Re: Lest I disappear

On Oct 17, 8:18 am, "Robert Peffers" <peffer...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Happy" <a...@xxx> wrote in messagenews:hbchbg$6ua$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"HardySpicer" <gyansor...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:31a45982-179a-42e8-bb91-0553f82ef90f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Oct 17, 12:43 am, "Robert Peffers" <peffer...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"La N" <nilita2004NOS...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:VL7Cm.49168$PH1.46301@xxxxxxxxxxx

Scotty wrote:

And Dos didn't support folders!

Yikes. DOS! When I saw my first real computer and witnessed the first
flashing C prompt, I knew that modern technology was not for me!

(then I was introduced to an Apple Mac)

- nil

Huh! You're all Johnny & Joanna come lately.

I worked on computers before MS-DOS was heard of. In fact I worked on
them
before CP/M was thought of.

Me too! I arrived at the time of IBM 370s and punch tape. Around 1975.
not as far back as Bob I am willing to bet.
I have been through IBMs,Dec-10s,Mascomp,Prime,Trash-80,Sun and Apollo
Worksations and finally PCs around 1998 when they became useable.

Hardy

**********************************************************

The first mainframe I saw, the size of a wall, was in 1957.
My first course was in 1965 on the new (1964) IBM 360 mainframe.
At that time I considered myself an expert on the "K&E Log Log Duplex Trig
Slide Rule";
I thought that sliderule would last me a lifetime; there was computing
before the computer.
My first personal computer was a Zilog Z-80, an 8-bit machine running
CP/M - about 1980;
it had a C language compiler.
My next computer will be 64-bit; I wonder how high I'll go? Surgery will
get me there.
If you like adventure, try "The Soul of a New Machine", Tracy Kidder,
1981 - it's the
story of the design of a new minicomputer.
I think the most fun I've had is playing with voice recognition many years
ago on a
Digital PDP machine with a real-time operating system. To read data
streaming from a voice
radio broadcast; put it through an analog to digital converter; remove
every fifth word using
double buffering; put the result though digital to analog and out to the
speaker and never
miss a beat.
I'm disappointed that I still don't communicate with my computer by
voice - I  tried
some years ago but it was just too time-consuming. Maybe things have
improved.
It's mind-boggling how the brain does voice recognition - I don't think
what the brain
does is remotely possible.

Well some of you may share this story. In the very early 50s I had a spell
working on an MOD top secret machine. This thing was built into joined,
double aircraft hangers. There were various lean to bits sticking out the
sides too. Anyway this thing had rack after rack of drawers. Each drawer had
banks of boards with valves, uniselectors and PO type relays. The power for
the twin triode valve heaters alone needed as much power as light a decent
sized city.

 Now valves are rather temperature sensitive so the whole thing was
temperature and humidity controlled. These conditions were ideal for all
insect life and every flying or climbing thing within 5 miles ended up in
those bloody racks. We were all equipped with a couple of small special
tools. One end of these had a small blade like the emery boards ladies use
for their nails. The other end had a reverse action pliers like thing. What
you did was place these pliers things between the contact blades and press
then apart. You placed the emery board of the other between the contacts
gave it a couple of wipes and removed both tools. Now to the point of all
this, you know the expression, "A bug in the program"? Well that was where
it came from and they were real insect bugs. The expression is still used to
this day but I wonder how many of the whiz kids ever know where that
expression came from?
--

Auld Bob

I didn't Bob - thanks for that!
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Lest I disappear
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