Reminiscing about technology of old

[coles525]

My Commodore 64 still works with the 1541 drive.

Load "*",8,1

Still have space invaders cartridge and 16k memory expansion cartridge for my vic 20

Remember accessing multi-line bulletin board in about 1985 with my 1200 board modem

I once had a C64, Load (shift) 242 ,8 return.

same thing again... ,8,1 return.

Thats how games were eventually played.

Correct me if any of my memory has gone.

 

[JessicaTam]

And to think that when the 9600 baud modems came out, they were regarded as 'the fastest possible over a copper phone line'

 

[Pushka]

When I was at Uni there was one computer on campus and it filled a huge room. Data for SPSS analysis had to be typed in on punched cards. Get one thing wrong when typing and the whole thing failed. In those days, completing a Factor Analysis pretty much guaranteed a PhD.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Remember accessing multi-line bulletin board in about 1985 with my 1200 board modem

1200 Baud! Looxury! We were forced to use 300 baud acoustic couplers!

 

[JohnM]

My first work PC had an 8086 CPU and a massive 20Mb HDD. It was the peak PC technology at the time.

 

[wazza888]

My first work PC had an 8086 CPU and a massive 20Mb HDD. It was the peak PC technology at the time.

and ..... ?kb of memory.

 

[serfty]

and ..... ?kb of memory.

My first computer I constructed myself and had 256 bytes of usable memory ...

http://www.mjbauer.biz/DREAM6800.htm

 

[JessicaTam]

When I was at Uni there was one computer on campus and it filled a huge room. Data for SPSS analysis had to be typed in on punched cards. Get one thing wrong when typing and the whole thing failed. In those days, completing a Factor Analysis pretty much guaranteed a PhD.

Whilst I used punched cards for programming APL at school, I missed SPSS. Sounds like that was a good thing, too.

 

[Limewood]

I was in the 1st hundred in OZ to get a digital car phone, think it was about 1982, it had a huge computer in boot under the parcel shelf and big antennae middle of lid, the phone was white and first numbers were 007, cost as over $5K, was fitted to my bimmer 3 with low profile Pirelli's and plate No GOBMW, you could say it stood out. Remember parking in main street of Manly, on phone talking to my mate who had one too, all these people on the footpath peering into my car, it was so dam funny .

We had our first computer way back in 1972 for typesetting, an Imagesetter, thing was size of a ice maker fridge all 16K of it!, used photo bromide paper, controlled by paper tape punched from dumb terminals (no HD or floppies then).

Around 1985 we saw the first desktop publishing release (Pagemaker 1) and Apple laser printer at publishing trade show in New Orleans we were gobsmacked!, back home few days later called Apple Aust, said they had no idea what I was talking about, I told them this would be "the greatest publishing revolution since there was movable type!". They immediately sent a courier across Sydney to our plant to get a copy of the brochure of the laser printer and software, called back said we agree).

Apple kept in touch, months later sent out a MacPlus, laser printer to our plant with Pagemaker1 loaded for us to test it out for them. We took to it like a duck to water, Apple months later arranged for a dealer to supply us with the first setup in OZ, saved a bundle on photo graphic paper, choosing printouts on matt art for pasteup, we got publications out so fast and never looked back.

The publishing industry in those days had blinkers on for a long time, would not have bar of it, but after they heard me speak for 20 mins at a publishers conference 6 months later we were flooded with numerous calls and factory visits, not bad for an independent to show the big boys how it was done, and... they all followed

 

[JessicaTam]

I was in the 1st hundred in OZ to get a digital car phone, think it was about 1982, it had a huge computer in boot under the parcel shelf and big antennae middle of lid, the phone was white and first numbers were 007, cost as over $5K, was fitted to my bimmer 3 with low profile Pirelli's and plate No GOBMW, you could say it stood out. Remember parking in main street of Manly, on phone talking to my mate who had one too, all these people on the footpath peering into my car, it was so dam funny .

We had our first computer way back in 1972 for typesetting, an Imagesetter, thing was size of a ice maker fridge all 16K of it!, used photo bromide paper, controlled by paper tape punched from dumb terminals (no HD or floppies then).

Around 1985 we saw the first desktop publishing release (Pagemaker 1) and Apple laser printer at publishing trade show in New Orleans we were gobsmacked!, back home few days later called Apple Aust, said they had no idea what I was talking about, I told them this would be "the greatest publishing revolution since there was movable type!". They immediately sent a courier across Sydney to our plant to get a copy of the brochure of the laser printer and software, called back said we agree).

Apple kept in touch, months later sent out a MacPlus, laser printer to our plant with Pagemaker1 loaded for us to test it out for them. We took to it like a duck to water, Apple months later arranged for a dealer to supply us with the first setup in OZ, saved a bundle on photo graphic paper, choosing printouts on matt art for pasteup, we got publications out so fast and never looked back.

The publishing industry in those days had blinkers on for a long time, would not have bar of it, but after they heard me speak for 20 mins at a publishers conference 6 months later we were flooded with numerous calls and factory visits, not bad for an independent to show the big boys how it was done, and... they all followed

Great tale. Thanks Limewood.

 

[JohnM]

and ..... ?kb of memory.

64 - that was all that those chips, advanced as they were for the time, could address I believe.

 

[Alanslegal]

when s* hit the fan, all one needed to do was

format c: /q

 

[TheRealTMA]

when s* hit the fan, all one needed to do was

format c: /q

You had a C: not tape 1?

 

[Limewood]

Great tale. Thanks Limewood.

It is, and to know my wife was the 1st person in OZ to use DTP I'm very proud of her, she did master it so well and many other programs as they appeared and with no tuition ever. She did simple pre press artwork to 100 page full colour books on her own from start to finish, to watch her at the keyboard was like poetry in motion and dam fast. She moved on to QuarkXpress in later years and although now retired can still knock out a pretty mean flyer or advert for friends when required.

 

[drron]

This was the computer when I started Uni-

 

[Welsh-Kiwi]

My first computer was a Dragon 32 in the early 1980s. 32KB of RAM and a CPU of 0.89MHz!

 

[TheRealTMA]

This was the computer when I started Uni-

LOL. 3rd generation Collossus then?

Colossus computer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A visit to Bletchley Park is in order for you, drron​!

 

[JohnM]

This was the first CSIRO Cray supercomputer - installed in 1990. I remember the fanfare at the time when it was air-freighted in by dedicated aircraft. Lovely colour scheme, too - must have been an option when CSIRO had some money .



Never used it - even an 8086 PC handled my limited sums :mrgreen:.

 

[drron]

That was Silliac at Sydney Uni.
Have already visited Bletchley Park.Definitely recommended too.

 

[JohnM]

This was the UWA PDP-6 back in the 1960s. Considered somewhat awesome at the time.