• First Computer

    From Garon@21:2/133 to All on Tue Sep 10 18:25:40 2024
    First computer was an Amstrad 8088 with 640K RAM. No HDD. 2 5.25" FDD - 1992 First computer I built: 386DX 4MB RAM, 213MB HDD 3.5" FDD. -- 1993

    Upgraded over the years from 386 to 486, Pentium, ect.

    ... Electricity is really just organized lightning.

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  • From halian@21:2/132 to Garon on Wed Sep 11 22:46:13 2024
    First computer was an Amstrad 8088 with 640K RAM. No HDD. 2 5.25" FDD - First computer I built: 386DX 4MB RAM, 213MB HDD 3.5" FDD. -- 1993 Upgraded over the years from 386 to 486, Pentium, ect.

    │ My first computer was an HP Vectra VLi with a 500 MHz Pentium III
    │ Coppermine CPU, 384 MiB PC100 RAM, and a 20 GB Maxtor hard drive (gradually
    │ upgraded to 120 GB), originally running Windows 98 SE.

    │ ...in 2003. Yes, I've always been a retrocomputer fan. :3 └────────────────────────────────────── Your beeps were just booped by ╠╣âlian

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  • From kirkspragg@21:2/150 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Sep 22 16:59:46 2024
    You're not thinking of the PCJr, are you? That's a whole different
    beast.

    The PS/1 was a typical commodity desktop PC with standard expansion
    slots, the PCJr was a little box with propritary parts, and the PS/2
    was a business-class machine with Microchannel architecture.

    Prety sure it was PS/1 model 2011. From what I've seen on wikipedia & on other sites thats what we had - I remember the weird memory expansion module that it had & was installed in a slot hidden under the front cover.

    I don't thin ours had any expansion slots at all. I believe that was optional and required something additional to be installed to give you some ISA expansion slots...

    Also had non standard flopy and hard drive connections which was a problem when the original hard drive started to die..

    ... Knowledge is good.

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to kirkspragg on Mon Sep 23 06:36:00 2024
    kirkspragg wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Prety sure it was PS/1 model 2011. From what I've seen on wikipedia &
    on other sites thats what we had - I remember the weird memory
    expansion module that it had & was installed in a slot hidden under the front cover.

    That checks out - I think I must have blocked those systems from my
    memory! all-in-one form factor, proprietary io ports, no ISA slots.

    The Aptiva systems that came later were the more traditional PC
    "clones" I was thinking of, with standard slots and expansion.



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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to MIKE POWELL on Thu Sep 19 15:27:20 2024
    Re: Re: First Computer
    By: MIKE POWELL to KIRKSPRAGG on Thu Sep 19 2024 08:02 am

    I wonder how the PS/1 compared in price to similarly speced clone machines?

    Initially I am not sure but when I got my first 8088-XT clone in late 1987, the clones were very much cheaper *and* easier to add components to.

    I was just watching a video on YouTube last night about why the Tandy 1000 was so popular and successful when it was released in 1984. It was very IBM-compatible and worked with standard parts, and it competed against IBM-compatible home computers, and was also marketed as a business PC alternative to IBM's own PCs. Also, even at $1200 in 1984 dollars, it was still cheaper than the alternatives.

    Nightfox
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to MIKE POWELL on Fri Sep 20 07:05:00 2024
    MIKE POWELL wrote to KIRKSPRAGG <=-

    Initially I am not sure but when I got my first 8088-XT clone in late 1987, the clones were very much cheaper *and* easier to add components
    to.

    There was a whole "swap meet" culture in the bay area back then, lots of hobbyists and computer stores selling their wares at the Cow Palace, an
    old livestock convention center in San Francisco. I remember walking
    into a (what seemed to be huge) selling floor, people selling used hard
    drives, lots of cards and components out of boxes, tubes of loose memory
    chips; I bought a new clock chrystal for my 286 to speed it up. I was
    studying computer science, I should have bought a 287! :(




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  • From Bob Worm@21:1/205 to Nightfox on Fri Sep 20 21:02:59 2024
    Re: Re: First Computer
    By: Nightfox to MIKE POWELL on Thu Sep 19 2024 15:27:20

    Hi, Nightfox.

