Do Any of the "CC Old Timers" Remember?

[sail7seas]

Wow....... Impressive, Laura....... You go way back! I'm guessing it was about 1998 or so until I finally caved and got my first computer. I promise if it weren't that I could no longer come to CC, I probably wouldn't have gotten it then. :eek:

 

[it's odd...... I just realized it says my 'join date' here on CC was August 2000 but that doesn't make sense. Did our original 'join dates' get changed when all the posts were lost in the upgrade?]

 

[HeatherInFlorida]

Our second computer, back 1993 or 1994 was a Dell Pentium I -!!!! We were so thrilled to have it, and it cost a small fortune, about $2,500. ........................

Our very 1st PC was an old Amstrad that DH bought through one of those Amex advertisements that used to come with the Amex bill... (anyone remember those????) It wasn't even Windows based, but DOS and had those large floppy discs - that was in 1988. :eek:

 

My first computer in 1995 was a Packard Bell!!! It was HUGE and cost close to $2000. I think it had 8 MB of RAM and I was sure that was all I would ever need!!! That's when I found CC on AOL ... 1995. Had a different name back then.

 

We had DOS at work!!! And the floppies. We used to have a little box we carried our floppies in and locked in our desks at night. They were bigger than CD's back then and they were truly "floppy".:D :D

 

Here we are 12 years later with a wireless network, a desktop and 2 laptops!!!

[RedmondCruiser]

I too wondered about daKrewser and am glad to hear that he's OK

 

I have not seen a post from Capt. Card lately. Also there are employees of the line who periodically post and I have not seen many of those lately either. I have to admit that I don't read all the posts so this may all be in error.

[xpcdoojk]

My first computer was a Mac Plus in 1987. It came with a single 3.5" floppy drive. The system file was on the floppy and to run any program on the Mac Plus you had to constantly swap disks. I did this for a week before I convinced my DW that I needed a 20MB hard drive that at the time cost about $700. You can buy a 2GB flash drive for 10 bucks now. Anyway, I used my Mac Plus for about 4 years then I bought a Mac LC II with color monitor! Woohoo. Over the next decade I had a couple more Macs, until 2000 I got a HP laptop for work and I still have a Mac I use it very little now, and I can't justify buying a computer when I get the laptop gratis for work.:D Mac is better and is technologically and socially just cooler, but the PCs are very good now.

 

jc

[jtl513]

Ahhhh, I've got you all beat! I worked on the ARPAnet (*) with a TI computer around 1976. It used an acoustic-coupler modem that was good for about 600 baud ... that's 45 times slower than a 28 kbps dial-up modem!! It didn't even have a display, just a "teletype" with a roll of yellow paper.

 

First PC I worked on was an IBM 186 around 1980, with MSDOS. First home computer I owned was a TI-99A around 1985. It had to have an "expansion box" that was the size of a modern microwave if you wanted to have a floppy drive. You furnished your own TV monitor, which for us was a 9" b&w. You keyed-in your own programs in Basic that were published in hobbyist magazines, and it took a couple of hours to put in a simple game. Those were the FUN days of computing!!

 

* Advanced Research Projects Agency net, that tied together about a dozen universities and some government contractors back then. It later evolved into the Internet.

[ekerr19]

Wow, we are all getting so old, lol!!! :D

 

I was one olf the first few that even knew how to work the "only" PC we had in the office - staff of 300+, LOL!!!!

 

Did anyone else have word processers?? Like "Wang 20/20".... I so worked on that in the 80's... :eek: Can you imagine that now????

[jtl513]

Did anyone else have word processers??

Yes, we owned one of those once. I don't even remember the brand now. I DO remember that it had a thermal print-head that burned out about every two months and cost some obscene amount of money to replace! :D

[CDRMark]

Ahhhh, I've got you all beat! I worked on the ARPAnet (*) with a TI computer around 1976. It used an acoustic-coupler modem that was good for about 600 baud ... that's 45 times slower than a 28 kbps dial-up modem!! It didn't even have a display, just a "teletype" with a roll of yellow paper.

