Ah, the memories.
In 68 I was also doing punch cards for COBOL.
We had an IBM 360 and thought it was so powerful.
I remember when RPG came out and I thought it was
just too good to be true.
My first "personal" computer was built on a sheet
of plywood from a kit I ordered from some guys in
CA. One day it got so hot it actually did crash and burn.
<LOL>
When in college we actually had boards that you programmed
by wiring them.
Ever run down a hallway with a two wheeler load of cards
for some important program and the wheel hit a rock. Cards
in all directions and people walking on them. Then you find
out the sorter is busted.
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: "vern" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 6:05 AM
Subject: Re: [expert] OT: harddrive flashback
> I learned COBOL in college back in 1968 by using punch
> cards. You wrote out your lines of code on coding
> sheets then stood in line to get a turn on the keypunch
> machine. Then take your bundle of cards to the admin.
> building basement and submitted your cards to the
"computer
> technician", who ran your program while the machine was
idle
> from doing "real" stuff. Then you went back the next
morning
> an got your printout and found your errors and you tagged
your
> bad lines of code, and then back to the keypunch machine,
and
> on and on. We had an IBM 360 then, it was soon replaced
with
> some Honeywell beast.
> Ten years later I got my first "personal computer" an
Apple ][
> with 4K of RAM and an audio cassette recorder to record
the programs.
> My "library of files" consisted of a shoe box of audio
cassettes. I
> worked for Uncle Sam then and had my very own Internet
account too,
> even used it from home a few times with my 300 baud modem
with the
> acoustical coupler (a rubber thingy to stick you phone
handset into).
> I still live in the sticks with a 24K phone line, and
waiting for the
> satellites to get here! :-)
> vern
>
