Old PC Technology

[ila]

In 1992 I had a state of the art 14 inch monitor with a 640 x 480 resolution. My VGA card would display 16 colours.

[a9127]

Had to think about what the "oldest" working piece of technology I own is. I think it is a Casio fx-11 "Scientific" calculator from 1974.

This belonged to my dad. I last "fired it up" sometime last year. It takes 4 AA type batteries. Power switch is "iffy" but if you wiggle it enough it will turn on.

One of the most interesting features is the green flourescent tube display and the "little" zeroes. So "ninety" looks like "9o."

(Pictures courtesy of Casio)

[ila]

Originally Posted by a9127

Had to think about what the "oldest" working piece of technology I own is. I think it is a Casio fx-11 "Scientific" calculator from 1974.

This belonged to my dad. I last "fired it up" sometime last year. It takes 4 AA type batteries. Power switch is "iffy" but if you wiggle it enough it will turn on.

One of the most interesting features is the green flourescent tube display and the "little" zeroes. So "ninety" looks like "9o."

(Pictures courtesy of Casio)

I couldn't help but notice the ℼ key. I checked my handheld calculators and none of them, including the scientific versions, has that key. The various calculators on my computer do. Even my old slide rules had ℼ marked on them. It's so much faster to do a lot of calculations if the key/mark is there rather than having to remember 3.1416 or divide 22 by 7.

[a9127]

Originally Posted by ila

I couldn't help but notice the ℼ key. I checked my handheld calculators and none of them, including the scientific versions, has that key. The various calculators on my computer do. Even my old slide rules had ℼ marked on them. It's so much faster to do a lot of calculations if the key/mark is there rather than having to remember 3.1416 or divide 22 by 7.

I never paid attention to that before but you are right. I have a "TI-84" in a drawer in my office that I never use. Think you have to press the "2nd" key to get ℼ.

Anyway, here's the "real deal." It still works. Hardest part was finding 4 "AA" batteries around the house. All our remotes take "AAA." Came to life right away. Not bad for 45...

On this calculator, ℼ is 3.141592.

The instructions are yellowed and crumbling. Hope I don't forget how to use it.

And you can see the "little zeroes" I was talking about.


To put this all in perspective. In 1974:

Skylab was still active. It would fall back to Earth in 1979.

The US speed limit was 55 MPH (about 88 kph).

Nixon (US President) was embroiled in the "Watergate" scandal and facing impeachment. He would resign in August.

In April, tornadoes caused many fatalities in the mid-west United States during what was known as the "Superoutbreak." It wouldn't be surpassed until 2011.

"California Jam" took place featuring many hard rock bands of the era. Black Sabbath featuring Ozzy was one of the headliners. You can find the entire thing on YouTube.

"Streaking" was popular around the world.

ABBA was very popular. "Waterloo" was #1 in the UK (Agnetha ).

[ila]

A little bit of calculator humour.

[ila]

The reason why if you've ever tried to sort numbers on your computer and got a string that went like this:

1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 2, 20

is because Bill Gates and, by extension, Microsoft don't know how to count.

[a9127]

Originally Posted by ila

A little bit of calculator humour.

Well, that has always worked for me...

Originally Posted by ila

The reason why if you've ever tried to sort numbers on your computer and got a string that went like this:

1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 2, 20

is because Bill Gates and, by extension, Microsoft don't know how to count.

Good one! Forgot there was a "Windows 2.0." I included some screenshots. Especially like the "floppy disk" icon. The early version of Excel: "Fiscal Year 1986." And is that chart not impressive? Um... No. And of course "Miami Vice." I think it was the #1 show on TV back then. Fast cars and women.

[ila]

Originally Posted by a9127

Well, that has always worked for me...

If all else fails that what I also do.

Originally Posted by a9127

Good one! Forgot there was a "Windows 2.0." I included some screenshots. Especially like the "floppy disk" icon. The early version of Excel: "Fiscal Year 1986." And is that chart not impressive? Um... No. And of course "Miami Vice." I think it was the #1 show on TV back then. Fast cars and women.

Those are some good screenshots.

I think the floppy icon is a 5 1/4" disc; when floppies really were floppy.

I'm thankful for the early versions of Excel. They showed me that working with a spreadsheet program was very easy. As the programs got more complex I easily adapted to the changes because of the background knowledge I had.