 

Snip...

Those were the FUN days of computing!!

 

* Advanced Research Projects Agency net, that tied together about a dozen universities and some government contractors back then. It later evolved into the Internet.

Not playing "my dog's bigger than your dog", but...

Used a teletype set-up in college in 1971 with an acoustic coupled 300 Baud modem and a green phosphor monotor to access Arpanet at Argonne National Labs; thought I was on Star Trek....:)

Live long and prosper

Mark

[Roz]

Oceanwench,

 

I just noticed your edit that says we're within one post of one another. Does that mean we post too little or too much? Are we "overdosing"? :eek:

 

Roz

[kakalina]

Our first home computer was an old 8088 with the floppy discs.

Note: DH still has it " in case he might need the parts" someday :o :eek:

[richwmn]

Just to add my .02 -- summer of 1970 card decks to the main frame at GaTech, followed by 110 baud teletype access to UGa and Ga State during the fall. In 1975 built the "Glass Teletype" kit from SWTP followed in 1976 by the Altair 8800A kit (the first commercially available kit) with 256 bytes of memory, expanded quickly to 4096 bytes of memory. This had to be programmed by switches on the front of the computer before it would send information to the "Glass Teletype".

 

Rich

[Orlandocruiser]

Our first computer was a TI-99 - I don't think we could do much with it but play games, but I do remember writing a program to help me come up with a budget that I was making for a club that I was the treasurer for. Then we graduated to an Apple IIe (128k - gee my ipod is 80gb). Then we some Korean brand - don't remember the name. And ever since it has been every few years a new computer. Just bought a new Dell (with Vista) and what we think now is a huge hard drive (we had so much stuff on itunes that we had to get an external drive on our old desktop to hold it all). But yes the amazing thing is that this computer didn't cost a whole lot more (and probably a lot less in 1973 dollars) than DH paid for his first scientific calculator. I remember cringing at how much that thing cost and how happy he was to give up his slide rule.

[CDRMark]

Just to add my .02 -- summer of 1970 card decks to the main frame at GaTech, followed by 110 baud teletype access to UGa and Ga State during the fall. In 1975 built the "Glass Teletype" kit from SWTP followed in 1976 by the Altair 8800A kit (the first commercially available kit) with 256 bytes of memory, expanded quickly to 4096 bytes of memory. This had to be programmed by switches on the front of the computer before it would send information to the "Glass Teletype".

 

Rich

Unless Jobs Gates or Woz are posting, I think you may 'win'!

Cheers

Mark

[HeatherInFlorida]

..............

Did anyone else have word processers?? Like "Wang 20/20".... I so worked on that in the 80's... :eek: Can you imagine that now????

 

Yes!!! I remember those! Just shows how I hate change ... I did NOT want to work on word processors. Then I didn't want to work on computers. Now I don't know how I would live without it ... or how I ever did!!!

 

Our first home computer was an old 8088 with the floppy discs.

Note: DH still has it " in case he might need the parts" someday :o :eek:

 

You DH sounds like my DH ... he actually raids the trash just in case I'm tossing something of "value" that we just might need someday!

[RuthC]

Yes!!! I remember those! Just shows how I hate change ... I did NOT want to work on word processors. Then I didn't want to work on computers.

I had a secretary who refused to give up her manual typewriter! Every time hers died, and was replaced with a simple electric typewriter, she'd go out and find another manual for herself. Whenever the building's power went out the rest of us were stuck to do our jobs, but she was there typing away!

She finally retired in 1995 and took her manual typewriter with her.

[sail7seas]

I was attached in that same way to the IBM Selectrics. Loved those electric typewriters way back when!!! :)

 

[HeatherInFlorida]

I had a secretary who refused to give up her manual typewriter! Every time hers died, and was replaced with a simple electric typewriter, she'd go out and find another manual for herself. Whenever the building's power went out the rest of us were stuck to do our jobs, but she was there typing away!

