Old PC Technology

[a9127]

Besides ila, I’m not sure how many members are interested in this old technology thread? My posts earlier today on IBM graphics and games made me think of this book. Titled “IBM Graphics From the Ground Up” it was given to me by the teacher I wrote the stock charting program with (above) back in the mid 90’s.

Copyright 1984 it presented several algorithms for drawing three dimensional objects using BASIC. I did the “3D” PC as an assignment in one of my classes. You could even rotate it using the arrow keys. Nothing special really but maybe more than anything else, helped launch my academic career since it led to other things.

Today this book sits safe and sound on my bookshelf at home.

Damaged during the Summer of 2016 when our temporary offices were flooded, I managed to “salvage” it although it was waterlogged.

You can see some of the water damage in this photo.

The back cover. He graduated from the University of Illinois. Many years later Purdue would play them in football (one of his former students was on that team).

That is a pic of an old 19” IBM “hi res” display. One of the last of the CRT’s. Anyone remember these? Couldn’t help noticing the browser. That looks like “Windows XP” so it must be the early to mid-2000’s. “Overstock.com” is on the screen:

"Have you discovered the secret of the Big O?"

Sabine Ehrenfeld was the spokeswoman for Overstock back then. That was back in the day when all my “celebrity crushes” were older than me. Had to look her up. Sabine was born in 1963. Almost a 20 year age difference.

When exactly did all my "future wives" become 15-20 years younger than me?

[MistressStevie]

Originally Posted by a9127

Besides ila, I’m not sure how many members are interested in this old technology thread?

Having written programs on punch card in Fortran and waiting overnight for results, I love this thread. It is almost as good as Divas and One Pieces Swim Suits.

I have been trying to find my old copy of JCL (job control language) to show my son how far we have come.

[ila]

Originally Posted by MistressStevie

...I have been trying to find my old copy of JCL (job control language) to show my son how far we have come.

This is the first time I have heard of JCL so naturally I had to look it up to get some information. I have never worked on mainframes so now I know why I hadn't heard of JCL. It's always good to learn something new even if it's old.

[a9127]

Originally Posted by MistressStevie

Having written programs on punch card in Fortran and waiting overnight for results, I love this thread. It is almost as good as Divas and One Pieces Swim Suits.

I have been trying to find my old copy of JCL (job control language) to show my son how far we have come.

Glad you enjoy this thread. I think many of us share common experiences with technology.

Have heard of “JCL” but never used it. I knew what it meant. I hope you will post more about it.

My very first experience with programming was “Basic” for the Commodore Vic-20 and then on the IBM PC. In school I wrote a program with one of my teachers in C++ (see above posts). Due to Purdue’s Engineering emphasis, the “earliest” language I’ve ever used was Fortran. I of course know about punched cards but never programmed that way. Have heard many horror stories from others at Purdue.

Along the way, I learned Turbo Pascal, COBOL, Assembly Language, HTML, Java, and many “scripting” languages. Also SQL for working with data. Took an online course in Python a couple years ago just for fun. We require it in our Business analytics major. Thought I should know something about it.

Here’s a link to “Fortran 2021” It will never die!

https://www.absoft.com/?gclid=EAIaIQ...SAAEgLoTvD_BwE

[a9127]

You can find anything out there...

https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/leg...1BZ708O1GXBTIT

[a9127]

Today “PC Magazine” had a look back at Microsoft Windows. It turns “35” today.

Below are a few screenshots from the 80’s and 90’s.

Can’t be that long ago. Can’t f’ing be! Sadly it is...

https://www.pcmag.com/news/heres-what-we-thought-about-windows-30-years-ago?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=whatsnewnow&utm_ medium=image

[ila]

This brings back a lot of memories of the various Windows iterations. I remember how excited people were with Windows 3.1. It was multitasking and multithreadiing. Except that it wasn't really either of those. However it did emulate those functions quite well.

I remember the hype surrounding Windows 95. It was the be all and end all until it was released with so many bugs that it took several updates to fix. By then Windows 98 had been released. That was a great improvement and then Windows 98se was released. That was perfect, except like all editions of whichever OS you choose, it isn't.

Windows 2000 was hyped as the best yet because no one had said anything bad about it; until it was released and then no one had anything good to say about it.

Vista was said to be good until people started saying it wasn't.

Then there was XP and 7.0. I used 7.0 before it was on general release to the public (my secret how I did that).

In fact I really have no quibbles with any version of Windows. They have all had their good points and bad points. Software and OS are an ever evolving too; and it's best to remember that. (Sorry, Andy, that last wasn't a dig at you, but a general observation)

[a9127]

Probably the most stable OS I’ve used was Sun Solaris which was based on Unix. Also the various Mac OS’s throughout the years. Windows NT also was stable and not limited by running “on top of” DOS. Still have old copies of NT 4.0 lying around.

The following may not be the most “technical” but is based on real experience. I ran Windows 2000 Professional for a couple of years before “XP” was released. It too performed well at least for me. It was aimed at “business” users instead of home. I got it by ordering it with a new computer. Probably “Windows 98” or “Me” were the least reliable. Windows 3.1 was fine as I remember (showing my age) although more of a “shell” than true OS. I unfortunately remember a bizarre “user interface” from the late 90’s called Microsoft Bob. Never used it but have seen it running on other computers. Widely considered one of the worst products Microsoft has offered.

“Vista” probably was the worst OS based on personal experience. I can remember purchasing the “Ultimate” version in 2007 with great expectations. And it looked great! Sadly it crashed frequently. Too frequently, necessitating powering off. Writing in my technology blog early 2008, I noted “five Windows Failures and 23 Disruptive Shutdowns since September 2007.” Came very close to switching to a Mac for my main PC at that time.

For a very successful company, Microsoft has made a few missteps over the years. The funniest one I think, was the use of “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones for the release of “Windows 95.” Someone in Marketing wasn’t paying attention... The idea of course was to promote the “simplicity” of the OS as well as the use of the “Start” button. But the lyrics paint a slightly different picture.

All my friends who worked in “IT” used to quote the following:

You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry

But my personal favorite was this one:

You, you make a dead man cum
You, you make a dead man cum

I can remember ordering the CD “Tattoo You” from Microsoft then listening to this. So someone HAD to know what they said.

Sorry for such a long post. Hope some will enjoy it.