Old PC Technology

[MistressStevie]

the Digital PDP 11s were a hoot. The paper feed DEC Writers gave you a hard copy of all your keyboard interaction. Now where did I put those logs from the early 80s.

[a9127]

From PC Magazine. “The Biggest Software Flops of All Time.” How many of you remember any of these?

I remember some of them. Netscape and Joost for example. And I had a Palm Pilot. Mine was the color m505 from 2001. Before “smartphones” that was what you had to do. The most useful thing about it was when I drove across the United States with my first wife in 2004, we were able to download all maps to it and plan our routes. We didn’t have a “navigation” system in our vehicle back then. But the Palm could take advantage of GPS. I paid a lot for it.

Even worse, I remember and actually used “Mosaic.” That was in the earliest days of the “Web.” Maybe 1993? A graphical browser! Awesome! Younger members might like to see what a “Web Page” in 1997 looked like. There is an example of one in Netscape 6. My first “Web Site” was designed in grade school and called “Andyz Home Page” I had a lot of stuff on me and school and sports activities plus pictures of my family on vacation. Also a section on exotic “carz.” Remember this WAS “social media” back then!!!

Of course I remember upgrading to Windows Vista in early 2007 (at major expense). I had just started my “technology” blog then. One of my first articles was a review of Vista. I wasn’t kind. I documented that it had “crashed” necessitating a total restart (and losing everything) no less than 23 times…

Here’s the link:

https://www.pcmag.com/feature/345740...m_medium=title

[ila]

I remember when Netscape came out and it was the best there was at the time. It was easy to use. I never had a problem with it. The MS started bundling IE with Windows and before anyone realized it Netscape was gone. I also remember the big uproar caused by MS when IE became a basically free program. The world was going to end, but obviously it hasn't.

There was a lot of hype around Vista when it came out. I had friends who jumped right on it and then started complaining about it. By the time I got Vista a lot of the problems had been fixed plus computers had advanced enough that Vista worked quite good. I used Vista until the computer I had broke down due to hardware failure. I think ME was a much worse version of Windows than was Vista.

Harvard Graphics wasn't mentioned and I don't consider it a flop. I do wonder what happened to it as it was easy to use and had features that PowerPoint wouldn't have for many years.

[MistressStevie]

I will see that list of flopped software and raise it by a muted meow from the widely panned CueCat!

The Wikipedia article is kind compared to the comments I remember in the day:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat

[a9127]

Originally Posted by MistressStevie

I will see that list of flopped software and raise it by a muted meow from the widely panned CueCat!

The Wikipedia article is kind compared to the comments I remember in the day:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat

I remember these! We had one. Think it came to my Dad in the mail. Probably because he subscribed to Forbes.

The "nose" scanned the code. Never used it. We have it somewhere... probably in a box in the garage.

"QR" codes and smartphones have made this obsolete. Besides it used a wire. Even in 2000 it was clear the next thing was to eliminate that. Never knew they invested $185 million in it.

[a9127]

Originally Posted by ila

I think ME was a much worse version of Windows than was Vista.

Harvard Graphics wasn't mentioned and I don't consider it a flop. I do wonder what happened to it as it was easy to use and had features that PowerPoint wouldn't have for many years.

Windows ME always puzzled me. There was of course 95, then 98, then ME. I remember "98" as a worthwhile upgrade. But I always wondered if "ME" was only released to take advantage of the hype surrounding "Y2K." It was supposed to stand for "Millennium Edition." No one I know knew whether it should be pronounced "M E" or "mee." I never used it, instead installing "Windows 2000" which was based on the more robust "Windows NT." It's funny that "XP" would come out shortly after in 2001 and be around for so many years. I know businesses that still rely on it.

Harvard Graphics was awesome. The company was probably late in porting it to "Windows" in the 90's or people were just too easily satisfied with PowerPoint. I have found in Business, in general, it's hard to get away from the "Office" suite. That may change in the future.

But do you remember the "Paper Clip"? Maybe one day the "digital assistant" will look like the "Real Doll" I configured in the "Dating" thread.

