Classmates

Classmates 6/14/98

Humanities 105-77 Su98

Professor Donna Reiss

Tidewater Community College

Va. Beach, VA 23456

I’m writing to tell you about my visit to Technology Traders on June 13, 1998. When I arrived at Technology Traders, which is located in Va. Beach, VA, the owner of the company, John Kucharski, greeted me. He was very helpful, and if you need his assistance, you can reach him at 757-479-1312. Technology Traders is a home based business that provides service, support, and training for personal computer users. In addition, they build custom PCs for home and business use. John showed me around his shop. It consists of two rooms. One serves as an office, workroom, showroom, and classroom. There is an additional room, which serves as a storage area. Technology Traders caters to home users and small businesses. (John told me that his home user to business client ratio is about 10 to 1 in favor of home use.) Running the business from him home adds to the feeling of personal service John provides.

We talked about many aspects of his business. I was curious to learn how he stays current on the many technological advances in his field. He told me that since he is an adjunct professor at Tidewater Community College (IST216-Personal Computer Hardware Troubleshooting), preparing for the class and researching student questions forces him to read many publications and use the web to stay informed. He also uses trade magazines, mainly PC Week. The biggest effect changes in technology have on his business is the amount of time it takes to keep current on advances and on the constantly falling prices. I asked him to name the five technological advances in the last two years that have affected his business the most. His reply: "MODEM SPEED, memory prices falling, Microsoft Office capabilities, CPU Speeds, Introduction of Windows95."

I was interested to learn that his average customer is thirty-four years old, has some college, and is better informed now that in the past. Having better informed customers makes his job easier in that it takes less time to describe items and functions, but it takes more time, because better informed people ask more questions.

Since most of John’s clients are home users, I was surprised to learn that MS Office, Corel Word-Perfect, and Corel Draw are among his most requested softwares. The final question I asked him garnered a surprise response. The question: "What do your customers most commonly use computers for?" His answer: "GAMES!" Technology that we usually think of as relating to work provides entertainment and relaxation.

There are many types of technology used in John’s business; most of them have to do with computers and peripherals. The technological advance that has most influenced his business in the last two years is, as previously stated, modem speed. This is socially relevant because of the communication it facilitates. We get more information faster now that ever before. Communicating with someone across the globe is now as easy as a few keystrokes and the push of a button. Better informed people make better choices and demand more from their machines, be they computers, automobiles, or whatever. This leads to more advances, which leads to more demands, which leads to more advances, etc. Technology becomes self-perpetuating. Where will all these advances lead? Even the Gods of Technology probably do not know for sure.

I really enjoyed meeting and talking with John. I hope you all have the opportunity to talk with someone as well informed and helpful as he is.

KCM

cc: John R Kucharski

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