I bet many dont even know what a slide rule is..
But way back in my school days they were very slick indeed.
Does anyone still use them?
I fancy they must be a collectors item by now.
alex
I was in year 4 engineering when I first saw one of those new fangled scientific calculator from Texas Instruments ..a very short time later I bought my first Casio and that was it, good bye to the slide rule. Dont know where it went to.
My slide rule was a work of art though, made in Germany, supposedly the best, can't remember the brand name after all these years
You know something even more archaic than a slide rule- a T square. Anyone ever use one of those
I am at my fathers house in Sydney and clearing out stuff only yesteday I found the "T"square I made in 2nd year (I think). And how about the drawing board ..was that it?.. the one you either pinned the paper on or if real flash used fancy buldog clips to hold the paper and slid said t square up and down the left side to possition the ..whatchamacallits... and french curves.... I tell ya sonny I remember when you could buy a packet of chips for sixpence those were the days... wheres my blanket its getting chilly
alex
It was in grade 6 when I first saw an electronic calculator. A big chunky thing with red led display which really chewed batteries.
I did get to use a slide for a little while but I certainly didnt master it before getting my first calculator in year8 I believe.
T-square? For drawing? Yep used one throughout high school before PC's became common.
Who still plays vinyl records? Does anyone still have a turntable capable of playing 78rpm records?
In terms of calculators, I remember when my family got our first one used exclusively for doing the books on our farm when I was about 14 years old...it replaced an adding machine. It was a big clunky Texas Instrument thing red display but ours plugged in...
We used slide rules in science classes until I graduated high school...my teachers allowed the use of slide rules but no calculators...at university I got my first calculator of my own.
My Junior year at high school saw the first computers...TRS80 I think we had 6 of them for about 750 students...
My father in-law still regularly plays his vinyl records (and he has made sure that we have retained the capability to play "records" too although we don't)...he is a vinyl nut and has the gear to play any vinyl you've got...
I remember that NASA engineers used to boast that they could work out a solution on their slide rules faster than the computers could.
Yes, I used to use a T-Square in tech-drawing class, on a drawing board. It was supplemented with various set squares.
As for biro's, here's a great analogy. NASA spent millions of dollars developing a pen that would work in zero gravity. The Soviets used a pencil.
I remember the t square and drawing board you made in woodwork
ink wells and still nib pens were long gone by then though
Slide rule ? ,think i saw one once what did they do ,pardon the ignorance
Knew an old fella fairly recently alex , who vividly remembers the first
truck arriving in lismore ,they used to take cattle from the coast up there
tie up the stirrups on the horses point them towards home crack the whip and send them on there way ,they knew the way home 40 kms
and they would get a ride back in one of these new fangled wheeled jallopys.
I still remember as a kid being woken sometimes in the early morning hours by the clip-clop sound of the horse drawn cart and the tinkle of the milk bottles as they were delivered.
My slide rule was a work of art though, made in Germany
The name Aristo and model Studio seens to ring a bell... and here you go, can't find mine at the moment, but, for those of us who have fond memories, here's Eric's Slide Rule Site
The last time I used a 'slide rule' was one of these for navigation. It had to be second nature as you were expected to do it while in control of an aircraft. Those were the days. Avgas went to almost $2 a gallon!
Notice it is a DEAD Reckoning Computer. One mistake... Cumulus Granitus
I can remember large ocean going vessells alongside the whalves in Lismore, milk was poured into the jug you left out, and the baker delivered the bread in a horse draw cart.
Hey this is time travelling for sure and they said you could only expect to travell forward.
alex
I have one of those too Bert, Wizz Wheels they're nicknamed, and are still used for navigating the skies. You can't get a Private Pilot's licence without being able to operate a Wizz Wheel. When your GPS has gone kaput, a purely mechanical calculator and a map is a must.
Yes you are right modern technology is great but a fail safe backup system no matter how crude is a must. In the end the best computer you will ever own is between your ears. A Necktop.
