2011-02-23

My First PC

Oh. My.

I was just sent a link to this machine in a computer museum. It is not only similar to the machine I spent 15 months (!) of my life slaving at, it is the exact same machine I fought with, trying to shoehorn a > 64 KB (right, KILObyte) program into the 64 kB + 64 kB "extra storage" that turned out to not be directly addressable.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder that you managed to become a professor despite the fact that you used to program such memory hogs... ;-)

Anonymous said...

"I wonder that you managed to become a professor despite the fact that you used to program such memory hogs..."

that remark resembles me... (i.e. s/he beat me to it)

you know that you have reached the end of the rainbow (or something) when you find yourself outed by a member of the older lot of young whippersnappers (always young, yet always older than you, oh Wise-one)... outing you: Look, the new empress's got no new cloth on! :))

not to worry, proving that "something is WRONG here!" (i.e. spending 15 months trying to shoehorn a > 64 KB program into the 64 kB + 64 kB "extra storage") will do quite nicely, thank you, to have the committee sign you off; just don't forget to give credit where credit is due, i.e. name the origin before signing your name under sentences (be that hired help's or yours) -- Remember Gutten-gate !!)

regarding that museum piece, oh young W... TR-4

okey, it had 4k words rather than 4k bytes -- still, the lesson had been learned already, attempts at shoe-horning wasn't Original (enough) Research to get you "Certified"...

;-)

Anonymous said...

"I wonder that you managed to become a professor despite the fact that you used to program such memory hogs..."

that remark resembles me... (or did s/he just beat me to it ?!? ;-)

you know that you have reached the end of your rainbow (or something watchamacallit) when you find yourself outed by a member of the older lot of young whippersnappers (I'm not old, I'm just longer young than you, oh Wise-one)...

Outing you: Look, the new empress's got no new cloth on! :))

not to worry, proving that "something is WRONG here!" (i.e. spending 15 months trying to shoehorn a > 64 KB program into the 64 kB + 64 kB "extra storage" CAN't BE DONE) will do quite nicely, thank you, the committee will/should sign you off; just don't forget to give credit where credit is due, i.e. name the origins before signing your name under sentences (especially those by hired help) -- Remember Gutten-gate !!)

regarding your museum piece, oh young W... here's mine: Meet "my" TR-4 !!!

okay, okay, it had 4k words rather than 4k bytes -- still, the lesson had been learned already, attempts at shoe-horning wasn't considered Original (enough) Research to get you "Certified"...

P.S. meet the TR440 and, oh what a refief it was...

;-)

Unknown said...

apropos Gutten-gate, I just heard in the news that he's now a Gut-and-Gone... beers're on me tonight!!

Anonymous said...

I still have no idea what the "Selektierstift" does. I mean in 1983, did you have any drawpads, like Wacom builds them today?

WiseWoman said...

There was a pen-like thing that was attached to it, I really don't remember what it was for. I have a vague notion that it was a "touch screen", that is, you had a grid of light beams over the screen, and you could use this pen to touch the screen and figure out where you were. I remember playing with it for a few days and then giving up, not knowing what on earth anyone would want something like this.

I mean, doesn't everyone type 10 fingers without looking? (Thanks, Mom, for forcing me to take typing in high school so that I would at least be able to feed myself by working as a secretary!!)