Technology "Remember when..."

[Lead Belly]

I worked at a computer store in college and sold Kaypro Luggables that ran CP/M - the predecessor to DOS. The keboard would latch over the monitor for transport. They ran a single floppy that you'd boot it up with, then swap floppies to the program disk. 8-bit processors and no more than 64 kilobytes of memory. No hard drives as they were huge and a fortune. Winchester Hard drives, they were called back then as the model was to have 2 disks 30-30 MB!

We used to repair them at the chip- level using logic probes as DIP chips would be socketed. This was back in '85 and at the end of lifecycle. My personal first was a Ti 99/4a in late 70's. Then the Timex Sinclair.

 

[no2gates]

I worked at a computer store in college and sold Kaypro Luggables that ran CP/M - the predecessor to DOS. The keboard would latch over the monitor for transport. They ran a single floppy that you'd boot it up with, then swap floppies to the program disk. 8-bit processors and no more than 64 kilobytes of memory. No hard drives as they were huge and a fortune. Winchester Hard drives, they were called back then as the model was to have 2 disks 30-30 MB!

We used to repair them at the chip- level using logic probes as DIP chips would be socketed. This was back in '85 and at the end of lifecycle. My personal first was a Ti 99/4a in late 70's. Then the Timex Sinclair.

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I remember the Kaypro. I lived about 2 miles from where I believe their main location was in Solana Beach.

 

[Eastexasrick]

My first was a company assigned Compaq Portable III, lunch box. Looked like this in use. If you bumped it when in use, you lost everything, and got the blue screen of death. then reboot it

 

[no2gates]

My first was a company assigned Compaq Portable III, lunch box. Looked like this in use. If you bumped it when in use, you lost everything, and got the blue screen of death. then reboot it
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You had the nice newer one. I had the giant suitcase one my company gave me:

 

[Eastexasrick]

You had the nice newer one. I had the giant suitcase one my company gave me:
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Holy crap. mine weighed in around 25 pounds, what did that beast weigh?

 

[Mohawk600]

My first was an Apple II Plus received as a Christmas gift for my brother and I to share back in 1981.

 

[Lead Belly]

In 2014, Bonhams put a rare Apple-1 computer up for auction in New York. Estimated to go for between $300,000 and $500,000, it ended up selling for a whopping $905,000.

In 2015, an Apple II in "fine condition" fetched $4,687 at a Nate D. Sanders auction.

In 2017, Auction Team Breker sold an Apple Lisa for $50,300.

An original 1984 Mac (Macintosh 128K) will generally go for anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000."

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/23/vintage-apple-computers-worth-nearly-900000-you-might-have-one-in-your-basement.html

 

[Coiled]

All I remember about old tech is Leisure Suit Larry was too suggestive and I am convinced that code was the downfall of the traditional American family.

Prove me wrong . . . .

 

[Lead Belly]

It may have been the beginning of the end, but I give some credit to music, movies and TV. The executives and decision makers in entertainment were/are guided by their pocketbooks.

 

[striker55]

I remember that.

I worked for Coleco back then, although it was a few years before the Adam. Video games, pinball, shoot and score game, there main moneymaker I believe was the pools. They had some pools set up with furniture for the photo shoots with models. At night we would go swimming in the pools.

 

[Coiled]

Dangit, I forgot to use the sarcasm font earlier.

 

[MountainGirl]

Dangit, I forgot to use the sarcasm font earlier.

That may be, but the intro of tech - starting with the fax machine - forever altered the practice of law. And not in a good way.

 

[kbaxter60]

All I remember about old tech is Leisure Suit Larry was too suggestive and I am convinced that code was the downfall of the traditional American family.

Prove me wrong . . . .

That's hilarious. I remember the age test at the start to make sure you were old enough to play.
"Ricky, Lucy, Fred, and ___________."

 

[leVieux]

Not exaackerly a “computer’’ per-se; but, it was.

Dad’s boat had a TI9100 LORAN for navigation.

We had usually reached our destination before the course could be programmed into the ‘’box’.

 

[dsgrey]

I worked at a computer store in college and sold Kaypro Luggables that ran CP/M - the predecessor to DOS. The keboard would latch over the monitor for transport. They ran a single floppy that you'd boot it up with, then swap floppies to the program disk. 8-bit processors and no more than 64 kilobytes of memory. No hard drives as they were huge and a fortune. Winchester Hard drives, they were called back then as the model was to have 2 disks 30-30 MB!

We used to repair them at the chip- level using logic probes as DIP chips would be socketed. This was back in '85 and at the end of lifecycle. My personal first was a Ti 99/4a in late 70's. Then the Timex Sinclair.

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I worked at Texas Instruments so first PC was the TI PC. Then I remember their dual o/s PC that ran os/2 since that Microsoft thing probably wouldn't catch on. I recall attending a class once time at their laptop facility in Temple back in the early to mid-90s. Oddly enough, several years after leaving one of my major software vendors was location in Temple. Being oncall in the 80's was fun with a dummy terminal and maximum 1200 baud modem was mostly a waste since it was so slow, best to just drive into work.

TI had their luggable which was very similar and had a Winchester drive. That thing was heavy and you'd go blind trying to use the tiny screen. But I also supported issues where vendors used the old silent 700 computers.

 

[FireInTheWire]

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You keep that up, we're gonna have to request access to get in this thread

 

[Tnhawk]

I remember using the Texas Instruments calculators from the earliest model to the TI 59.

 

[Texasgordo]

I remember when this game was the highlight of my computer class back in junior high.

 

[msharley]

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I remember when this game was the highlight of my computer class back in junior high.

Or? "I ate at Taco Smell!"

 

[oldag]

Used the Osborne portable ("tote-able" was more like it). One of the first portables.