RE: [SLUG] Real OSes

From: Ken Elliott (kelliott4@tampabay.rr.com)
Date: Mon Dec 05 2005 - 07:39:05 EST


>> I had the first terminal which had something like 60 columns and 8 rows
or something. It was almost as fast as a punchcard machine, but did not
quite have the capacity. Well, give or take a lie or two.

I started programming on a GE Mark II mainframe (paper tape, teletype
machine). Then I got (and still have) a Motorola 6800 (yes 68 hundred, not
68 thousand) development system. Used a hex entry keyboard (0-9, a-f). I
had to write my code on paper, convert it to hex, and key it in. When I
lost power, I lost the code and had to re-enter every bit. One day I
discovered a way to connect a tape recorder to save code. Sweet. Did the
Atari 800 for a while with a real floppy disc. When I moved to an Apple III,
I purchased the optional 5MB hard disc for $5000. Damn thing crashed every
couple of months, and Apple refused to warranty it the third time it went
down. Switched to an IBM Portable PC and moved on. Wow! PORTABLE
computing!

Funny - they seem like the good old days, but they really weren't.

Ken Elliott

=====================
-----Original Message-----
From: slug@nks.net [mailto:slug@nks.net] On Behalf Of steve szmidt
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2005 10:49 PM
To: slug@nks.net
Subject: Re: [SLUG] Real OSes

On Sunday 04 December 2005 22:25, Ken Elliott wrote:
> >> What I meant is have you seen it recently?
>
> Sure
> http://www.jwdt.com/~paysan/bigforth.html
> http://pfe.sourceforge.net/
> Both are Linux versions.

Neat! I had a South African programmer (I lived in Africa for three years)
who was the reigning chess champ. He loved Forth and got me started with it.
That was back when CPM was still in use... Oh, memories of a awesome
continent.

They released a 40M hard drive back then. Days of super computing! : ) I had
the first terminal which had something like 60 columns and 8 rows or
something. It was almost as fast as a punchcard machine, but did not quite
have the capacity. Well, give or take a lie or two.

-- 

Steve Szmidt

"They that would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.

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