Can't Be The Only Mac Guy
- Thread starter bp fick
- Start date
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Funny thing with memory size, Moore's Law, etc.
Looking back;
Remembering making transatlantic flights to repair downed systems, where "Repair" could mean tearing into an 8K (one microsecond) memory stack and figuring which steering diode needed to be replaced (with a soldering iron).
Didn't even know if they were memory problems before booking the flight, just that the local branch didn't carry spare stacks due to co$t (~$3K as I remember it) and the locals had been working on it all day.
Today;
I bought more of the 16 Gig SDHC cards, for $34 at BJs (-:
No particular reason, other than they're cheap and it is "Nice" to have some standalone Linux systems on semi conductor memory that is a lot faster than hard disks.
Looking forwards;
Supposedly it will be another 100 years before they get to the storage density of mammal brains.
......and today my wife asked me HOW digital X_rays work (-:
Like, how do they get the picture into the computer without having to take it off of film ?
(-:
Looking back;
Remembering making transatlantic flights to repair downed systems, where "Repair" could mean tearing into an 8K (one microsecond) memory stack and figuring which steering diode needed to be replaced (with a soldering iron).
Didn't even know if they were memory problems before booking the flight, just that the local branch didn't carry spare stacks due to co$t (~$3K as I remember it) and the locals had been working on it all day.
Today;
I bought more of the 16 Gig SDHC cards, for $34 at BJs (-:
No particular reason, other than they're cheap and it is "Nice" to have some standalone Linux systems on semi conductor memory that is a lot faster than hard disks.
Looking forwards;
Supposedly it will be another 100 years before they get to the storage density of mammal brains.
......and today my wife asked me HOW digital X_rays work (-:
Like, how do they get the picture into the computer without having to take it off of film ?
(-:
I grew up with one of those. Mod 30, then 40. Also, 1401 and a Univac III. The 360 was in late 66 or 67. It's been so long I can't remember.
As I recall (Hahh, memories fade...) I interviewed with IBM in '64 and the 360 was unannounced, but everyone knew it was imminent.
Looking back a few months later my primary tech interviewer was CLEARLY on the 360 development team.
Looking back NOW, probably a VERY good thing I didn't take it...... Oh, the "Structure" at IBM in those days, I wouldn't have lasted (without ulcers)
Anyway, I'm putting the 360 at late '64 - s'pose I could Wiki it, but don't care THAT much (-:
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Reg, that would be about right.... I was a junior in high school; our "computer club" had a timeshare teletype hookup to Dartmouth's 360. That would have been school year 64-65.
I just don't remember which came first, the 360 or the GE235; Dartmouth switched 'em over at some point, but I think it was the 235 that came later. Continued to work with those, off & on, until USArmy time in 1969. Didn't touch computers again until my Mac Plus in 1980-something.
I just don't remember which came first, the 360 or the GE235; Dartmouth switched 'em over at some point, but I think it was the 235 that came later. Continued to work with those, off & on, until USArmy time in 1969. Didn't touch computers again until my Mac Plus in 1980-something.
SomeHOW I avoided the GE machines, I was probably too fascinated with what I actually DID work with to pay much attention to what else was out there.
I didn't have anything to do with Dartmouth until they started buying (or "Accepting" ?, I think they might have been donated) dec PDP-n machines.
Farthest back I can remember was probably a PDP-7 around 69/70 and then a PDP-9 or two.
I don't even remember a department or prof name there, which is TERRIBLE !
I think they had a PDP-6 or 10 there at one time, that would have been more central than departmental and supported by a different group at dec.
PS I did wiki the 360.
It says announced in April '64. (not that wiki is PERFECT, history writ late is largely the collective hunch).
I thought my interview was 3 or 4 months before the big announcement, but can't remember much about dressing up for that.
Dark suit - Yes. White shirt - Yes, Conservative neck tie - Yes, matching dark socks - Yes.
I don't remember having to keep the BLACK shoes clean from snow/slush with overshoes, or if I had sweating problems in my non air conditioned car.
Those are the sorts of things I would remember from dress up interviews.
So, it could have been late Winter of 63/64, but '64 for sure (-:
I didn't get a break from the (ever evolving) computer industry until 2003.
(2003 - 1962 = 41 years... Oh My Goodness,,,,, time flies like the wind (but fruit flies like bananas))
Now my computer time is largely hacking around with various Linux distributions and Amiga emulations.
Ubuntu 9.10 is my current favorite, but that could change (-:
I'm not liking Amiga Forever "packaging", though the underlying WinUAE is still very good.
I gave up on mac emulation on Amiga, err,,,, probably not a good tangent for THIS thread.
I stay current on Oracle, but not much else in commercial scale computing.
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OP
bp fick
Super Member
Gosh, that triggers memories. 1965-66?? High School. AP Algebra II, final unit of the year, Miss Irwin, the teacher, leads us in computer theory with flow charts all over all the blackboards. Didn't even have access or a terminal, being a rural school. I hadn't thought of that in years.
I have an interest in when anything started to get taught and what - outside of manufacturer's classes, i.e. in schools and colleges.
OK, Van Neuman machines, instruction sets, addressing modes, loops and counters, binary arithmetic, then what ?
When I first heard of a Degree in computer science (1968 maybe ?) it seemed as if it would be useless, given the speed of industry advances and a 3 or 4 year lag for course development and delivery.
I could have "gone academic" at that time, but saw staying in the industry as the best way to stay current. Hardware courses were 6 to 8 weeks, programming maybe 3 weeks.
I couldn't see material enough to fill out a degree course, heck there wasn't even much HISTORY to lecture on.
Once upon a time Charles Babbage....
Come to think of it, those early degrees might have been computer engineering... ??
Layered on electrical engineering and/or math ?
OP
bp fick
Super Member
Yeah, they were. Double E or math/specialty. Not so different today, really.
In the end, it's productivity anyhow. Seem to recall even Bill didn't finish school.
Wall decorations get ya in the door?, but after that, its about what you can do/accomplish/solve.Yeah, they were. Double E or math/specialty. Not so different today, really.
In the end, it's productivity anyhow. Seem to recall even Bill didn't finish school.
Self modifying code was a very useful part of position independence.
For example when entering a sub routine a constant would be added to the contents of the program counter at the point from which the sub routine was called.
The result of that addition would be a value equal to a jump instruction to the instruction just following the call.
That jump instruction would be stored in the last address of the sub-routine.
Ta Dahh,,, call/return.
SOMEONE (name withheld) was responsible for the (then industry unique) idea of actually SELLING self corrupting code (-:
Until then op sys and utilities were freebies to support hardware sales.
Commercial success; sell bug fixes(not really FIXES) to bug fixes, to bug fixes, a self perpetuating business.
Not much innovation, some would say none, some would say a DRAG on the industry.
jsboening
Silver Member
Switched to MacBook Pro a couple of months ago and I could not be happier. It's been great. No freezing up even when running multiple applications and it does what I want it to do. I was really worried about the switch from a PC, But it has been painless. I'm now considering buying an iphone but am unsure about at&t service in my area.