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Old farts reminiscing about computers
- Thread starter HankLloydRight
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I was not an old fart then, I was 30 years old, with a job for which I was not remotely qualified.
Since this thread got a reference from another talking about how "old" NT 3.51 was, I thought I'd jump back in on the subject.
I originally started working with a beta of NT 3.1... it was pretty amazing for the PC world. When 3.5 came out, it really tightened the performance up (hence the codename "Daytona"). The 3.51 point release was primarily to add PowerPC support, I believe.
Good times.
I originally started working with a beta of NT 3.1... it was pretty amazing for the PC world. When 3.5 came out, it really tightened the performance up (hence the codename "Daytona"). The 3.51 point release was primarily to add PowerPC support, I believe.
Good times.
Many jobs ago (mid 90's), I had a 2 IBM Power desktops in my office. They came with NT 3.51; I'm pretty sure they used the PowerPC 604 (or maybe 603e). I was using them to eval PPC for a re-design of an ATM switch we were building. The switch used a bunch of AMD 29K CPUs (mostly 29040 and 29200), and AMD had announced the end of the 29K family (it was more profitable to chase Intel on x86).
I had the dubious pleasure of porting VxWorks from the 29030 to the 29040 (mostly working around the new cache architecture; we didn't care about the FPU). I have boxes of reference books from orphaned (or almost orphaned) CPU families that I once knew inside out, but can't bring myself to throw out (68K, 29K, i960, i860, PPC)
I'm 45 and I just think it's weird to know that we remember the world before computers, then they were introduced to us in school around the early 80's (grade school for me) so by default we became the computer generation, you know, generation X!
But now, things are advancing so quickly that I am no longer at the top of the heap computer-savvy wise. In fact, the heap is piling on me! WTF? I used to rule the high school computer room, and made my living running AutoCAD for years in my early 20's. I worked for a company where we got the latest, fastest computers every single year. I knew it all! (heh, doesn't every 20 year old)
Now, sadly, I buy a laptop and/or phone as infrequently as possible and hope I can go as long as possible without upgrading because I don't want to learn another new operating system. When did I become my Dad? My 26 year old son points and laughs at me.
Yeah well at least I've got my trusty work ethic going for me.
But now, things are advancing so quickly that I am no longer at the top of the heap computer-savvy wise. In fact, the heap is piling on me! WTF? I used to rule the high school computer room, and made my living running AutoCAD for years in my early 20's. I worked for a company where we got the latest, fastest computers every single year. I knew it all! (heh, doesn't every 20 year old)
Now, sadly, I buy a laptop and/or phone as infrequently as possible and hope I can go as long as possible without upgrading because I don't want to learn another new operating system. When did I become my Dad? My 26 year old son points and laughs at me.
Yeah well at least I've got my trusty work ethic going for me.
GlmnAlyAirCar
Active Member
I had a beta of NT 3.1 as well. In fact, I wrote my first kernel driver for that system as part of my master's thesis. I had to dig up two machines capable of running NT (not an easy feat back then). I think I needed to upgrade the target machine to 12MB just to get it to run the checked build acceptably.
This isn't exactly the same thing, but I feel the same way when it comes to web development. In the "old days" LAMP was all you needed. Now, it's an insane number of interdependent platforms and packages.
If any of you folks do any javascript or front-end web development, just read this to get a feel for how I feel: https://hackernoon.com/how-it-feels-to-learn-javascript-in-2016-d3a717dd577f
larmor
Active Member
Anyone know if VRML will be coming back? It was a scripting html type format based on OpenGL with 3D renderings in webpages, think: minecraft
Not me, but I did have a friend in graduate school at Columbia who had used Plato III (remember TUTOR?) while in high school at Champaign, IL, for Chemistry, IIRC. It made a huge impact on me, Not too long before that I used Frank Wood's 'Accounting: A Programmed Text' and a few of us compiled it to use in the then, State of the Art, IBM 360-195 thinking the approach just might be improved with automation. We were a few years ahead of ourselves, as was Wood. It was great fun and hugely educational to participate, however peripherally, in automated learning.
Fast forward to 1980 and I worked with LISP at SRI to help deploy what became the first commercial credit decisioning system using AI. Again I was peripherally involved, but i loved every second of it. Imagine now the use of AI in development of autonomous vehicles!.
I know I am a geezer now when I cannot even define the problem accurately enough to be relevant. I am not sad, but the pace of development is accelerating so quickly that I have Future Shock.I had an Old Fart moment a few days ago. I believe was thinking about all the Intel versions of ..86 processor ( 8086,182,286 386, 486 ) but now I can't remember why.
Sounds to me like you had two Old Fart Moments ...
You bet. Had no choice attending the University of Illinois. The system was technically functional until ten years ago.
And that's the other thing. The newer the version of Windows, the worse it gets. That's another reason why I use Linux Mint. It's easy, fast, and just works.
I have a drive on my desktop with Windows 7. The only thing I use it for is games.
I only have vague memories of NT 3.51 any more.
tinm
2020 Model S LR+ Owner
First computer used: WANG 2200A, writing BASIC
Next computer: some boring punch card machine connected to an IBM mainframe, for FORTRAN class which I hated
Next computer: PLATO, which made me ignore the personal computer revolution as they were mere unconnected toys
Next computer: Apple Lisa and MicroTICCIT PC.
Next computer: Zenith Z158 running DOS at home.
