I Remember When Computers...

RiversideSue

RiversideSue

New Member
Location
Monticello, IL
Our group of people has watched computers transform from room-sized minimally capable devices to hand-held wonders.

I thought it might be fun to gather some I Remember When… stories about computers.
 

I'll go first:

I remember when the Commodore 64 was a big deal because it had a full 64K of memory, versus the 48K that was more typical.


I remember extended and expanded memory.


I remember DOS 1.0 and its flat file structure.
When DOS 2.0 came out, my boss gave us a lesson on hierarchical file structure. He had set up a hard disk for us to share using a network operating system he wrote himself (!).
 
We bought a Coomodore Pet. That was 16 k. And with the printer it came to $1900. But it was worth it. My son taught himself to program and got a degree in Computer Science and a good job in the U.S. It had a built in monitor and backups were on cassette tapes.

I worked with an IBM System 36. A huge thing but really fast and the printer printed huge pages at lightning speed.

Each desk had a monitor. No individual printers attached. I remember working lots of hours backing up the day's work after hours on 8 inch floppies.

We we visited the IBM plant in Rochester Minn. IBM charted a plane. There and back same day. I live in Canada .

I do remember all the opposition to changing from the manual systems to the computer. And the complaints if it went down. I used to tell them. Go get your old price books out. You didn't want the computer in the first place.
 

I don't go way back with computers, my first one was in 2004, the year my husband died. My son was visiting us from Illinois because his dad was terminal already. :(

He bought me a Dell and set it up for me and then flew home. I was afraid to even touch it thinking one wrong step and it would crash and I wouldn't know what to do.

I also remember sitting and waiting to get something from AOL mail....I'd get so excited when I saw an email alert. Now I have 17,284 in my yahoo acct alone.

Tried to find a way to do an all delete on my iPad but don't think you can.
 
My first computer came in a box. I had to solder it together. It was designed to teach programming and had 8k of memory. The first one I ever bought was a trs80.
 
My dad started out in computers as an operator in the late 60's/early 70's for Westinghouse, and I remember him taking me to work one day. I was awed. Not surprising, my first job was as a computer operator. It was an electronic parts testing company, and I worked on DEC PDP 11/34 and IBM System 32/34 computers. I worked as an operator for 20 years, on many different systems, mini to mainframe, long before personal computers. I took some programming--yes, I used a keypunch machine, and boy do I not miss those things!-- but I didn't want to be a programmer because they did such boring work, like for banks, etc. And for a while I got really burnt out, but I have since embraced all the fun that can be had with computers, including programming.

Computers are a lot more fun now than they were back then. Here's a pic of a PDP 11/34.
DECPDP11-34.pg.jpg
 
I started out on "computers" in the USAF, back in 1960...radar, sight, and bombing computer on F105's. The AF gave me a great education that transitioned nicely into IBM, when I left the service. I started out working on all the old punched card equipment...key punches, sorters, tabs, etc., and eventually finished my working career as an area specialist on their latest/greatest huge room filling systems in 2001. Things have probably changed so much in the commercial systems that I would not know where to start, anymore. Now, a mainframe is probably just a bunch of very high powered PC's, all linked together...instead of the huge water cooled behemoths I remember. I've had several home PC's over the past 20+ years...some from the stores, and a couple I built from scratch. I've checked out laptops and tablets, etc., owned by friends/family, but I prefer the old style big tower desktop that is easy to clean out periodically, and replace or add components with these old hands. Personally, I've reached the point that I would rather go cut the grass than return to the high pressure environment where a company had 5,000 people on coffee break because the "computer is down".
 
CeeCee said:
I don't go way back with computers, my first one was in 2004, the year my husband died. My son was visiting us from Illinois because his dad was terminal already. :(

He bought me a Dell and set it up for me and then flew home. I was afraid to even touch it thinking one wrong step and it would crash and I wouldn't know what to do.

I also remember sitting and waiting to get something from AOL mail....I'd get so excited when I saw an email alert. Now I have 17,284 in my yahoo acct alone.

Tried to find a way to do an all delete on my iPad but don't think you can.
Click to expand...

You are trying to do an all delete? Of what? The e mails? I have an I pad. If I can find a way I will let you know.
 
