windows. Accounting Applications for Spreadsheets was a business class that taught how to use Spreadsheets in a businesses. Desktop Publishing was for the design side of business and students learned how to make letterheads, brochures, and presentation, just like CAC’s Graphic Design classes today.

The Mac Computers we use on campus today still do those things but they can do so much more; designing websites or making music. The creative power of the computers we use everyday to learn and advance into a career field is astonishing compared to what little computers could do just a few decades ago. As a design student myself, I’m glad we’ve done nothing but expand on the basics they had back then.

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