Old PC Technology

[a9127]

Originally Posted by liesjeversteven

My first computer was also a c64, but with a tape drive still...

You and ila both have me beat. My "first" was just a lowly "Vic-20" hooked up to an old color TV via an adapter that attached to the antenna. Like you, I had the "tape drive." I am jealous of ila that he had an actual disk drive.

Did either of you have the "VIC-Modem"?

The "oldest" computer I have ever used was a "NorthStar" running "CP/M." Its case was made of wood (Hehe..hehe...hehe he said "wood"). It belonged to one of my professors in grad school. He said he bought it in 1979. It was still running after all those years! He let me try using "WordStar." I wrote a memo to him updating my research proposal then printed it off on an equally ancient "dot matrix" printer.

(Fun fact: WordStar used the S, E, X, and D keys for "cursor movement." )

[ila]

Originally Posted by liesjeversteven

My first computer was also a c64, but with a tape drive still...

Originally Posted by a9127

You and ila both have me beat. My "first" was just a lowly "Vic-20" hooked up to an old color TV via an adapter that attached to the antenna. Like you, I had the "tape drive." I am jealous of ila that he had an actual disk drive.

Did either of you have the "VIC-Modem"?

The "oldest" computer I have ever used was a "NorthStar" running "CP/M." Its case was made of wood (Hehe..hehe...hehe he said "wood"). It belonged to one of my professors in grad school. He said he bought it in 1979. It was still running after all those years! He let me try using "WordStar." I wrote a memo to him updating my research proposal then printed it off on an equally ancient "dot matrix" printer.

(Fun fact: WordStar used the S, E, X, and D keys for "cursor movement." )

I didn't own the C64 that I used. It belonged to my boss. I asked so many questions about it that he told me to learn how to use it.

I've seen a couple of old tape drives, but I've never used any.

The first computer I ever bought was a Gateway 2000 486 33Mhz. I almost bought a 286 from someone I knew that was selling it, but then I saw an advertisement for a new 486 and it was cheaper than the used 286.

The first modem I ever used was on radio teletype circuits. At a guess I would say it was 15 inches wide by 10 inches high by 18 inches deep and weighed around 20 pounds. It wasn't a digital modem as radio teletype back then was analogue.

The first digital modem I had was when I got my internet connection. It weighted a couple of pounds (if that much) and was about the size of my two hands together. I've been through a few more versions since then with my current one being the size of one of my palms and weighing just a few ounces.

I've heard of Word Star, but never used it. My first printer was a wide carriage dot matrix and I had a 24 pin cable that connected it to my computer.

[a9127]

Back in 1954 this was one possible "vision" of what home computers of the future might look like.

Made by RAND Corporation, it was expected to be in use by 2004! According to the caption, it was "easy to use" with its Teletype interface and Fortran language.

My favorite part is the "wall mounted display."

[ila]

Originally Posted by a9127

Back in 1954 this was one possible "vision" of what home computers of the future might look like.

Made by RAND Corporation, it was expected to be in use by 2004! According to the caption, it was "easy to use" with its Teletype interface and Fortran language.

My favorite part is the "wall mounted display."

That "wall mounted display" looks like an old tv that I once had.

I got a laugh from what looks like a ship's wheel on the computer. I wonder if RAND thought their computer had to be steered.

I'll bet the energy consumption of that was measured in MWh.

[franalexes]

I remember of seeing pictures of computers in the 50's. They were as big as a room.
My brother used a computer in the late 60's. He put in a program , punched in a long code of numbers and letters for what seemed like twenty minutes. Then pushed one more button and the screen went totally red for 3 seconds. That was the program !

[a9127]

Originally Posted by ila

That "wall mounted display" looks like an old tv that I once had.

I got a laugh from what looks like a ship's wheel on the computer. I wonder if RAND thought their computer had to be steered.

I'll bet the energy consumption of that was measured in MWh.

Somehow the prospect of watching Internet porn on that doesn't seem so appealing. Wait, there wasn't any "Internet" back then!

I wondered about the "ship's wheel" as well. It kind of reminds me of an old movie I once saw about submarines. Looks sort of like the "control room."

Thinking the same thing. Wonder how much power "one in every household" would consume?

(Also Fortran isn't exactly "user friendly" and was mostly used in engineering applications. I can see entire families sitting around this thing at night writing code together... Mom: "Andy what are you doing in your room with the door locked?" Me: Trying to generate a picture of Marilyn Monroe. "Just 1057 more lines of code left, mom!")

[ila]

My very first computer was a sliderule. They were quite good and fast for multiplying, dividing, and trigonometry. The C and D scales were especially useful. I'm quite sure I could find that when I was proficient in using one that I could multiply or divide two numbers faster than someone using a calculator.

I've attached 3 sample pictures so that those that are unfamiliar with a sliderule know what one looks like.

[a9127]

Cisco 2500 series router. Have one similar to this sitting on a shelf in my office. Some company donated several to our school. I earned a CCNA years ago. Don't really work with this stuff anymore. Kept one just for fun. Who remembers "token ring"?