Geek recollections (Split from Easy livin')

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Some of the nonsense contained herein may be very loosely related to The Sisters of Mercy, but I wouldn't bet your PayPal account on it. In keeping with the internet's general theme nothing written here should be taken as Gospel: over three quarters of it is utter gibberish, and most of the forum's denizens haven't spoken to another human being face-to-face for decades. Don't worry your pretty little heads about it. Above all else, remember this: You don't have to stay forever. I will understand.
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markfiend
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stufarq wrote:Oh, hang on. At the rate computer technology is advancing, we'll probably all have 100 exabyte hard drives by next week!
Yeah, it doubles about every 18 months.

I remember when double-density floppies came out, thinking "Wow, how could you fill a whole megabyte?" :lol:
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—Bertrand Russell
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timsinister
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Mark, your age is showing :wink:
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Being645
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markfiend wrote:
stufarq wrote:Oh, hang on. At the rate computer technology is advancing, we'll probably all have 100 exabyte hard drives by next week!
Yeah, it doubles about every 18 months.

I remember when double-density floppies came out, thinking "Wow, how could you fill a whole megabyte?" :lol:
That was the time before digital photography ... not so very long ago.
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markfiend
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timsinister wrote:Mark, your age is showing :wink:
Fetch my pipe and slippers you young whippersnapper! :lol:

Digital photography is one aspect of it, true, but the 5 1/2" floppies I'm talking about (:eek:) were back in the BBC Micro / ZX Spectrum days, when you could get the computer's whole operating system into 16K, and upwards of 20 games onto one floppy.

I even remember a computerised type-setting machine my Dad had at work that used 8" floppies!

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk

Anyway, where were we?
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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culprit
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too right, mark.
my first computer had a 120mb hard drive! :D
...mmmmmmmmmMMMMMM!....
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Quiff Boy
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my dad was always buying/swapping bits and bobs of computery things for me - there was always a steady stream of them coming in and going back out of our house when i was growing up :lol: :roll:

my first computer was a ZX81 :lol:

then we had a dragon 32 for about 3 months (that was cr*p), then we briefly got a texas ti99-4/a (snappy name, huh? i quite liked that one and it was built like a tank), then we had a commodore 64 and an atari 800xl (at the same time, for some reason) for a few years, and then we got an amiga 600, then a 1200, and then it started getting serious :lol:

i didnt actually get a pc until i went to uni in 1995. it was some crumbly old elonex 486 dx2 66 than ran like a dog... but it was good enough for windows 3.1, word 6, access 2, some c programming environment and a couple of assembly language emulators that we needed for our course :lol: :urff:






hmmm.

i was always going to be a bit spoddy, wasn't it? ;D :lol: :oops:
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
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markfiend
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Quiff Boy wrote:my first computer was a ZX81 :lol:
I also had a ZX81. 8K ROM (holding the entire OS and BASIC programming language) and 1K RAM. Fantastic. :notworthy:
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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MadameButterfly
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markfiend wrote:
timsinister wrote:Mark, your age is showing :wink:
Fetch my pipe and slippers you young whippersnapper! :lol:

Digital photography is one aspect of it, true, but the 5 1/2" floppies I'm talking about (:eek:) were back in the BBC Micro / ZX Spectrum days, when you could get the computer's whole operating system into 16K, and upwards of 20 games onto one floppy.

I even remember a computerised type-setting machine my Dad had at work that used 8" floppies!

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk

Anyway, where were we?
Good heavens above I remember those days too! :eek: :eek:
it's all about circles and spirals
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Bartek
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i started from C64 then Amiga 600 and after quite a long time normal PC. i young but old enough to remember that machines :wink:
deirfiur
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Time for a new thread methinks - this one seems to have gone a bit off topic
abridged
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I remember punched cards and Beginners Automated Symbolic Instruction Code (may have got BASIC wrong).... :urff:
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Quiff Boy
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deirfiur wrote:Time for a new thread methinks - this one seems to have gone a bit off topic
yeah :lol:

welcome to the zoo that is heartland :lol: ;D
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
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Quiff Boy
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that's better :)
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
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christophe
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I don't remember what my first was, but it was barely pré pentium. I know because everyone else was upgrading and I couldn't :lol:
Another Shade of You.
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markfiend
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abridged wrote:I remember punched cards and Beginners Automated Symbolic Instruction Code (may have got BASIC wrong).... :urff:
Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code?

Anyone remember the Jupiter Ace, a ZX81 homebuild variant that used FORTH instead of BASIC? :eek:
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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weebleswobble
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Image

Image

:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
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James Blast
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I remember hot metal type and punchtape ;D
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
abridged
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Yep. Mark Sorry All Purpose Code. Been a while since school!
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markfiend
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James Blast wrote:I remember hot metal type and punchtape ;D
My Dad had a typesetter worked for him who could set fully-justified type (from hot lead) by eye more quickly than you would believe. It was a marvel to watch.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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James Blast
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I have a geek related post to make but I'm too upset about it just now, I need to collect my thoughts, otherwise it will just be a stream of bile and hatred directed at the powers that be where I work - I may need to PM the Boss + Fiendy, it's a three pipe problem :(
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
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markfiend
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You know where I am. And my gmail address if I'm not here.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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James Blast
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I dinna ken whaur tae start, but thankee Herr fiendish one
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
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Quiff Boy
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zoiks. waddup? :o
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
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James Blast
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I'm so upset, lemme say "I'm a peecee, no I'm not. I is Mac, I will allas be Mac, dammit"!
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
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emilystrange
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Quiff Boy wrote: i was always going to be a bit spoddy, wasn't it? ;D :lol: :oops:
yup!


we had a zx81 and commodore 64 as well.
I don't wanna live like I don't mind
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