Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 2, 2013 Just read an article and all the sudden felt very very old oh yeh and RPG - long before basic etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaybyrd 3,770 Posted June 2, 2013 I only go back as far as basic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petroman2012 168 Posted June 2, 2013 taught myself Cobol back in 82-84 as I bought a new wiz-bang Compaq that looked like a compact lunch box with a air-conditioner built in...Machine language was a real treat, as much fun as personal relations with my ex-wife 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mwhatch 9 Posted June 2, 2013 Studied them all including Machine Language, lisp, and some I can't remember names of. Never got very good at any of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skarekrow 1,842 Posted June 2, 2013 Same here... learned basic in the early years then switched to DOS with the changeover to Windows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 2, 2013 ahhh there are other old timers out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaybyrd 3,770 Posted June 2, 2013 We had an Atari 800 home pc sometime 84-85 and I can remember having to save programs we working on to cassette. Also remember getting up early and putting cassette in to load a game we did and eating breakfast waiting for it to load. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 2, 2013 We had an Atari 800 home pc sometime 84-85 and I can remember having to save programs we working on to cassette. Also remember getting up early and putting cassette in to load a game we did and eating breakfast waiting for it to load. heck that was modern - I remember doing the coding and you had to wait till the next day for find any errors LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted June 2, 2013 As users of cutters/plotters, it should be recalled that we all perform our work with the assistance of HPGL - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPGL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaybyrd 3,770 Posted June 2, 2013 I think I was in 3rd grade when we got that computer. At the time my stepfathers company was being computerized and I can remember a room the size of a small house that housed their mainframe and the reel to reels for the programs. My phone has more computing power than what was in that room. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 2, 2013 my grandmother was the data processing supervisor for federal mogul in the 60's - back when it was an entire climate controled room and used punch cards . . . .I used to make christmas wreaths with punch cards! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaybyrd 3,770 Posted June 2, 2013 Punch cards never got viruses or malware. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petroman2012 168 Posted June 2, 2013 1981- Timex Sinclair. 1982-VIC-20, 1982-C-64, 1983-1986-C-64 and ST-520 and IBM 8086, 1988-1989-1040 ST, 1990-1992 DX 486 machines, 1993-1996 Early Pentium, 1997-1999, P4 systems, 2000 BareBone I-Build'em.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smokeybearfan 87 Posted June 2, 2013 I can program in COBAL, frotran, Machine, Pascal, Logo, Assembly Back many years ago my first PC ( glorified Calculator) was a ELF that all entries had to be in Binary. I used punch cards and connected to the main frame to compile the code the main frame if I remember correctly was a UNIVAC machine. I'm feeling old now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 2, 2013 we used to take the punches from the cards and put them in the vents of cars - was great then they turned on the fan - sure glad they don't have those now that I can drive - I would hate that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skarekrow 1,842 Posted June 2, 2013 I got away from the programing as soon as I could... Fell in love with the GUI's other folks wrote and never looked back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 2, 2013 liked the programming better than when I was learning the ESRI software for GIS in 1999-2002 - that stuff will make anyone feel stupid. I hope they have made it more user friendly by now. To make some operations easier you could program macros in Arc Macro Language . . . .miserable stuff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sleeveofwizzard 104 Posted June 2, 2013 I came along and caught the tail end of basic. My grandpa was a techno nut and spent tons of money to buy computers when no one else had them. Lucky for me I got to play with them. My uncle (ex microsoft employee) gave me one of his old computers when he upgraded. It was an IBM PC XT that had been upgraded to the MAX. All five expansion slots were filled with full length cards that had more chips on them then I have ever seen ha ha. It had the math co processor, tape drive, second hard drive and upgraded RAM. Funny thing about my aunt and uncle, they both worked for Microsoft in the early days but my aunt quit because it was too hectic. She said they were constantly moving and changing offices and setups. Her position was pretty high up but she had different people under her every week. My uncle stuck with it and retired when he turned 45, bought a glass blowing shop and a Lotus so I guess he did ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BearlyRich 167 Posted June 4, 2013 What, nobody did Forth??? I still have a Sinclair in the closet, various Atari's in the garage and a PDP-11 (complete with paper tape teletype) out in the shed. Computers are fun, or, used to be before they became my job Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
