10 ways tech support has changed since the 1980s

Over the past 30 years, IT has seen some monumental changes -- and they've had a huge impact on the field of tech support. See if you remember the way it used to be.

In the mid-1980s, I was responsible for computer support (as we called it) at a university law library. We had about 20 PCs for the staff -- not everyone had one -- and another 10 for the newly developed computer lab. Since then, the number of computers (and users) that tech support deals with has increased by an order of magnitude. There are other changes as well. Computers have changed, users have changed, and the tech support environment has changed.

1: Support was task-bound

2: Support was time-bound

3: Support was location-bound

4: Networks developed and spread

5: Standardization increased

6: Open standards and open source software flourished

7: Updates over the Internet became possible

8: Users grew more knowledgeable and independent

9: Networks are becoming part of the infrastructure

10: Tech support is becoming part of the infrastructure

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