Date: 29-03-24  Time: 08:42 am

Author Topic: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything  (Read 112584 times)

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #700 on: 17 September 2021, 12:10:48 am »
My first computer was the BBC Model B with a whole 32K of memory  :eek

The first machine I ever used, however, was the 8K Commodore Pet at school (the one with the built in casette recorder...!)

BBROWN1664

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #701 on: 17 September 2021, 08:20:32 am »
My first was a Commodore Vic20 followed by the Commodore64 but the first I used would have been an IBM mainframe on the occasions I went to work with my dad.
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StreetFzr

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #702 on: 17 September 2021, 08:53:58 am »
This is a nostalgic thread!! My first owned computer was the Atari 2600, and we used the old BBC computer arbor primary school (the one with the big black floppy discs), we used to program it to run Lego kits and traffic lights and such.
After that I got an Amiga 1200 probably one of my fave bits of kit ever!

BBROWN1664

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #703 on: 17 September 2021, 10:10:03 am »
the one with the big black floppy discs

Quite a modern one by IT standards then
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Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #704 on: 17 September 2021, 10:37:39 am »
we used the old BBC computer arbor primary school (the one with the big black floppy discs)

Ah, yes, I remember the delight of upgrading to the 5 1/4" floppy disks after the tedium of loading programs (and especially games!) off tape casettes, especially when you were three minutes into a load and there was a glitch which meant you had to start all over again...  :wall

Quote
After that I got an Amiga 1200 probably one of my fave bits of kit ever!

I got the Miggy 500 first which was a good machine, but the 1200 was definitely a big step up, faster, more memory and a lot more capable.

I've still got both of mine somewhere in a box in the back room :thumbup

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #705 on: 17 September 2021, 10:40:34 am »
the first I used would have been an IBM mainframe on the occasions I went to work with my dad.

When I was doing A Levels we had access to remote terminals to the Bristol University Prime Mainframe.

As well as an excellent Star Trek game (which, of course, I never played when I was supposed to be working ;) ) they had a touch-typing training program.

Where I lived was close to a University building, so I would go in, even on weekends and use that and being able to touch type is probably one of the most useful (and most often used) skills I've ever picked up :)

BBROWN1664

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #706 on: 17 September 2021, 01:00:15 pm »
When I was doing A Levels we had access to remote terminals to the Bristol University Prime Mainframe.

My first real job in IT (I did a lot on the side while I was an aircraft engineer) was as a 3rd Party hardware engineer fixing lots of VERY old mainframe, midi and Micro systems including Pr1me systems and other Unix based crap. Never did learn how to drive them properly so always ended up getting the operators to carry out the testing etc unless I had a script to follow. Quickly moved on to Windows servers and desktops as the other engineers were too set in their ways to look at this new technology :pokefun

Here I am 30 years later still wondering if I did the right thing moving out of aero engineering. At least working on the older sh!te I learned to use the keyboard too so even now, to copy/paste or print something etc I use the keyboard shortcuts rather than hunt around working out where the mouse is on the screen etc.
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mtread

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #707 on: 17 September 2021, 04:32:59 pm »
When I was at school we had to have fun with logarithm tables and a slide rule...  :b


My first computer was at work. COBOL on a ICL 3900 Mainframe with massive tape spools, where you were trying to save every byte of memory.


After that it was all downhill  :)

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #708 on: 17 September 2021, 05:45:08 pm »
Just as a gauge of how far we've come here is a graphics comparison between Aliens on the Zx Spectrum and the new one for the PS5 🤯🤯

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #709 on: 17 September 2021, 06:18:24 pm »
When I was at school we had to have fun with logarithm tables and a slide rule...  :b

I learned logs and how to use a basic slide rule at school, that was before Sir Clive S invented the affordable calculator.

I still remember teachers saying that we had to learn to do calculations the long way because "You won't have a calculator with you all the time!"