Next computer: AST Premium 386/20 w/ 7MB of RAM and a $2500 340MB 5 1/4" full height drive (total cost $10K) at work
Next computer: IBM PS/2
Next computer: NeXTcube running NeXTSTEP (my favorite computer ever)
Next computer: Canon Object.station running NeXTSTEP (not bad, not bad at all)
Next computer: Some 90s Mac tower... slow
Next computer: Various boring Windows machines and a SUN workstation
Next computer: More boring Windows machines
Next computer; Macbook Pro 2001 era
Next computer: More Macbook Pros every 3 years a new one right up until today
Next computer: some boring punch card machine connected to an IBM mainframe, for FORTRAN class which I hated
Next computer: PLATO, which made me ignore the personal computer revolution as they were mere unconnected toys
Next computer: Apple Lisa and MicroTICCIT PC.
Next computer: Zenith Z158 running DOS at home.
Next computer: AST Premium 386/20 w/ 7MB of RAM and a $2500 340MB 5 1/4" full height drive (total cost $10K) at work
Next computer: IBM PS/2
Next computer: NeXTcube running NeXTSTEP (my favorite computer ever)
Next computer: Canon Object.station running NeXTSTEP (not bad, not bad at all)
Next computer: Some 90s Mac tower... slow
Next computer: Various boring Windows machines and a SUN workstation
Next computer: More boring Windows machines
Next computer; Macbook Pro 2001 era
Next computer: More Macbook Pros every 3 years a new one right up until today
SpiceWare
Member
1980 freshman year, McHenry Illinois, I was in a sophomore math class where our teacher gave us homework a month at a time. Second week of the second month he had to do something, so told us to work on homework. Midway through the class he walked around to see if anybody was needing help and questioned why I was working on my english paper instead of math. So I pulled out my completed math homework for the month, including stuff we hadn't covered yet. He took me into the math teachers' office, showed me a Commodore PET, gave me the BASIC manual, and said have fun.
Following summer I was working at my grandparents' place in Wisconsin to save up money for a TRS-80 CoCo. We went into town and grandma wanted to see this new-fangled thing I was saving up for, so we stopped in at a Radio Shack. Display model had no power, so I asked the guy if he'd power it up. He flat out lied to me - "there's a password that I don't know, and if I type it wrong it will destroy the computer". Soured me on my plans for the CoCo. Soon after I learned about the VIC-20, which I ended up getting instead. It turned out to be a much better fit since I was already familiar with the PET.
We moved to Portland Texas summer of 82, where I was introduced to BBSes. I ended up writing one for my VIC, which I eventually ported to the 64 and the 128. My BBS software worked hand-in-hand with my custom MusicTerm software for real-time music at 300 baud, on the fly font-changes, sprite usage, you could play games online with your joystick, etc. More on that in my blog entry.
I was porting my BBS software to the Amiga when I discovered the internet at the University of Houston, and soon after lost all interest in the BBS scene.
My first IT job was at a healthcare company on a Wang VS, which led to my next job at an electronics manufacturing company, which also had Wang VS systems. They eventually migrated to an AS/400. My job after that was another manufacturing company where everything ran on Windows servers. My current job is in the space industry, working on Windows software used to design spacecraft.
As a hobby I write homebrew games for the Atari 2600. It's unlike any console out there - only 128 bytes of RAM, not enough for video RAM so its video chip is scanline based - you must update the registers scanline-by-scanline in real time to create the display. My finished games are Medieval Mayhem (Warlords), Stay Frosty (an original holiday mini-game in Stella's Stocking), Space Rocks (asteroids), and Stay Frosty 2(original). Under development I have Draconian (Bosconian), Frantic (Berzerk/Frenzy), and Timmy!. Timmy!'s a Jumpman inspired game that was originally going to be one of Think Geek's "April Fools - no, it's actually real" products like the iCade and Tauntaun sleeping bag ended up being. Sadly that fell apart due to management shakeup they had, but I intended to finish it someday without the ThinkGeek theme.
Following summer I was working at my grandparents' place in Wisconsin to save up money for a TRS-80 CoCo. We went into town and grandma wanted to see this new-fangled thing I was saving up for, so we stopped in at a Radio Shack. Display model had no power, so I asked the guy if he'd power it up. He flat out lied to me - "there's a password that I don't know, and if I type it wrong it will destroy the computer". Soured me on my plans for the CoCo. Soon after I learned about the VIC-20, which I ended up getting instead. It turned out to be a much better fit since I was already familiar with the PET.
We moved to Portland Texas summer of 82, where I was introduced to BBSes. I ended up writing one for my VIC, which I eventually ported to the 64 and the 128. My BBS software worked hand-in-hand with my custom MusicTerm software for real-time music at 300 baud, on the fly font-changes, sprite usage, you could play games online with your joystick, etc. More on that in my blog entry.
I was porting my BBS software to the Amiga when I discovered the internet at the University of Houston, and soon after lost all interest in the BBS scene.
My first IT job was at a healthcare company on a Wang VS, which led to my next job at an electronics manufacturing company, which also had Wang VS systems. They eventually migrated to an AS/400. My job after that was another manufacturing company where everything ran on Windows servers. My current job is in the space industry, working on Windows software used to design spacecraft.
As a hobby I write homebrew games for the Atari 2600. It's unlike any console out there - only 128 bytes of RAM, not enough for video RAM so its video chip is scanline based - you must update the registers scanline-by-scanline in real time to create the display. My finished games are Medieval Mayhem (Warlords), Stay Frosty (an original holiday mini-game in Stella's Stocking), Space Rocks (asteroids), and Stay Frosty 2(original). Under development I have Draconian (Bosconian), Frantic (Berzerk/Frenzy), and Timmy!. Timmy!'s a Jumpman inspired game that was originally going to be one of Think Geek's "April Fools - no, it's actually real" products like the iCade and Tauntaun sleeping bag ended up being. Sadly that fell apart due to management shakeup they had, but I intended to finish it someday without the ThinkGeek theme.
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