Category: computer history

Computer history, historical articles, or retro. Mostly tech-related, but not all.

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If a PDP-8 minicomputer can’t help with Greece, who can?


.BASIC
NEW OR OLD--OLD
FILE NAME--HELLO.BA

READY
RUN

HELLO BA 5A

HELLO, MY NAME IS PETEY P. EIGHT.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME ?BEARDY

HI THERE BEARDY. ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF HERE
IN THIS WONDERFUL PLACE?YES

OH, I’M GLAD TO HEAR THAT BEARDY

SAY, BEARDY, I CAN SOLVE ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS
EXCEPT THOSE DEALING WITH GREECE. WHAT KIND OF
PROBLEMS DO YOU HAVE (ANSWER SEX, HEALTH, MONEY,
OR JOB)?

Not even a DEC PDP-8 (simulated in SIMH) running OS/8 and a BASIC program, HELLO.BA, can help with Greece!

PDP-8

Guess if I dropped my jaw in surprise and amusement when I read that, when playing around with a simulated historic computer just now. If not even that can help to solve the problems of/with Greece, I guess they’re doomed! 🙂

On another note, SIMH is a great thing, the DEC PDP-8 minicomputer (from 1965) seems to have been a nice machine in its days, and OS/8 quite a decent OS for its time and environment. Expect another post on SIMH and simulating/emulating old computers shortly.

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Modems & Bulletin Boards, The Computer Chronicles

This Sunday’s video (I will from now on try to post atleast one video from this series, or another, each Sunday (even though it technically is Monday in this part of the world)) is about modems and bulletin boards (BBS:es). I also have to recommend the movie/series “BBS: The Documentary” which is very interesting and well made.

From high-tech trysts to selling black-market software, computers users are talking.

Guests: Ezra Shapiro, Byte Magazine; Rory O’Connor, InforWorld; Matthew McClure, The Well; Donald Ingrim, Alameda County DA; George Morrow, Morrow Computing

Products/Demos: CompuServe, Byte BBS, The Well

Let’s hear your thoughts and comments after watching the video, enjoy.

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Slowdown in Silicon Valley #2, The Computer Chronicles

Part two of this special series looking at the causes of the downturn in the computer industry.

Guests: Ben Anixter, AMD; Richard O’Brien, Hewlett Packard; Trip Hawkins, Electronic Arts; John Merson, Ashton-Tate; Gary Kildall, Digital Research

Products/Demos: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST 520

Enjoy this video from 1985, this is part two of a two part episode of Computer Chronicles.

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Slowdown in Silicon Valley #1, The Computer Chronicles

A review of the reasons behind the current slump in the computer business.

Guests: Dave Crockett, Dataquest; Sam Colella, Inst Venture Partners; Deborah Wise, Business Week; Dave Norman, Businessland; Gary Kildall, Digital Research

Products/Demos: Adam Computer, Osborne I Computer

Enjoy this video from 1985, this is part one of a two part episode of Computer Chronicles. Feel free to discuss it below.

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UNIX, The Computer Chronicles

This is a very interesting episode, if you watch it, you can often draw paralells to todays reality, and can think back on what actually happened, and how long it has taken for some things. The interesting thing with many, and in particular this episode of Computer Chronicles, is that it could have been recorded last week, and still felt like a good report of current events. (Though of course some names needs changing, some screenshots would be flashier.. but the overall content and facts could be the same.) Like always when watching these videos I think; “Nothing changes, things change slowly, things move in circles, nothing is new under the sun.”

I just watched this video again, and had to add the above comment to it. Enjoy watching the video, for the first time, or again, and again. 2011-08-13 update

AT&T’s computer operating system is threatening to take over IBM’s MS-DOS dominance.

Guests: John Mashey, Bell Labs; Mark Sobell, Author; Bill Joy, Sun Microsystems; Doug Hartman, Hewlett Packard; Mike Denney, Basis; Gary Kildall, DRI

Products/Demos: File It, HP Integral PC, UNIX

Enjoy this video, from 1985.

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IBM Clones, The Computer Chronicles

IBM COMPATIBLES
A comparative look at the new breed of IBM look-alikes.

Guests: Radio Shack / Tandy Corporation Director of Market Planning
and Computer Merchandising: Ed Juge,
PC World Magazine Publisher: David Bunnell, Attorney: David Grais,
Consultant: Gary Kildall

Products/Demos: Radio Shack Tandy 1000, IBM PC, Ericsson PC, Compaq PC

This video is part of the program series: The Computer Chronicles
Hosted by Stewart Cheifet, Computer Chronicles was the world’s most popular
television program on personal technology during the height of the personal
computer revolution.

Original Broadcast: January 28, 1985

A lot in this video is as valid today as it was then, just exchange some of the brand names, software and operating system names. Actually, think more of operating systems, than hardware, for todays world. The bits about patents, openness, and so on, are topics that are very up tp date. In the world of computing, and the world at large for that matter, very little is new under the sun. Enjoy this piece of history. Notice the note about a program called Puppy Love in the end, Tamagochi, that Nintendo DS dog/pet game, and so on… Maybe you have another view/comment on this, in relation to the computing world today?

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