The way it was the way it is

[supernova1965]

I love this comparison:eyepop:

[Ric]

That's a classic Warren. :lol:

Isn't technology wonderful. :thumbsup:

[Larryp]

Makes one stop and think about how far we've come, Warren

[gary]

Hi Warren,

Here is the patent filed by IBM on Christmas Eve 1954 and issued in May 1964.
http://www.google.com/patents?id=gQRbAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

The IBM 305 RAMAC was the model number for the entire computer system and
the disk storage unit was the IBM 350.

I have some 14" platters somewhere here from what I recollect were from a IBM 2316
removable disk pack dating from the mid 60's which were used with a System/360
machine.

If you happened to be in the machine room at the time one of these disk storage
units experienced a head crash, it was a sound you do not forget.

[Suzy]

That's an awesome comparison, Warren! :eyepop:
Gosh, I wonder where we'll be in 50 years.:question:

Gary, that's interesting what you said about the crash noise of the older hard drives.

[Baddad]

That is quite a comparison Warren.:thumbsup:
Additionally, one of the very first digital computers was the ENIAC.
18,000 valves, 1800 sq feet and weighed 50 tons. (some sources state 30 tons) 160kw of power to drive it.

Its internal memory was only 20 words at first. This was upgraded through time. (1946)

Various methods to determine the best materials to build the computer were employed.
Lab rats were starved in an experiment to find what wiring insulation they would attack first. I'd expect our flash drives are quite safe.

Now we carry items that far exceed the capacity of old systems in our pockets. Thanks Warren, its quite an eyeopener, bigger is not better :lol:

Cheers

[Omaroo]

Indeed Gary. When I worked for IBM as an engineer back in the early 80's I spent time at one stage trashing 3340's to make way for the 3370 at the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac (then the Bank of NSW). Apart from being trained to maintain these things by aligning individual heads with the aid of oscilloscopes and a whole lot of time, we used to also prepare them for disposal to Sims Metal. Nothing could be sold off, it had to be destroyed. So, for fun, we used to spin them up to operating speed and then force open the covers - and lightly tap the edge of the spinning pack. Even though they were enclosed (as opposed to the older open packs) they still flew to bits. Now - the noise you're referring to is popping back into my head... :lol:

[AstralTraveller]

I reckon the difference could be even greater, especially if they get quantum computers working. I forget the exact comparison I read the other day but it would be something like the entire internet's storage on something you carry in your pocket. Processing speeds many orders of magnitude faster than what we have are expected.

But will it make us happy? Will idiots stop shooting each other? Will (to borrow from Bob Marley) the colour of a man's skin be of as little consequence as the colour of his eyes? Now that would be progress.

[FlashDrive]

WOW ...We have certainly ' miniaturized ' data storage in 50 years.

Thanks for reminding us Warren ...how things ' used ' to be.

Flash .. !! :D

[Barrykgerdes]

I have been going through my collection of Radio and hobbies (on CD), reading editorials and science articles. We had some very funny ideas in the 1940's about the future (after the war was over) paricularly about atomic energy.

In the 1950's the controversy about the introduction of television. In those days Australia lived within its means and we had no overseas currency to waste.

In the 1960's The dawn of the computer age and the beginning of miniaturisation.

Barry

[ZeroID]

I seem to remember a retailers story of a customer who bought a PC and asked if someone could put the internet on a floppy for him .... :rofl:

I was an Operator on IBM 1440 & the first 360\20 to come into NZ many moons ago. Also later on the ICL 1900 & 1902. I can remember those big disk drives like washing machines. Never had a head crash cos we had a pressurised aircon computer room. Then there was tape drives with their vacuum systems for controlling tape loops.
And card readers .... and the punch girls ..... :rolleyes:

[TrevorW]

Makes you wonder how come

a 1945 V2 rocket used fundamentally the same propulsion method as a 2011 Dragon

[Screwdriverone]

I still remember my boss in 1992 paying $2500 for a hard drive, for our CAD design business with......wait for it.......200Mb storage!!!!!!

Man, in comparison, thats about 50 songs worth.....

Chris

[Barrykgerdes]

In 1988 I paid $800 for a 20MB MFM drive and thought I was getting a bargain at the time, and I did not have a boss to pay for it either.

When I loaded it with everything I needed there was still 15MB left. ( I think). It has Multimate, Symphony, DOS 6.22, Wordstar, GWBasic, Space Quest 1 and 2 and a lot of other stuff we used in those days

Note: I still have it in an old computer and it still works.

Barry

[TrevorW]

First plasma screen portable (brick) purchased in 1988 cost nearly $7000

http://oldcomputers.net/compaqiii.html\

[PCH]

That site is an incredible trip down memory lane Trevor - thanks !

[Barrykgerdes]

Yes we had one at work, a "portable" Compaq with an orange plasma screen. It was a scpecial one called for to work on the Link 11 so we had to have it. By the way that link does not work for me.

Barry

[TrevorW]

do you get a software failure screen if so just click

http://oldcomputers.net/compaqiii.html

try it without the backslash

[supernova1965]

123374

The new link worked Trevor it looks like it makes toast too.:rofl: I have pointed too the toasting add on in the pic.

