Article View: alt.folklore.computers
Article #620637Re: Nostalgia
From: Peter Flass
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:14
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:14
33 lines
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3083 bytes
Jon Elson <jme...@wustl.edu> wrote: > Gareth's Downstairs Computer wrote: > >> Gazing at my bookcase and noting a 1971 copy of the >> PDP8's Small Computer Handbook. >> >> That was 47 years ago, and then 47 years before then >> takes us back to 1924, well before the days of any >> working programmable machines (pace the Jacquard Loom) >> >> Now that the Raspberry Pi 3 gives us a quadcore 64 bit >> processor with 1GB of RAM for only a few £ / $, I realise that a lot of >> our nostalgia and folklore of those days is for something >> very primitive compare to today's offerings > Oh, yeah! I started out working on 12-bit discrete transistor minis like > the PDP-5 and LINC, and even fiddled a bit with a Bendix G-15 (vacuum tube > and drum memory). And, took programming classes on the univerity's IBM > 360/50, editing programs on punch cards. BLECH!! > > Even the uVAX-II I put together in 1986 and ran for about 21 years was some > 1000 X slower than an ordinary desktop PC. > The nostalgia is for the sights, sounds, and smells those days. I can still recall leaning over the 1132 printer waiting for my printout to start. We're also nostalgic for out first acquaintance with the wonders of computers. Now every kid over 8 knows more than we did 50 years ago. If I still wanted to play with an 1130 I could use an emulator, but it wouldn't be fun anymore. I'd have to be crazy to want to get involved with ancient hardware. -- Pete
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X-Received: by 10.55.26.217 with SMTP id l86mr2958278qkh.13.1518729256455; Thu, 15 Feb 2018 13:14:16 -0800 (PST) X-BeenThere: alt.folklore.computers@googlegroups.com Received: by 10.55.79.139 with SMTP id d133ls416424qkb.4.gmail; Thu, 15 Feb 2018 13:14:15 -0800 (PST) X-Received: by 10.55.112.67 with SMTP id l64mr2802535qkc.5.1518729255775; Thu, 15 Feb 2018 13:14:15 -0800 (PST) Path: mbox-mo1.pugleaf.net!e34ni42qtc.0!nntp.google.com!peer01.iad!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!feeder-out2.eu1.usenetexpress.com!feeder.usenetexpress.com!feeder-in1.eu1.usenetexpress.com!feed.usenet.farm!feeder4.usenet.farm!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!reader02.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Peter Flass <peter...@yahoo.com> Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: Nostalgia Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 14:14:15 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 33 Message-ID: <1798275321.540421278.448699.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org> References: <p641l0$7er$1@dont-email.me> <vsedne5li_0xfxjHnZ2dnUU7-fOdnZ2d@giganews.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Injection-Info: reader02.eternal-september.org; posting-host="67af97ba452a63fec9fb2d63d4a08c12"; logging-data="30954"; mail-complaints-to="ab...@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/ZcRYm2CZwDZgYMq/sIomF" User-Agent: NewsTap/5.3.1 (iPad) Cancel-Lock: sha1:HLolUj7k53zMi0/znF6NTnuzub8= sha1:+WX4e6nA5YuIJpDQUz8qlEo1lss= X-Received-Bytes: 2548 X-Received-Body-CRC: 4153840038 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit