Starlink

[riptides]

LOL. Xerox sigma 3 and 5. Paper tape and lots of punch cards. Toggles too on the things. And flashy lights.

Lots of strange eccentric programmers too.

You're making me feel old. I remember 110 baud, paper tape, and punch cards.

 

[John_Mc]

We are the same people that were hyped when the 56K modem came out.. Weæ±*e doing pretty good.

I remember USING 300 baud.

I was hyped when 2400 baud modems came out: for the first time in my life, I had to pause the scroll on the text-based Compuserve network and on other bulletin boards since it was scrolling faster than I could keep up reading.

I do remember using 300 baud modems, and even slower - I think it was 110 baud?

You haven't lived until you've played the old Start Trek game (written in basic), simulating a "graphic" display by printing out typewriter characters on a 10 CPS (characters per second) teletype machine connected through an acoustically coupled modem to a mainframe computer across town. If I recall, the Enterprise was represented by <*> and the Klingon ships were +++

When we got a 56K modem, the fastest we would usually get was around 21-26Km due to the poor conditions of the copper lines in our neighborhood. It was a happy day when we would occasionally it 31K.

 

[John_Mc]

Y'all still itchin' to throw more money to a billionaire crackpot, eh?

No, I was itching to have an internet that works so I can attend and host work meetings online... even better: so I can attend them online from home, rather than having to drive a couple miles to use the public hotspot in our local elementary school parking lot, so my daughter can attend her remote learning classes from home.

Some of us focus on the technology and not the personalities.

Exactly. I think Musk is an arrogant donkey's rear end, but he's smart, and he has a product that works for me, and he is providing that product in my area when no one else has anything workable. Why the heck do I need to like him? (In fact, I do like the fact that he is pushing the envelope in a lot of areas.)

If GM made the best pickup truck for my needs (or perhaps the ONLY pickup truck available), would I walk away and suffer with a 2-door Yugo for hauling things just because I thought the GM CEO was a jerk? Not a chance! Nor would I expect everyone else to follow my lead and buy a GM pickup if they had an alternative that was better or less expensive for their needs.

I'm a firm believer in using my money to show that "nice guys" don't have to finish last. If it's between two equal choices, I'll buy from the nice guy. I'll even pay a bit of a premium to the nice guy because I appreciate doing business with them. However, if the nice guy doesn't have a working product, he's not even in the running.

 

[dmccarty]

You're making me feel old. I remember 110 baud, paper tape, and punch cards.

Yep, I too remember 110 baud accustic coupler for the phone hand set. :shocked: But I am not old, I just started young! :laughing::laughing::laughing: Well, that is my story and I am sticking too it.

I never really used punch cards, but a box of them were found years, well decades ago, under the lab floor. I took a handful and give them out to new hires so they actually can see and hold a punch card and KNOW why we have 80 column limits. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

However, I have USED paper tape for storage. I have a box full of stuff somewhere, that has a roll of paper tape I used around 1980. My guess is that roll has the BASIC Star Trek program on it that I hand typed into the Honeywell mainframe...

Later,
Dan

 

[shooterdon]

Y'all still itchin' to throw more money to a billionaire crackpot, eh?

Glad you feel that way. Hope there are millions more like you.

Gives the rest of us a better chance of getting "screwed" by billionaires.

 

[LouNY]

:thumbsup:

 

[txhawg]

Y'all still itchin' to throw more money to a billionaire crackpot, eh?

Beats giving my money to a huge corporation with a well funded PAC not aligned with my values.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I remember USING 300 baud.

Nothing like the phone handset in the acoustic coupler.

I see that was discussed. . I used punch cards.

 

[civilian]

Glad you feel that way. Hope there are millions more like you.

Gives the rest of us a better chance of getting "screwed" by billionaires.

Shooter, any update on your system yet? I want to hear how you do with yours, as you are in my backyard. (well sort of!) Jon

 

[cqaigy2]

Nothing like the phone handset in the acoustic coupler.

I see that was discussed. . I used punch cards.

Reminds me of working on a credit union job. They used acoustic coupler and while testing, a buddy of mine sneezed and it was transmitted thru acoustic coupler. Fortunately it was just nonsense to the system on the other end.