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In reply to the discussion: How to send an "E mail" 1984 [View all]

William Seger

(10,742 posts)
23. LOL, yeah, the speed button
Wed Apr 25, 2018, 09:24 AM
Apr 2018

... which reminds me of another anecdote: I was in the basement of the Smithsonian History and Technology museum in D.C. (now just called the American History building, I think), where that had parts of the ENIAC on display, the first "general purpose" (programmable) computer developed in the '40s. One of the parts was a mobile console with a bunch of knobs on top, one of which was labeled "Speed." I turned it, and it came off in my hand! I looked around, and there was nobody else to be seen. For about two seconds -- okay, maybe more -- I considered how cool it would be to have the speed control from the world's first computer... then I put it back and left quickly before I changed my mind.

And "XT clone" reminds me of one of the World's Greatest Corporate Blunders -- IBM thinking that the Big Blue label on the box was all they needed, so why not just buy an OS from Bill Gates.

How to send an "E mail" 1984 [View all] Demovictory9 Apr 2018 OP
I remember actually kinda liking 300 baud modems back when... TreasonousBastard Apr 2018 #1
Great vid angry citizen Apr 2018 #8
Nice find! William Seger Apr 2018 #2
yup... GetRidOfThem Apr 2018 #3
Cool William Seger Apr 2018 #5
Should have tried a trading platform for Pez dispensers! GetRidOfThem Apr 2018 #13
Yup, it was probably Compute William Seger Apr 2018 #14
That was my first Word Processor! GetRidOfThem Apr 2018 #21
LOL, yeah, the speed button William Seger Apr 2018 #23
Atari 1200XL here. My aunt had a C64 i used a few times. Roland99 Apr 2018 #12
Actually, now that I think about it, my first computer was a Sinclair William Seger Apr 2018 #17
I had one of those. MGKrebs Apr 2018 #18
Yeah, in fairness, it was my first exposure to BASIC William Seger Apr 2018 #19
I had programmed a cool text-based football game on my Atari Roland99 Apr 2018 #22
Thats way better than me jcgoldie Apr 2018 #28
I had the same yesphan Apr 2018 #27
Started on the VIC 20... reACTIONary Apr 2018 #35
cut my teeth on the Data General Nova 2 infullview Apr 2018 #39
I was a physics Grad Student at the time jimlup Apr 2018 #4
I believe it was called bitnet on the IBM mainframe infullview Apr 2018 #10
I remember being amazed jimlup Apr 2018 #25
The mainframe is not dead. infullview Apr 2018 #29
Verizon still uses a lot for call record processing William Seger Apr 2018 #33
Somehow that's somewhat comforting jimlup Apr 2018 #48
Big iron is set to make a big comeback jmowreader Apr 2018 #56
I remember the release of 2BSD in 1979. It was magic. hunter Apr 2018 #59
Can you just imagine where this technology will take us in 30 years? MrScorpio Apr 2018 #6
Showing my age perhaps kchamberlin25 Apr 2018 #7
No, showing your age infullview Apr 2018 #30
I did that, but it was COBOL. The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2018 #34
hope you were a good typist. infullview Apr 2018 #37
Fortunately it was for a short time as part of a university course The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2018 #40
That was my first paying job in University TrogL Apr 2018 #42
My first modem sharp_stick Apr 2018 #9
The good old days of dial up bulletin board systems Snake Plissken Apr 2018 #11
Yep. I had a bb account in the 90s Demovictory9 Apr 2018 #31
Ah, the good old days, infullview Apr 2018 #32
Thanks for the memories !!! SWBTATTReg Apr 2018 #15
I was at SIGGRAPH '83 when Steve Jobs introduced "Lisa" (for the bargain prices of $10,000) FailureToCommunicate Apr 2018 #16
I owned two Lisas TrogL Apr 2018 #43
Two! FailureToCommunicate Apr 2018 #45
Personal password: 1-2-3-4 progressoid Apr 2018 #20
LOL, mine was much more clever: 7410 William Seger Apr 2018 #24
I noticed that, too mucifer Apr 2018 #58
Hey, look, it's Moss from the IT Crowd! nt Tommy_Carcetti Apr 2018 #26
Really Kewl! Canoe52 Apr 2018 #36
For a second I thought you meant this geardaddy Apr 2018 #38
This was some expensive stuff at the time. mwooldri Apr 2018 #41
yes. my first computer cost $1500! a lot of money 25 plus years ago. Demovictory9 Apr 2018 #50
I have a lapel pin NJCher Apr 2018 #51
"Waiting for the modem..." Miles Archer Apr 2018 #44
Yes. This is what computers were without porn. Yavin4 Apr 2018 #46
My first computer was a Timex-Sinclair 2068. CaptainTruth Apr 2018 #47
I still can't figure out anything tech. It sucks! BigmanPigman Apr 2018 #49
Fascinating underpants Apr 2018 #52
youtube is a treasure trove of retro vids Demovictory9 Apr 2018 #55
Thanks for posting......incredible.. Stuart G Apr 2018 #53
The Mo-Dem. Codeine Apr 2018 #54
I'm pretty sure the password he types in at about 1:25 is 1234. lol TeamPooka Apr 2018 #57
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