[ila]

Originally Posted by a9127

Windows ME always puzzled me. There was of course 95, then 98, then ME. I remember "98" as a worthwhile upgrade. But I always wondered if "ME" was only released to take advantage of the hype surrounding "Y2K." It was supposed to stand for "Millennium Edition." No one I know knew whether it should be pronounced "M E" or "mee." I never used it, instead installing "Windows 2000" which was based on the more robust "Windows NT." It's funny that "XP" would come out shortly after in 2001 and be around for so many years. I know businesses that still rely on it.

I always pronounced ME as the two separate letters. I liked XP a lot. It worked so well that many people I know would not give it up until their computer died and they had to upgrade because their new computer came win an OS other than XP. Yes, I was one of them.

Originally Posted by a9127

Harvard Graphics was awesome. The company was probably late in porting it to "Windows" in the 90's or people were just too easily satisfied with PowerPoint. I have found in Business, in general, it's hard to get away from the "Office" suite. That may change in the future.

Harvard Graphics was slow to go to a Windows version, but even after it did PowerPoint in any version would not convert HG Windows to PowerPoint.

Originally Posted by a9127

But do you remember the "Paper Clip"? Maybe one day the "digital assistant" will look like the "Real Doll" I configured in the "Dating" thread.

I remember that annoying paperclip all too well. Like BOB, it always popped up at the most inconvenient time and far too often. I was glad to see that paperclip finally disappear.

[a9127]

Not everything is “in the cloud.” “Mainframe”? Remember those? They’re still around…

This was in my inbox this morning. From “eWeek”:

“In essence, the reason that the mainframe has thrived for well over a half century is because IBM has reinvented it time and again to support the evolving needs and business requirements of its enterprise customers. That ability to evolve in order to support the evolution of others is clear in the Tailored Fit Pricing for IBM Z offerings that the company announced this past week.

So how exactly has IBM altered the mainframe over the years? For the first three decades, the company’s path was fairly conventional. The mainframe, after all, began as a digital complement to the mechanical calculators and other transaction-focused business machines that were central to IBM’s success. Over time, new technologies, including increasingly powerful database and middleware offerings, were used to extend the mainframe’s ability to support and extend emerging business applications.

Then in the mid- to late-1990s, IBM began exploring uncharted territory with its decision to formally and financially support Linux and other open source technologies, beginning with its (then named) zSeries mainframes. The decision was not universally popular—in fact, some IBM board members believed Linux would destroy the mainframe’s value. History proved those naysayers to be as utterly wrong as they were shortsighted.”

[a9127]

This was in my Twitter feed this morning. Party like it's 1985! Fuck yeah. Riiight. More like "gag me with a spoon."

This is "Windows 1.01." If you used a PC back then, you either ran "DOS" by itself or "Windows" that acted as a shell providing a "user friendly" interface.

That "game" is called "Reversi" and appeared on several later versions of windows well into the 90's. I used to be really good at it. How many remember playing it?

I actually sort of like the colors. I think to get this color scheme you had to have an "EGA" card or else it would appear in B/W. Both at an "amazing" 640X480 pixel resolution. My current "desktop" back home uses a "4K" display.

My first real interaction with Windows would not come until 1990 with the "much improved" Windows 3.0. By then, it was posible to get a "VGA" display and have resolutions up to 1024X768, still OK for some applications today. But most monitors of the time were only 14" or 15".

NEC offered a 17" Multisync that I (with money earned from doing computer projects for other people) paid over $1,500 USD for in 1995. Think of what you could get today for that. When we moved out of our old offices last year our university's "IT" department had to call a "recycling" service to dispose of it safely. All monitors back then were "CRT" design. Think "Die Hard" where Bruce Willis uses a monitor strapped to a chair to detonate the explosive in the elevator scene. I'm sure my university would not have appreciated me tossing it down one of our elevators. Although the thought did cross my mind.

Finally, my "favorite" Windows 3.0 theme. This was called "Flourescent" and what I used most of the time. There is also a bright red and yellow theme called "Hot Dog Stand" that still has fans today. I've seen versions for "Windows 10" even. Buy really, why would you want that?