    I was just watching a video on YouTube last night about why the Tandy 1000 was so popular and successful when it was released in 1984. It was very IBM-compatible and worked with standard parts, and it competed against IBM-compatible home computers, and was also marketed as a business PC alternative to IBM's own PCs. Also, even at $1200 in 1984 dollars, it was still cheaper than the alternatives.

    It keeps recommending that one to me, too. I guess I don't need to watch it now and can devote 20 mins to something more productive... as if :)

    BobW
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  • From Dmxrob@21:4/142 to Poindexter Fortran on Sat Sep 21 13:38:14 2024
    BY: poindexter FORTRAN (21:4/122)

    Big difference between PS/2 and PS/1. PS/2s were Microchannel systems
    that was intended for corporate use, and the PS/1 was an inexpensive
    home machine with compromises made to cut costs - and which limited expansion.

    God, remembering all the architectures and incompatibilities back then makes my head spin. IBM, IBM PCjr, Tandy, PS/2, PS/1 -- and if you want to really have fun, let's talk about the IBM PC/370.

    Just adding in something like a sound card required you to do research to make sure you had the right bus type!

    -dmxrob

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Dmxrob on Sat Sep 21 08:01:00 2024
    Dmxrob wrote to Poindexter Fortran <=-

    Just adding in something like a sound card required you to do research
    to make sure you had the right bus type!

    PCI and plug and play changed the playing field. I remember trying to
    get a mouse, a serial port, sound card and network card all working, I
    usually needed to borrow an IRQ from the printer port to make it work.
    I'd put a note inside the case with all of the IRQ and port settings in
    case something changed.



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  • From MIKE POWELL@21:1/175 to POINDEXTER FORTRAN on Sat Sep 21 09:50:00 2024
    │ There was a whole "swap meet" culture in the bay area back then, lots of
    │ hobbyists and computer stores selling their wares at the Cow Palace, an
    │ old livestock convention center in San Francisco. I remember walking
    │ into a (what seemed to be huge) selling floor, people selling used hard
    │ drives, lots of cards and components out of boxes, tubes of loose memory
    │ chips; I bought a new clock chrystal for my 286 to speed it up. I was
    │ studying computer science, I should have bought a 287! :(
    └─[PF=>MP]

    LOL, there used to be a PC swap meet (or a few) in Louisville in the late 1980s-early 2000s. There was also a similar meet in Lexington that, the
    last time I attended, was also there in conjunction with the model train
    swap meet/show.

    I enjoyed that one. I probably came away with a few model train goodies
    while the person I went with was there for PC stuff.

    Mike

    ##Mmr 2.61ß. !link PF 9-20-24 7:05
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  • From Rixter@21:1/242 to Garon on Tue Oct 1 05:01:03 2024
    My first computer was a trs 80 coco 2 with 16k ram and cassette tape storage device. I saved almost a year for it and mom ended up helping me with the difference so I could treat myself to a Christmas gift with it. It got me started into my BBS in 1986.

    telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
    http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
    Madison,NC
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  • From Rixter@21:1/242 to kirkspragg on Tue Oct 1 05:04:15 2024
    The struggle to keep the BBS/computer running was the fun part I still remember those days. Computers kits and hardware shows. I wonder how much money we have spent on these things over the years?

    telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
    http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
    Madison,NC
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Rixter on Tue Oct 1 07:38:00 2024
    Rixter wrote to kirkspragg <=-

    The struggle to keep the BBS/computer running was the fun part I still remember those days. Computers kits and hardware shows. I wonder how
    much money we have spent on these things over the years?

    For me, the fpart of the fun of BBSing was the challenge of getting a
    BBS package, a mailer, a tosser, a nodelist utility, a file tosser, file announcer, disk defragmentation and scheduled BBS ads on several
    networked subboards working - all through a batch file on an old DOS box
    in the corner.

