Right! - 3.5" floppies were WAY cool. I still have a Panasonic laptop that boots from a 3.5" floppy of the 720KB size. My first use of a computer was a CP/M machine that a friend loaned me for few months while it was between his customers. I later got a VIC 20 with the tape drive. That lasted a little while, but then I bought an 8080 clone PC that had a CP/M daughter board for programing and running multi slide projector shows. It was a dual 5.25" floppy machine. I next traded a Mamyaflex C220 outfit for a Seagate ST225 (?) 20 MB hard drive that replaced one of the floppies. I had a buy a new BIOS chip to use it. DOS 1.2, IIRC. I moved up to am IBM luggable, still 8080, moved the AVL daughter board to it, and could now present and program on site multi-image shows. I was big time then - the only AVL programmer in the OKC area! Sorry, I don't remember the years - but it started sometime in the '80's.
On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 4:21 PM Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > And when the 3.25 floppy came out it was a miracle! > > On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 4:56 PM Kaleb Striplin via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > My first computer I used extensively and learned on was a 286 as well > back > > during the same time frame at work. I remember the 486 being a monster > and > > when they came out with Pentium processors it was unbelievable. > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > > On Jun 3, 2020, at 3:13 PM, Craig via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > > wrote: > > > > > > On Wed, 3 Jun 2020 16:03:23 -0400 Meade Dillon via Mercedes > > > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > > > >> I declare Craig the winner. > > > > > > Winner? > > > > > > > > > Craig > > > > > > > > >>> On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 3:16 PM Craig via Mercedes > > >>> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > >>> > > >>> My first use of a computer was in 1967 at Caltech. We used modified > > >>> IBM Selectric typewriters scattered across campus and connected to > the > > >>> mainframe in the computation building. We programmed in a simple > > >>> adaptation of Fortran called Citran, which was easy and quick to > learn > > >>> and easy to use (now why can't all computer languages be like that!). > > >>> The mainframe really drove those typewriters! It was interesting to > > >>> watch the ball jump all around to do the output typing. > > >>> Unfortunately, the Selectric's mechanicals were not up to the > > >>> constant pounding and the uptime was somewhat low. > > >>> > > >>> That was followed up in 1968 at Hughes Aircraft in Culver City, > > >>> California, by my use of a teletype connected to a mainframe in > > >>> downtown Los Angeles to write BASIC programs. (In my student house at > > >>> Caltech, I used a teletype driven by the contacts of a sensitive > > >>> relay which was powered by the rectified audio of my shortwave > > >>> receiver to read the news headlines broadcast around the world). > > >>> > > >>> My first owned computer was in about 1993, an IBM 80286 I used to > > >>> connect from my house to the mainframe in U.T. Austin's Applied > > >>> Research Laboratory to continue my work from home. > > > > > > _______________________________________ > > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > -- OK Don "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." Mark Twain “Basic research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I am doing.” Wernher Von Braun 2013 F150, 18 mpg 2017 Subaru Legacy, 30 mpg 1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
