--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With all the attention given to the…" description: "\"With all the attention given to the personal computer, it's hard to remember that other companion machine in the room - the printer.\" — Ellen Ullman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg" --- # With all the attention given to the personal computer… ![“With all the attention given to the personal computer, it's hard to remember that other companion machine in the room - the printer.” quote by Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg) > “With all the attention given to the personal computer, it's hard to remember that other companion machine in the room - the printer.” [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how printers, essential yet overlooked, are as vital as computers in our digital environment. **In simple terms:** Printers are important but often ignored. Key Takeaway Remember and maintain all tech tools. Themes technology overlooked dependence Mood reflective practical Type observational informative When to use this quote - office workflow - home printing - IT maintenance - digital literacy Key Concepts human‑computer interaction infrastructure Questions to Reflect On - How does ignoring secondary tech affect productivity? - What steps can you take to better integrate printers? A Different Perspective Printers can be costly and cause workflow bottlenecks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [No greater invention was ever devised for creating the delusion of productivity than the personal computer, except for religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/no-greater-invention-was-ever-devised-for-creating-the-delusion-of/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [When Steve Jobs toured Xerox PARC and saw computers running the first operating system that used Windows and a mouse, he assumed he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/when-steve-jobs-toured-xerox-parc-and-saw-computers-running-the-first/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [“the day when a computer would come along that was small and inexpensive enough for an ordinary person to use and own. That day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-day-when-a-computer-would-come-along-that-was-small-and/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [No one will need more than 637Kb of memory for a personal computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/no-one-will-need-more-than-637kb-of-memory-for-a-personal-computer/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [With current technology it is possible to put four floppy disk drives in a personal computer. It is just that doing so would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-current-technology-it-is-possible-to-put-four-floppy-disk-drives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To better understand why you need a personal computer, let's take a look at the pathetic mess you call your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/to-better-understand-why-you-need-a-personal-computer-let-s-take-a/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I talk to myself through the computer. I ask myself questions, leave things to be looked at again, things that you would do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-cray/i-talk-to-myself-through-the-computer-i-ask-myself-questions-leave/) [Seymour Cray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-cray/) > [With the greatest of respect, I have watched Apple from the day it started. I was publishing magazines about the Apple II before most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/with-the-greatest-of-respect-i-have-watched-apple-from-the-day-it/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [The most important work I got a chance to be involved in, no matter what I do, is the personal computer... I even knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-most-important-work-i-got-a-chance-to-be-involved-in-no-matter/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“The phrase “personal computer” is part of the language now, but when it was first used it had a deliberately audacious sound, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-graham/the-phrase-personal-computer-is-part-of-the-language-now-but-when-it/) [Paul Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-graham/) > [The vast majority of people do not have, nor will they ever have a personal computer. They haven't been exposed to Windows or Office,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elop/the-vast-majority-of-people-do-not-have-nor-will-they-ever-have-a/) [Stephen Elop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elop/) > [The term, information at your fingertips, is to remind people what a broad role the personal computer will be playing. It's not a computation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-term-information-at-your-fingertips-is-to-remind-people-what-a/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Well, the thought that everybody might have a personal computer at their desk or their home was certainly not on the mainstream of anybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kilby/well-the-thought-that-everybody-might-have-a-personal-computer-at/) [Jack Kilby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kilby/) > [The biggest effect of the personal computer revolution has been to allow millions and millions of people to experience computers themselves decades before they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-biggest-effect-of-the-personal-computer-revolution-has-been-to/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The short moment in the 1980s that it was called a personal computer was when the revolution peaked, and the time we will look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-short-moment-in-the-1980s-that-it-was-called-a-personal-computer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ellen Ullman > [I think technical people now should learn literature, because literature teaches you a great deal about how - the depths and variety of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-think-technical-people-now-should-learn-literature-because/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [The web is just another stunning point in the two-hundred-thousand-year history of human beings on earth. The taming of fire; the discovery of penicillin;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-web-is-just-another-stunning-point-in-the-two-hundred-thousand/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [When I am writing, and occasionally achieve single focus and presence, I finally feel that is where I'm supposed to be. Everything else is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/when-i-am-writing-and-occasionally-achieve-single-focus-and-presence/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I don't know where anyone ever got the idea that technology, in and of itself, was a savior. Like all human-created 'progress,' computers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-know-where-anyone-ever-got-the-idea-that-technology-in-and-of/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [You can only get a beginner's mind once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/you-can-only-get-a-beginner-s-mind-once/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I'm a dark thoughts writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-m-a-dark-thoughts-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I hate to see capable, smart people out of work - young or old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-hate-to-see-capable-smart-people-out-of-work-young-or-old/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“I believed my motivations were clear: to help the patient see the pattern that had been imposed upon her, this endless repetition of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-believed-my-motivations-were-clear-to-help-the-patient-see-the/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/it-had-to-happen-to-me-sometime-sooner-or-later-i-would-have-to-lose/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Software and digital devices are imbued with the values of their creators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/software-and-digital-devices-are-imbued-with-the-values-of-their/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [ I've always written. I'm from an older generation of programmers \[who\] did not come out of engineering. \[A\]ll sorts of people were drawn in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-ve-always-written-i-m-from-an-older-generation-of-programmers-who/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Through the miracle of natural genetic recombination, each child, with the sole exception of an identical twin, is conceived as a unique being. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/through-the-miracle-of-natural-genetic-recombination-each-child-with/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Staring prejudice in the face imposes a cruel discipline: to structure your anger, to achieve a certain dignity, an angry dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/staring-prejudice-in-the-face-imposes-a-cruel-discipline-to-structure/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Y2K has challenged a belief in digital technology that has been almost religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/y2k-has-challenged-a-belief-in-digital-technology-that-has-been/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I don't consider myself a Jewish writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-jewish-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) [Explore all 119 Ellen Ullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With all the attention given to the personal computer, it's hard to remember that other companion machine in the room - the printer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Ullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-personal-computer-it-s-hard-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-personal-computer-it-s-hard-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/ellen-ullman-3943_attention_with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-pers_2252519.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With all the attention given to the personal computer, it's hard to remember that other companion machine in…” — Ellen Ullman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ellen Ullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "With all the attention given to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-personal-computer-it-s-hard-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/with-all-the-attention-given-to-the-personal-computer-it-s-hard-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```