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My first computer was at work. COBOL on a ICL 3900 Mainframe

I learned Cobol on Portsmouth Poly's ICL 2960 mainframe which was notoriously unstable at times, to the extent that the computer room frequently had a blackboard outside with note saying "2960 down, back up as soon as possible".

Of course nobody ever printed out an alternative sign saying "2960 up, down as soon as possible..."   :lol


BBROWN1664

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #710 on: 17 September 2021, 08:17:53 pm »
During my GCE (a few years before GCSE's came in) we were forced to use calculators as we didnt have time to do things the long way. CSE students at the time were not allowed calculators and as a result were better at mental maths but did not understand the more complicated stuff.
Logs etc we did, but with a calculator. That said I did learn (forgotten now) how to use a slide rule but that wasnt at school

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Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #711 on: 18 September 2021, 10:31:37 am »
CSE students at the time were not allowed calculators and as a result were better at mental maths but did not understand the more complicated stuff.

When I did my O Levels (back in 1981) we weren't allowed calculators partly due to the cost being prohibitive for some people, but mostly due to "mathematical snobbery" (Slide Rules and Log Tables were good enough for me and my father and grandfathers...!)

It does mean I can still do mental arithmetic without needing to reach for the electronics which can be very handy at times.

I'm not sure about "not understanding the more complicated stuff", personally I gave up maths at A Level (which I was told I should do because I wanted to do computing at University) because I just couldn't see the point of it!

By that point I'd already learned programing on the 8k Pet and learned a little about machine code on the Acorn Microcomputer and in Sixth Form played around with the UK 101 before they got BBC Model Bs which were much better.

I learned 6502 Assembly Language on the Beeb mostly through originally hacking games for infinite or 255 lives! I can still remember using a program called Exmon (Extended Machine Code Monitor) to search the code for &E9 01 (the hexadecimal code for subtract 1) which would stop the number of lives counting down or &A9 03 (Load Accumulator with 3) and changing that to &A9 FF (255 lives) which meant you could play one game a lot longer :)

mtread

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #712 on: 18 September 2021, 12:32:47 pm »
Quote
When I did my O Levels (back in 1981) we weren't allowed calculators partly due to the cost being prohibitive for some people, but mostly due to "mathematical snobbery" (Slide Rules and Log Tables were good enough for me and my father and grandfathers...!)
Did my O levels in 71  :eek
Helped my grandson with his Maths homework this week. He's 11 and just started seniors. All about maths principles - brackets, integers, negative numbers etc. No calculators allowed. There is hope yet.
We also tried a bit of French homework, but quickly lapsed into Del Boy phrases  :lol

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #713 on: 30 September 2021, 06:04:52 pm »
  :lol

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #714 on: 01 October 2021, 09:54:05 pm »
More cat humour...

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #715 on: 06 October 2021, 08:57:49 pm »
How many of these do you recognise...?  :eek

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #716 on: 26 October 2021, 09:35:30 pm »
 :lol

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #717 on: 01 November 2021, 11:12:52 pm »
Sorted!


Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #718 on: 03 November 2021, 09:24:25 pm »
Husband: I want you to have this bracelet, it belonged to my grandmother.

Wife: Why does it say "Do Not Resuscitate"?

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #719 on: 12 November 2021, 10:20:03 am »
 :rollin

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #720 on: 21 November 2021, 11:05:04 pm »
 :'(

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #721 on: 23 November 2021, 10:34:13 am »
 :rolleyes

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #722 on: 27 November 2021, 09:23:41 pm »
:rolleyes


Dangling that political carrot, tut tut.
More people are born because of alcohol than will ever die from it.

Grahamm

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #723 on: 28 November 2021, 01:09:02 am »
The latest COVID variant is called Omicron.

If they get to Omega, start worrying.

If they call one Andromeda, head for the bunkers...!  :eek

mtread

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Re: Down the pub - the thread about nothing and everything
« Reply #724 on: 28 November 2021, 12:58:31 pm »
Quote
If they get to Omega, start worrying.
Isn't that a fish oil? If so, I'm already taking tablets, so fine  :thumbup