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[Rocky]

My sister worked for DEC in Massachusetts waaaaaay back in the 70's. I applied for a VP position there, but they ultimately filled itr from within.

Brian, when I was with them at that time we were in Maynard, MA. Later, the product line moved to Keene, NH and was there when I (summarily and mercifully) left the company. Just for fun, what was your sister's name?

 

[sour_grapes]

Have you ever written something, got it perfect, lost it and then tried to re-write it?

One of my all-time worst pet peeves. Even if it just a simple email. I can't imagine losing a whole article.

 

[back2it]

I had to build my first computer myself.

I worked as warehouse manager for an IT company and asked the boss if I could buy one. He said “have a chat with the tech guys and they will give you the bits, and if you can assemble it and get it working, you can have it for free”. I duly got the bits and put it all together and I got a blinking cursor, yeah, success.

Not knowing what to do next, I asked “what to do next”? They gave me a pile of 5 ¼” floppies and instructions which I duly inserted, installed and configured as per the instructions; I got a blinking cursor.

Not knowing what to do next, I asked “what to do next”? They told me that now I had installed a 250 user Novell server, I now needed to assemble a workstation so I could connect to it

 

[TechAdmin]

That was rather sneaky, but you did get an education and a free server. What did you do to get the workstation?

 

[back2it]

That was rather sneaky, but you did get an education and a free server. What did you do to get the workstation?

Nothing, it was purely naivety, I just asked.

It’s similar to when my daughter was studying the Victorians, came home and asked me “What was it like in the Victorian times Dad?”

 

[Dennis Griffith]

You're so young. My 286sx had a 40 Meg hard drive and 2 Meg of RAM. Additional RAM was $100.00/meg!

I go much further back than that. I speak a fluent octo binary language, know how to make/program punch cards, and store data on a 1 inch tape drive. I've used systems that loaded from 8" floppies, 5 1/4, etc, etc. Worked on Univac, DEC, Wang, HP and more that I forget.The 420 meg drive was for my personal 286 system with a math co-processor (I think it only had 4 - 1/4 meg sticks). It replaced my aging 8086 w/CPA monitor. I have a museum of computers and associated hardware going back to a VIC 20. And my first computer I built in the early 60s.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

PS. I was really making a statement about how technology has changed in my lifetime.

 

[wineh]

PS. I was really making a statement about how technology has changed in my lifetime.

You mean like ram was $100.00/meg, now a 16gig USB stick is $12.00!

 

[winemaker81]

You mean like ram was $100.00/meg, now a 16gig USB stick is $12.00!

I recently purchased a 5 pack of 128 GB sticks for $7 USD/stick ....

They told me that now I had installed a 250 user Novell server, I now needed to assemble a workstation so I could connect to it

GAWD! I haven't touched Novell in 30 years. You're reminding me of my age ....

PS. I was really making a statement about how technology has changed in my lifetime.

yup!

 

[back2it]

GAWD! I haven't touched Novell in 30 years. You're reminding me of my age ....

And you reminded me of mine

 

[Codfish]

Brian, when I was with them at that time we were in Maynard, MA. Later, the product line moved to Keene, NH and was there when I (summarily and mercifully) left the company. Just for fun, what was your sister's name?

Hi Rocky, did you know Sherry P.

 

[Ted Brumleve]

Paul, I think I was left just as the VAX was introduced. DEC made great hardware but the experiment to develop a system was a debacle. You mentioned the PDP-8, which was an 8-bit machine and could "handle" up to 16 input terminals. Well, they linked two PDP-8's and thought they could attach 31 terminals (one terminal port was used to "link" the two PDP-8's). We were using the VT-60 (a "dumb" input terminal which needed the computer to do hyphenation and justification, spell check, etc. so the thought was all reporters could be entering their stories (as press time loomed), sending them off for H&J, getting them back and making the final polishing. It did not take much to crash the system. We were dealing with papers that had a daily circulation of 20-30,000 so funds were not unlimited.

We had a more expensive option, the PDP-11, a 16 bit machine, but it was not much better and was much more expensive. The VT-71's ("smart" terminals were just out and also more expensive but even they only had 32k of memory). The major issue was the software and we had instances where reporters would create a story, have it all ready to go to the phototypesetter and when they tried to send it, they got the message, "file not found." Have you ever written something, got it perfect, lost it and then tried to re-write it? Also, one truth in the newspaper business is once you miss an issue, it is gone forever. You cannot put out today's paper tomorrow. Well, we managed to cause the Columbus (Indiana) Republic to miss the first issue in its history! This was in spite of the fact that in the late 1800's there was a fire which destroyed most of the paper's facilities and in the early 1913 the town suffered a devastating flood.

What a nightmare!

My CRISP process control system ran on PDP, then VAX, then ALPHA servers. It was an amazing transformation each upgrade.
And bullet proof. The PLC based systems today are fragile in comparison.

 

[Rocky]

Hi Rocky, did you know Sherry P.

No, I did not. But at the time I was there, DEC was growing by leaps and bounds.

 

[Rocky]

PS. I was really making a statement about how technology has changed in my lifetime.

It sure has, Dennis. I go back to the "slide rule" generation! When I started work, our "calculators" were the Friden models. You could put a multiplication or division into one of them, go to lunch and it would still be "chunking away" when you got back! I remember when we got our first AC calculators, a Burroughs model that cost $500 but was "only" $385 with Westinghouse's corporate discount. It would add, subtract, multiply, divide, do square roots and had two memories! Today, you can get the same thing as a prize in a Cracker Jack box. But we had to unplug them and lock them in our desks every night or they would "walk."

By the way, does anyone remember who developed the first hand held calculator? Hint: It was not HP, Casio, Texas Instruments, etc. But it is an example of the old saw, "The Pioneers were killed by the Indians; the Settlers came later."

 

[BigDaveK]

I still have my first calculator in a box somewhere - a four function TI. WOW, four functions!!! I remember it was considered an unfair advantage so we couldn't use them for physics tests unless everyone had one. Otherwise, the slide rule. Hmm, I think my slide rule is hiding around here too!

 

[winemaker81]

Speaking of calculators, this was a premium I received while at my first professional job. The vendors would send premiums with some orders. This one has been in my briefcase for 35+ years. Still works fine.



One of the other premiums was a canvas satchel that I used for 20+ years, until it finally dry rotted.

 

[Alexandre Estolano]

Back to the photos, this is a batch of fresh merlot grapes fermenting with Torulaspora delbruekii. Kept skins only for 4 days, coz I want a kind of a claret. After Torulaspora stops fermenting, I will inocculate EC1118. So far, smells good.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Where did you source your yeast?

 

[winemaker81]

Back to the photos, this is a batch of fresh merlot grapes fermenting with Torulaspora delbruekii. Kept skins only for 4 days, coz I want a kind of a claret. After Torulaspora stops fermenting, I will inocculate EC1118. So far, smells good.

What was the OG?

 

[wineh]

One of the first cheap (and my first) scientific calculator. I think it was $19.00
1980