KCBS' Larry Magid Celebrates 30 Years Of Covering Tech Industry

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — To say technology has changed in the last three decades is a gross understatement, but that is exactly how long I've been covering this topic.

I am celebrating my 30th anniversary as a tech columnist, but way back in the beginning it wasn't considered the sexiest beat, so to speak.

I've been a syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. When I started had actually written that the good news was that I had a column, but the bad news was that I had to write about computers.

Little did I know that technology would not only lead me into a career in journalism; it really has changed the world. Technology is no longer a niche. It is very much a part of our lives.

I have definitely seen some milestones since I've been on the beat including the IBM personal computer. Laptops were a big deal (I once wrote a column on a 4lb device called the Radio Shack TRS 80 Model 100). Apple's Macintosh was huge too.

But hands down, the biggest impact in my time thus far would have to be the online phenomenon. When I started, it was a 300 bit per second modem. It was so slow you could see the characters scroll by. It's amazing to see that has evolved into the Internet and broadband capacities we have today.

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