Years ago when I worked at a Ford dealership we had the choice of converting to the Ford computer accounting package or continuing to do manual accounting. My boss opted for the manual as he liked to be able to have paper financials. Finally Ford decided it was mandatory and off I went to computer training school for 2 weeks. Then someone came and helped me convert our office to the computer age. Still my boss wasn't convinced. So we worked out a deal. I would keep the accounting manually for 3 months along with being on the computer system. Twice the work for me. Each month we would compare the financials and finally he felt like he could trust computers. It was the very best day of my working life!!
 
Remember Snail Mail ?
.
THE_OLD_WAY.jpg
 
terry123 said:
Years ago when I worked at a Ford dealership we had the choice of converting to the Ford computer accounting package or continuing to do manual accounting. My boss opted for the manual as he liked to be able to have paper financials. Finally Ford decided it was mandatory and off I went to computer training school for 2 weeks. Then someone came and helped me convert our office to the computer age. Still my boss wasn't convinced. So we worked out a deal. I would keep the accounting manually for 3 months along with being on the computer system. Twice the work for me. Each month we would compare the financials and finally he felt like he could trust computers. It was the very best day of my working life!!
Click to expand...

There is no comparison keeping financial records manually or with computer based programs.

The computer based ones are far easier to use. The programs won't even let you make common errors. If you post a debit you have to post a credit that balances. If you don't. It will remind you. And manual balancing of a set of books for every ledger account? Overtime.
Yikes.

That was a great idea you had. A lot of work. But I'll bet you used the computer system and just copied it over to the manual system. That's what I would have done.
 
I go way back with computers and it has been fascinating to watch them evolve. The first one I ever saw was a prototype for the Army when I was working at Hughes Aircraft in 1961. The logic gates were discrete diodes and the memory was a large rotating drum. It was designed to fit in a truck and work with artillery.

At North American Aviation I was a test engineer on an early guidance computer for the Minuteman missile. It was the size of a trash barrel and also had discrete components. Then a new version using some of the first integrated circuits was introduced that was about the size of a large shoe box. The IC's were tiny flat packs that were soldered on some of the first multilayer boards by ladies using microscopes.

It was at North American that I did my first coding. It was in a customized version of Fortran called Coltran and was hand written line by line on special forms that were submitted for key punch. It was for automated testing and ran on an IBM 360.

At my next job with a commercial company, I saw the introduction of dual inline packaged IC's and
early microprocessors. And, I did a little assembly language, Basic, and Forth coding.

Sometime in the early 80's we got our first personal computer, a Texas Instruments TI99/4A. I hooked it up to a little TV set and had a ball playing with it. It's in the attic and still works. Then, I got a really good deal on a Commodore 64. When it finally died, I had worn the front edge of the keyboard shiny from resting my hands on it. I bought another one with the newer case design.

In the early 90's I bought my first IBM compatible PC, a custom 386 from a local shop. I upgraded it several times before building one with a Pentium processor. That one also had several upgrades. I joined a few local bulletin boards including a computer club that gave me my first access to the internet. There was no browser, just a Unix prompt. I went from a 2400 baud modem to a 56000 baud on the phone line before hooking up through cable.

My last couple PC's have been off the shelf major brands, and I don't make any changes. Their capabilities are amazing, but they're not nearly as much fun.

Don
 
I remember when every PC clone ad showed Microsoft Flight Simulator on its monitor, 'cause if they could run that program they were a solid clone.
 
There was a computer printer lab where I worked that was set up to use only IBM Selectric typwriters, hooked to a huge IBM mainframe.
 
I did not get a computer at home until 2006. By then they were pretty sophisticated.

I do remember that in my senior year of college one of the more well off nerdy kids got a little hand held Texas Instruments calculator. I think it was pretty basic, maybe just four functions. I remember he brought it into class and everybody gathered around to marvel at it. I think it cost him about $120 bucks, which is about $825 bucks in 2017 money.
 
The first hand held scientific calculator I ever saw was at a meeting. One of the engineering managers brought his HP35 to show off. He paid over $300 for it, and it was a wonder at the time. I can remember when our department had one 4 function calculator and you had to check it out from the secretary to use it.

Don
 

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