Getting our news from computers

[Randy Twizzle]

My link

[BERIGAN]

interesting, I didn't know people were able to read papers online in 1981!

Edited December 12, 2010 by BERIGAN

[Dan Gould]

We're not in it to make money.

Good, cause they still aren't making money.

[Christiern]

I knew I shouldn't have gotten rid of my TRS-80.

The two old ladies who bought it from me 30 years ago probably went to their graves impressively informed.

Damn!

[Jazzmoose]

I remember going on line back in the 80s, although for me I think it was '85 or '86 before I jumped in. Get on line, download that sports info quick and get off the damned phone line. After all, they charged by the minute back then, plus the call wasn't local.

[Swinging Swede]

That will never catch on.

[sidewinder]

Anyone remember punching control cards by hand to use with Fortran-77 and then spilling the whole lot on the floor just before you were about to put them in the hopper? I do.

My first machine (an Atari ST) was a bit of a step up from that. You could even make your own dongles !

Edited January 8, 2011 by sidewinder

[gmonahan]

Anyone remember punching control cards by hand to use with Fortran-77 and then spilling the whole lot on the floor just before you were about to put them in the hopper? I do.

My first machine (an Atari ST) was a bit of a step up from that. You could even make your own dongles !

I remember using keypunch machines, then sending the deck in to a massive IBM 360-60 (which had about as much computing power as my watch), then getting back a thin bit of "output" because, of course, I'd made one typo on one card. My first personal computer was a Commodore 64. It could hold 12 PAGES of text at ONE time. Thought I'd died and gone to computer heaven.

gregmo

[sidewinder]

IBM 360-60 - nice !

These days I have trouble just logging on. And mention the word 'Vax' now and this is what most people think of:

Edited January 8, 2011 by sidewinder

[Tim McG]

Anyone remember punching control cards by hand to use with Fortran-77 and then spilling the whole lot on the floor just before you were about to put them in the hopper? I do.

My first machine (an Atari ST) was a bit of a step up from that. You could even make your own dongles !

I remember those computers took up an entire room at my college back in the early to mid-70s! I also remember working in the student bookstore stacking the shelves with books on Fortran, BASIC and Pascal.

Then came the 8-88s and that insipid blinking green cursor. Remember computer games like Pong?

[sidewinder]

Remember computer games like Pong?

Yeah ! DECs version of 'Adventure' was best though ("Welcome to Colossal Cave..). You could go N, S, E or W, pick up a lantern and keys and then before lighting the lantern an evil troll hits you in the back with an axe !

All via a DEC teletype as the user interface ! Graphics were via special characters like ****@@## etc. Pre green cursor !

Edited January 8, 2011 by sidewinder

[Dan Gould]

I can't take the time to share right now but I am visiting the parental units and found on my old bookcase something published in 1982 - The Omni Future Almanac. (Omni magazine was a Science magazine published by porn entrepreneur Bob Guccione.) Some very amusing predictions found therein, I am going to bring the book home and will post some of the better ones later.

Here's a taste though:

In 2010, the "average skill level" baseball player will make $330,000.

In reality, the minimum Major League salary in 2010 would be $406,000, and the average would be over 3 million.