    I think at one point I even played with accepting FAXes from the BBS.

    The flipside was getting people to call your BBS and send you files
    instead of you having to call BBSes and download files from elsewhere,
    keep your ratios up, &tc. So much easier to run the game than to play
    it!



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  • From Scuz@21:1/248 to Rixter on Wed Oct 2 12:35:50 2024
    My first computer was a trs 80 coco 2 with 16k ram and cassette tape

    I still have my CoCo 2 and 3 in the boxes.. I need to get them out and do something with them, I did check them about 2 years ago and they powered up just fine!

    -Scuz

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  • From Scuz@21:1/248 to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Oct 2 12:39:07 2024
    For me, the fpart of the fun of BBSing was the challenge of getting a
    BBS package, a mailer, a tosser, a nodelist utility, a file tosser, file announcer, disk defragmentation and scheduled BBS ads on several
    networked subboards working - all through a batch file on an old DOS box in the corner.

    That's another reason I set up the OBV/2 board, I still have a ton of work to do with it, But at least I got this part of it up and running correctly! That took a lot of research and help from Jack Plash and Paulies file archive!

    -Scuz

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  • From kirkspragg@21:2/150 to Rixter on Thu Oct 3 18:05:35 2024
    The struggle to keep the BBS/computer running was the fun part I still remember those days. Computers kits and hardware shows. I wonder how
    much money we have spent on these things over the years?

    If it's given you joy and continues to do so, why worry about the cost in dollars?

    There are plenty of ways to spend $$ to make ones self happy, at least this particular vice keeps your brain in good working order.

    ... Integrity is praised, and starves.

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  • From Warpslide@21:3/110 to kirkspragg on Thu Oct 3 21:46:20 2024
    On 03 Oct 2024, kirkspragg said the following...

    If it's given you joy and continues to do so, why worry about the cost in dollars?

    There are plenty of ways to spend $$ to make ones self happy, at least this particular vice keeps your brain in good working order.

    I hear this. I spent way too much time this morning battling with sed & awk which is a good way to learn more about/become more comfortable with them. Still haven't figured out the problem as of yet, but that's part of the fun.


    Jay

    ... No one hates a job well done!

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  • From kirkspragg@21:2/150 to Warpslide on Fri Oct 4 00:59:01 2024
    I hear this. I spent way too much time this morning battling with sed & awk which is a good way to learn more about/become more comfortable with them. Still haven't figured out the problem as of yet, but that's part
    of the fun.

    Good examples of "old" tools that are still heavily used. I see them often enough in "modern" build and deployment pipelines that manage our cloud services where I work.

    We do tend to remove them in favor of python scripts once things get a bit complicated to make maintenance a bit easier.... bash/sh scripts using sed & awk expressions can grow over time to take on a life all of their own!

    ... "I'll excise the bunion," Tom said callously.

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  • From Rixter@21:1/242 to kirkspragg on Fri Oct 4 06:16:15 2024


    If it's given you joy and continues to do so, why worry about the cost in dollars?

    There are plenty of ways to spend $$ to make ones self happy, at least this particular vice keeps your brain in good working order.

    ... Integrity is praised, and starves.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)



    I was not worried about it. I was just curious. Now that money is not a concern with BBSing it is the time I am curious about. I am sure I spend a lot of time with it. Have a great BBS day.

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    http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
    Madison,NC
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Scuz on Thu Oct 3 06:39:00 2024
    Scuz wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    That's another reason I set up the OBV/2 board, I still have a ton of work to do with it, But at least I got this part of it up and running correctly! That took a lot of research and help from Jack Plash and Paulies file archive!

    The whole concept of having a mailer exit with specific errorlevels
    depending on the baud rate of the caller, or which batch routine to run,
    and that driving the batch file branching is genius.



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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to kirkspragg on Fri Oct 4 08:02:00 2024
    kirkspragg wrote to Warpslide <=-

    We do tend to remove them in favor of python scripts once things get a
    bit complicated to make maintenance a bit easier.... bash/sh scripts
    using sed & awk expressions can grow over time to take on a life all of their own!

