- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated Jun 23-1:48 pm by Brian Masinick.
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Brian Masinick
That’s a great story Roki!
As for me, I’m a retired software geek.
Here is my long history story in the business that I have enjoyed:
I have very few mechanical skills so at least I was once blessed with a memory for technical details.I grew up in the Motor City, at least in the ‘burbs of the city. I actually had my first professional job in the GM Building in 1979 on West Grand Blvd. in the “New Center” of midtown Detroit. After six months I worked for another five years at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan.
In 1985 I moved from motors to machines and joined Digital Equipment Corporation in Merrimack NH, working with computer and telephony companies to establish what we enjoy today as a complete technology infrastructure with the necessary switching, signaling and billing systems to support a truly integrated voice and data communications network.
What was of particular interest to me is that is the precise network that GM and others were pushing for in the late seventies and early eighties. At Digital we wanted it too, as did IBM and many computer and Telco manufacturing companies because it meant a lot of new business.
Today we’re working on new generations of technology and it’s mostly in high speed wireless networking.
Believe it or not, as far back as 1995 Bill Gates and Microsoft could already envision the possibilities along with the concerns and risks. I remember seeing a fictional depiction of what we have today, stuff like using our systems anywhere, and also the criminal community getting more clever and different in the types of crimes they’d commit.
While I am not a Gates or Microsoft fan, they were one of the many forces that helped with the technology and they certainly did bring the nineties and early 2000s technology to everyone but failed to make the right handheld devices until they missed the market.
That is a fortunate historical truth in technology. IBM definitely owned the early mainframe generation of computer systems and still remains the leader in that area, with enough money to at least be a player in many spaces.
Ironically it’s thanks to IBM and their desire to get into PC technology that both Intel and Microsoft became powerful. IBM wanted a fast entry into microcomputer technology. Intel had lost a bid to Texas Instruments for some small circuits and chips. Microsoft had a BASIC (beginner) programming language, but their QDOS OS was losing to CP/M and another DOS operating system.
IBM was able to get the services of Microsoft and Intel to help them build the IBM PC.
Until other companies did it faster and cheaper, IBM initially had the PC market. A few years later they built their own OS and called it OS/2. Actually Microsoft worked on some of it with IBm but the two companies went in different directions.
Microsoft came out with Windows NT and worked with other companies to get into use in business while Windows 95, 98, and ME, and NT/2000 increased in use and popularity.
Meanwhile Intel was the primary PC chip manufacturer while Texas Instruments, Hewlett Packard and others sought out other markets.
It was during the nineties that Linus Torvalds came up with his own idea for Linux because he wanted a powerful UNIX-like workstation but he already paid a lot of money for some expensive hardware and didn’t want to purchase a UNIX operating system, nor did he want to use the PC systems of his younger years because they didn’t have the technology we enjoy today.
Add it all up and we have many more choices today.
There are many more things that also took place. Those are just a few highlight events that helped to change the course of computing.
- This topic was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Brian Masinick. Reason: Let's move this one elsewhere
- This topic was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Brian Masinick.
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Brian Masinick
rokytnji
Cool Beans. My Windows experience was only used for things like this
Man. For what they charge for their stuff. You would think they would update their site to show secure in Chromium browsers.
I learned tons of stuff from you guys. I may not be sharpest pencil in the cup . But I pay attention.
Heck. Back in 90’s. I did not know what secure site meant. Or that standards were even around. I was a typical hope for the best. Pretty much still am that way.
I rely on guys like you to teach me new ways of thinking. To give you a history story.I learned to play chess by doing the body gaurd thing for the scrawny kid at school that was my best friend. Funny part about that 4 eyed scrawny kid. I watched him do 500 sit ups without breaking sweat. He was a sleeper.
Sometimes I drive a crooked road to get my mind straight.
Not all who Wander are Lost.
I'm not outa place. I'm from outer space.Linux Registered User # 475019
How to Search for AntiX solutions to your problemsBobC
In 1986 or 1987 a friend bought MicroPort Unix SysV/AT for $99. It came on 27 5 1/4″ floppies. We were able to load and run it, but never really did much. There was no internet, then. We never did get printing to work.
PDP-8
Oh wow, does that bring back memories!
While my system was Coherent back then, I checked out the MicroPort wikipedia page, and followed the link at the bottom to the manual! Warning – lots of [citation needed] flags.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microport_(software)
With Microsoft having wisely given up on upgrading everyone to Xenix, since all people wanted was an application launcher rather than follow the unix-way — others filled in with binary-only – no source, and typically no compiler (or one that was crap). Trying to make the unix box into the PC / micropocessor marketing environment of unbundling everything for $$$. Hence the popularity of GCC compiler – even among higher-end manufacturers.
I suppose at that time, you could CU into a bbs, Compuserve or other dialup, like a shell-account. Or use UUCP, BUT you had to find and establish a uucp account for that too as a consumer. Of course if you were a small business with remote locations, one could setup uucp privately.
But after all was said and done, can you imagine what one was supposed to do when “apps” were lacking? Ah, you grabbed source online from usenet, or ftp’ed it and then compiled it yourself. An example would be the “sc” spreadsheet. 🙂 So do you pay $$$ for Microport’s unbundled compiler, or use GCC with better performance? GCC it is!
But even then, can you imagine doing ed/vi and using nroff/troff for text formatting for a printer? Talk about the 70’s. 🙂 You’d scream back into dual-booting to DOS, and happily run Wordstar!
Egads – the manuals written by total nerds. For nerds (like me), not the general population. It was a total gas reading that manual – even in today’s environment. I just had to laugh. Anyone having trouble installing antiX should read THAT Microport installation process. 🙂
Thanks for bringing up Microport – I had forgotten about that.
In case anyone is interested, the MWC Coherent manual is actually available here in pdf or postscript:
http://www.nesssoftware.com/home/mwc/manual.php
Obviously a lot has changed over the years, but some of the basics and the way they are explained are still memorable to me to this day. This is how I wished that man pages actually looked with sample explanations in more down-to-earth detail.
Sometimes just someone else’s way of explaining it can clear out a cobweb or stumbling block.
Gotta’ thank Robert Swartz and crew for allowing such a resource (even if moldy) to still serve a purpose.
Update: Depending on browser, online viewing may omit the actual tutorial demo keystrokes. Qpdfview in antiX works great to see it all.
- This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by PDP-8. Reason: Hint about using qpdfview instead of browser built-in
Brian Masinick
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