She finally retired in 1995 and took her manual typewriter with her.

 

LOL, Ruth!:D Well, I wasn't THAT bad!!!! I typed on electrics even in high school (and we won't say when that was). But I was mostly on manuals for a long time. I'll never forget when the Selectric came in!!!:eek:

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

Geez, and now we have the privledge of paying monthly internet server fees, maintance and upgrade fees, and talking with a foreign customer service individual whose english skills can be somewhat limited when our PC's have problems. Doesn't get any better then that.

 

"Can you talk slower, please?"

 

Only kidding. It's a great life.

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health!

Bob (plugged in and processing):)

[babyher]

I was attached in that same way to the IBM Selectrics. Loved those electric typewriters way back when!!! :)

 

 

Sail,

 

Was that the typewriter that had all the letters on the ball rather than individual keys?

 

If so those are the machines we used in high school for typing class , and had a few when I first started working.

[jhannah]

Yes, the Selectrics featured the interchangable type ball. Quite an amazing feat for its day.

 

My first computer was an Apple IIe. It had just 64k. I later purchased a power supply upgrade that had 512k of memory. Wow!

 

Do you remember the old 3M copy machines that used a yellow-ish transfer paper for duplicating the image? And how about those messy mimeograph machines that used a waxy paper stencil? Or the spirit duplicators? I loved those as a kid when our school used them. Loved sniffing the newly-run work sheets! ;)

[sail7seas]

Sail,

 

Was that the typewriter that had all the letters on the ball rather than individual keys?

 

If so those are the machines we used in high school for typing class , and had a few when I first started working.

 

 

That's the one!! I loved those machines. Got me through college. :) They never seemed to break. I loved the 'built it' correction tape. :D Great machines.

[babyher]

Yes, the Selectrics featured the interchangable type ball. Quite an amazing feat for its day.

 

My first computer was an Apple IIe. It had just 64k. I later purchased a power supply upgrade that had 512k of memory. Wow!

 

Do you remember the old 3M copy machines that used a yellow-ish transfer paper for duplicating the image? And how about those messy mimeograph machines that used a waxy paper stencil? Or the spirit duplicators? I loved those as a kid when our school used them. Loved sniffing the newly-run work sheets! ;)

 

 

Oh I remember the mimeograph machines very well, especially the smell *LOL*

 

All our test papers were done on those and almost every time they handed the papers out several lines were barely readable or else the stencil paper would crease in the machine and screw up a few lines.

 

So before the test the teacher would always have to go over it

 

"Question 4 is supposed to read "such and such"

"The last two words on question 8 are "such and such"

[sail7seas]

:D I remember those mimeo sheets......and Tests! :eek:

My sister was a teacher and how she rejoiced when copy machines (Xerox) became common.

 

[dfish]

As a teacher I remember those old mimeo machines with no fondness. When we first got a copy machine in the school, teachers weren't allowed to use it. It was for office use only. We (the teachers) managed to get a used one donated to us and had it delivered to the building when the principal was gone to a meeting. We kept it in a work room off one teacher's classroom and all the teachers knew where it was. The secretaries used to sneak us supplies. It took the principal over two years to find out about it!

[babyher]

That's the one!! I loved those machines. Got me through college. :) They never seemed to break. I loved the 'built it' correction tape. :D Great machines.

 

I only got to use them like I said in typing class in high school , so I certainly didn't get that proficient with them. But they were pretty cool at the time.

 

When I went to college my parents bought me a little electric Smith Corona.

 

I still have that hanging around somewhere. :)

 

 

 

I have a great idea for a theme cruise

 

 

An outdated technology memorabilia cruise.

 

Everybody bring your outdated computers, office equipment, telephone systems , video games and other miscellaneous electronics or yore *LOL*

 

We can put them all out on display in one of the lounges and have cocktails and hor douerves served.