    I run a couple of wordpress blogs and a static blog created with a BASH
    script. Guess which one strikes my fancy more? :)



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  • From Dmxrob@21:4/142 to Rixter on Mon Oct 7 23:45:58 2024
    BY: Rixter (21:1/242)

    My first computer was a trs 80 coco 2 with 16k ram and cassette tape
    storage
    Same here! I had it for about a week! Returned it and got a Tandy 1000HX. Went from cassette tape to 3.5" floppy. Man, I thought that was a lot of storage.

    -dmxrob


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  • From Dmxrob@21:4/142 to Warpslide on Mon Oct 7 23:47:32 2024
    BY: Warpslide (21:3/110)

    I hear this. I spent way too much time this morning battling with sed &
    awk which is a good way to learn more about/become more comfortable with them. Still haven't figured out the problem as of yet, but that's part
    of the fun.

    Exactly. You are learning. You will build upon what you learn from messing with sed/awk.

    This is what I tell people who rely on AI to "write" things for them. You aren't learning shit, you are just copy and pasting code that you have no idea what the hell it is doing - how are you learning anything?

    -dmxrob


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    * Origin: Off the Wall - St. Peters, Missouri - #VoteBlue (21:4/142)
  • From Dmxrob@21:4/142 to Kirkspragg on Mon Oct 7 23:48:42 2024
    BY: kirkspragg (21:2/150)

    We do tend to remove them in favor of python scripts once things get a
    bit complicated to make maintenance a bit easier.... bash/sh scripts
    using sed & awk expressions can grow over time to take on a life all of their own!

    In the end, they are all code bases to maintain. I come from the school of "if it works, leave it alone". I see all too often devs wanting to recode something that has worked perfectly fine for 20 years in bash to Java or Python and I shut that down quick. There is zero need to reinvent the wheel.

    -dmxrob


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    * Origin: Off the Wall - St. Peters, Missouri - #VoteBlue (21:4/142)
  • From Dmxrob@21:4/142 to Poindexter Fortran on Mon Oct 7 23:50:18 2024
    BY: poindexter FORTRAN (21:4/122)

    I run a couple of wordpress blogs and a static blog created with a BASH script. Guess which one strikes my fancy more? :)

    You should check out Cloudflare Pages and Workers if you like that. It would be right up your alley. I have several websites now that have ditched the nonsense, bloated frameworks and went back to static builds thanks to Cloudflare pages.

    -dmxrob


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    * Origin: Off the Wall - St. Peters, Missouri - #VoteBlue (21:4/142)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Dmxrob on Tue Oct 8 07:05:00 2024
    Dmxrob wrote to Poindexter Fortran <=-

    You should check out Cloudflare Pages and Workers if you like that. It would be right up your alley. I have several websites now that have ditched the nonsense, bloated frameworks and went back to static builds thanks to Cloudflare pages.

    Will definitely take a look. I set up a landing page in Wordpress and
    it's complete overkill - but I was able to make it look like I wanted.
    I'd like a simpler solution.



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  • From Bf2K+@21:3/171 to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue Oct 8 20:26:48 2024
    I recently found my old batch files that I used to run my FidoNet BBS
    with. The main file was SVC.BAT written by Gee Wong (and bastardized for
    my use by me.) The errorlevel processing was marvelous... so much was
    do-able with this stuff. I spent hours playing with this 16k batch file.

    Kinda makes me want to set up a DOS box just to play some more... I am
    sure my BBS from the late 80s, early 90s is around here on floppies somewhere...
    :)

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  • From kirkspragg@21:2/150 to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Oct 10 21:48:43 2024
    We do tend to remove them in favor of python scripts once things get bit complicated to make maintenance a bit easier.... bash/sh scripts using sed & awk expressions can grow over time to take on a life all their own!

    I run a couple of wordpress blogs and a static blog created with a BASH script. Guess which one strikes my fancy more? :)


    Hmm let me think... perl?

    ... A cat by any other name is still a sneaky little furball.

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