Fun and Money in Infocomm Industry

I worked as a computer programmer in 1969, nearly 40 years ago.

I developed sales and accounting software for a large trading firm. They used a mainframe computer that cost more than $2 million, which was a lot of money at that time.

The computer had a memory capacity of 16,000 bytes and a disk capacity of 4 million bytes. It was sufficient to handle the transactions and customer records for a fairly large business.

Today, you can buy a personal computer with a memory capacity of 2 gigabytes and a disk capacity of 400 gigabytes. They represent a capacity that is 100,000 times of the mainframe system used by me.

What is the cost of the personal computer? Only $2,000.

With 100,000 times of the capacity, can the personal computer of $2,000 handle the requirements of a large trading firm?

The answer, in my view, is “yes”. But we need to know how. This is the “fun and money” in the infocomm business.

Today’s world gives so much opportunity. There are so many software tools available in the market. They do not cost much money. Some are available for free.

The trick is, “Do you know where to find them? Do you know how to use them effectively?”

If you do, you can improve your productivity many times. You will be very valuable. You can earn a lot of money.

You also need to know your personal strengths.

There are three important areas in the development of software:

• Database
• Business logic
• Presentation

They require people with different strengths and skills. Those who are strong in logic will do well in the handling of the database and business logic. Those who are artistic will excel in the presentation area.

Let me quote an example. Here is a Sudoku puzzle. The rule is, you have to fill in the blanks with the numbers 1 to 9, so that it does not repeat in any row, column or box.

You can write a program to solve the Sudoku puzzle. It is relatively easy, for a programmer who is strong in logic.

But, I like to pose a challenge to you. Can you write a program to generate the puzzle? It is more difficult.

I wrote a computer program to generate the puzzles in many formats. This program is written in DOS Basic. It took two days to write the first version of the program, including testing.

I had to use the knowledge that is acquired over 40 years, to be able to write a simple program and get it to perform well.

This brings me to some important points. It is about learning. To do well, you have to learn the following:

• How to use the tools
• How to apply your knowledge
• How to learn from other people

Many people think that they can find the answers by themselves. It is more productive, if they can learn from the experience of other people. This can be achieved through active communication.

Communicating is an important skill.

Many people like to get a job done. But, every job is a great learning experience. You can learn the fundamentals to be used for similar jobs in the future. You should spend some time, after completing each job, to find out what are the tricks that you can apply in the future.

My past 40 years of working is a great exercise in learning. Even today, when I am approaching 60 years old, I am learning all the time. And I learn more than other people that are much younger than me.

Where then is the “fun and money”?

The fun comes from the following:

• Discovery
• Learn a skill that can be applied in the future
• Be creative
• Learn in stages, with feedback at each stage.

The money comes from:

• Be productive
• Market your know-how
• Earn more

Here are my concluding remarks.

The internet will change the world. Many businesses are being remodelled to make use of the connectivity and productivity that comes through the internet.

It presents a wonderful opportunity for young people to find the “fun and money”. But you have to learn how to make the best use of this opportunity. I hope that my tips will be useful for you, as your embark on this journey.

Tan Kin Lian