[pluto]

Great thread!
I was just having a conversation with a friend at work the other day when we had (another) 20TB RAID installed. We worked out if you got 20TB worth of original 5 1/4" 110kb floppies and stacked them they would reach about 390,000 km - to the Moon!! :-D

[Colin_Fraser]

My first job with computers was back in the 1970's on a DEC PDP/11.
Had a massive 4mb ram and an eight inch floppy drive.

[FlashDrive]

In my day's in the Airforce at Amberley ...the main processor ( in the onboard computer ) in the 1st batch of F111-C Fighters ( 1973 ) .. had the same processing power as a 486-DX2 Computer.

Flash ..!!

[Barrykgerdes]

Yes that fixed the link and yes that is the computer we bought. I wonder where it is now?

Barry

[Barrykgerdes]

In my days at Amberley I don't think the word computer had been invented! We had Linclolns and Canberras.:D

Barry (A214061)

[FlashDrive]

Yes ...I remember the Canberra's .. in fact 2 were still at 3AD ( No 3 Aircraft Depot ) when I was there ..!!
Graceful Aeroplane ... powered by 2 Avon Axial flow Turbines.

Flash ..!! :D ( A122940 )

[OICURMT]

Probably less than a decade... IBM has been working on this for more than 10 years.

http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/wwwr_thinkresearch.nsf/pages/storage297.html
http://www.research.ibm.com/topics/popups/deep/storage/html/holo.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_data_storage

[GraemeT]

When I was at highschool, we were taken to Sydney University to see SILLIAC, their first (I believe) computer. It took up the best part of a room, had something like 3000 valves (vacuum tubes), consumed over 30kW and had about 32k memory. Sometime later, my first business computer, a Microbee, was in a box the size of the Oxford Dictionary, had 64k and a 3.5" disk drive with single sided disks costing $10 each.

[2stroke]

Cause it was the only thing the nazi's got right :)

[Zhou]

Just last night I was thinking about the Microbee computers our high school had in the early/mid eighties. It is amazing how computers have changed our lives.

[2stroke]

LOL we had them in grade 2 :) but also had a few Amiga 500's then by grade 4 it was the mac classics, lol best memories were the c64 and cassette drives haha

[Zhou]

The computers at our school were only accesable to the members of the computer club. A mate of mine stole a few blank passes and I was able to bluff my way into the club.

I remember loading programs with cassette too, at the time I thought it was amazing :thumbsup:

[Ric]

I still have my first computer. :ashamed:

It is a 486DX100 with a 256mb hard drive and 8mb of ram. It also has windows for workgroups 3.11 on it. :eyepop:

It cost me $3500 so I refuse to get rid of it on principle. :lol: I'm not throwing that much money away. :D

[supernova1965]

Imagine what a powerhouse you could buy for that money now:eyepop:

[TrevorW]

Ric, do you also have the first car you purchased, cars are an even bigger waste of money

I figure the amount of money I've spent on cars in the last 40 years I could have purchased a good block of land at today's prices

[pluto]

Just last year I threw out an SGI Octane2 that I got from a mate a few years ago. That cost the original buyer about $250,000 when it was new!!

[OICURMT]

I've still got my SGI O2 (as in O2, not Octane2)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_O2

Love the little thing, can't seem to get rid of it. :shrug: Haven't started it up in about 5 years... maybe it is time to let go :question:

[Suzy]

Back in 1981 when I was in Business College, they organised a computer to be brought in for the day so we could "see it" and I remember how all our jaws dropped with lots of wow moments. It was all word processors and electric typewriters back then.
Back then I had to learn how to use the plug and cord switchboard, electric switchboard, franking machine, ink duplicating machine (aka photocopier but waaay messier), telex machine (fax's weren't around then or if they were, didn't know about it) etc. I laugh at the memory now at how quickly they became outdated. Boy those telex machines were stressful (you couldn't see what you were typing unless you could read dots, lol)- I had to use one at work as well grrr.

[mithrandir]

I still have my Mac IIcx that cost me $8000 new. It was the first computer I paid for myself. I haven't turned it on in more than 10 years.

[TrevorW]

Remember that paperless office hype

[Octane]

My nickname came from the SGI machines. :)

You can pick them up really cheap on eBay now.

I remember first seeing them at the Sydney Motorshow back in 1995 or 1996? They were worth a packet back then; the guys at the Ford stand were giving Alias|Wavefront demonstrations, and, explaining how the processing they were showing us then, several years ago would have taken an entire week to achieve the same result. Nowadays, we can do that kind of processing on our mobile phones!

I had the pleasure of using SGI systems when I did a short stint at AFTRS assisting a student with an animation he made for his masters degree project.

H

[supernova1965]

I've got a great app for iPad that let's me sign my sign off and work completion documents on the iPad no more printing then signing and scanning so I can email them to work.

[TrevorW]

I work in a Govt office and I an assure you they waste reams of paper each week. IMO more paper usage (wastage) happened because of the advent of computers and subsequently printers

[pluto]

I had an O2 as well, it got thown out at the same time. Still the best looking desktop case IMO :-)