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New Hard Drive Ad, a couple years ago

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NutmegCT said:
My digital history:

abacus :smile:
Sinclair 1000
Commodore 64
Commodore 128 with cp/m
Osborne I with cp/m
Kaypro with cp/m
Compaq DOS
Panasonic DOS
TRS-80 Model 100; Tandy 102
can't remember the various Dell Windows desktops
current: Dell laptop, Dell desktop - still have the TRS/Tandy and Osborne.

Need to dust off my backup computer:

Babbage_Difference_Engine.jpg
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You forgot the stone table 🤓
 
My first was a Sinclair, then a Tandon (not Tandy). Anyone remember Tandon?
 
Our first Pocket Calculator. No battery required. 8-bit!

SS5_1131cr.JPG
 
I've a couple slip-sticks. My Dietzgen and Dad's "pocket" version, circa 1941.
 
I have a couple of slide rules too.
 
Basil said:
My favorite "antique" is my Programmable TI-59 programmable calculator with thermal printer which I used through engineering school.
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I still have the TI-99 that I bought my son when he was 3 or 4. He actually learned to read and do math on it. Also have some voice modules for it.
I have the game “Alien Addition” the alien space ships had math problems on the front ie: 5+5 in order to shoot it down my son had to select the bullet with a “10” on it. It taught him well.
 
Gliderman8 said:
I still have the TI-99 that I bought my son when he was 3 or 4. He actually learned to read and do math on it. Also have some voice modules for it.
I have the game “Alien Addition” the alien space ships had math problems on the front ie: 5+5 in order to shoot it down my son had to select the bullet with a “10” on it. It taught him well.
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I taught myself TI Basic on my TI-99. One of the first programs I wrote was a blackjack card game.
 
BobHaskell said:
According to Wikipedia, ALGOL came out in 1958. The FORTRAN language was proposed in 1953 and the first compiler was delivered in 1957. Learned it in college - with key punch cards. First programing done on a PDP from a Western Union teletype machine with a paper tape.
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FORTRAN may have come out first, but my first class was ALGOL. When the class ended, they told us that ALGOL wouldn't be used anymore. I learned FORTRAN on my own to write a program that would tell me the thickness of a thin film of electrolyte by the colors reflected using white light.
 
ALGOL always sounded to me like something out of a B grade late night horror movie.
"ALGOL, fetch me the girl from the dungeon and that head from the shelf we're going to sew on".
"Hee, hee, hee, Yesss master", shuffle, shuffle, foot drag....
 
John Turney said:
FORTRAN may have come out first, but my first class was ALGOL. When the class ended, they told us that ALGOL wouldn't be used anymore. I learned FORTRAN on my own to write a program that would tell me the thickness of a thin film of electrolyte by the colors reflected using white light.
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I had to learn Fortran in Engineering school but never used it beyond that.
 
Still have a TI-99 with original packaging. Wrote a few conversion programs; weight, volume and temp. Metric/ASE back and forth. Tape cassette and a small portable B&W TV.
 
I did learn FORTRAN years ago in college, was a required course, never used it afterwards. 40 years as an IMS and then DB2 DBA and general "help me" tech support. Got lucky that what I chose to do is still valued in the marketplace so many years on.
 
I wrote Fortran programs for many years then supported then supported other techies in our office with Fortran. Never liked it at all although it sure beat Autocoder that I broke in on. I finally wrote my own Algol compiler to use instead. That compiler was eventually used by NASA in development of the shuttle. Algol is pretty much the grand daddy of nearly all modern languages or at least the framework around which their logic is designed.
 
As I like to play with new programs on a couple of older computers, I burnt the iso for the new, to me, Rocky Linux on a disc, and am having a problem getting it to work. It's a learning experience for sure! :oops: Using terminal to execute commands isn't my favorite thing! :wall:
OOPs, I think I might be making progress! :thumbsup2:
 
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Thinking the burnt disc might have a glitch as it installs about 1 third of the program and locks up, I burnt another disc and got the same results. I'll wait for another upgrade and try again. :coffee::coffee::unsure:
 
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