Computer Technology in 1961

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

In the early 70's, most personal computers (IBM, Compaq) cost $3000 and usually had two floppy disk drives (1.2Mb/disk). An optional 20Mb hard drive cost $2K. That's Mb, not Gb.

Sherwood

I think you are off just a little bit.

IBM PC was introduced in 1981 and had 360K floppies until the introduction of the IBM AT in 1984. I sold a 10Mb hard disk for the first XT for $10K; The Seagate 20Mb half height was $5K in 1985 IIRC.

[911pcars]

Don,
My erasable memory stands corrected. It was the early 80's.

I started with a Northstar computer in '79. It used the CPM OS.

Sherwood

[kach22i]

I'm a little confused, are you guys saying the first PC's had no hard drive?

The flight computer unit I first gave a link to (Verdan) came to the USA under license from the UK (Elliott Brothers) in the military sector.

Link-2:
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200456.html

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by kach22i

I'm a little confused, are you guys saying the first PC's had no hard drive?

The flight computer unit I first gave a link to (Verdan) came to the USA under license from the UK (Elliott Brothers) in the military sector.

Link-2:
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200456.html

The first PCs had no hard-drive. In fact, most started out without diskettes. They started with a tape drive using cassette tape. So you started up the machine and to load a program, you put the cassette in, then walked away for 5+ minutes while the program loaded.

At the time I was in high school, the PC to own was an Apple II. Apple pretty much concerned the market. Commodore should have done better, but the PET was limited and the VIC-20 wasn't an improvement. The C-64 was excellent, and that was my first machine. I used it through college.

My first PC was a Toshiba 1200HD in 1988. The HD was for Hard-disk. Mine had a 10MB hard-dive built in. It still fires up, but the display is cracked and only 1/2 works. I upgraded it all the way to DOS 6.1. And I used that machine through the mid 1990's, when I got a color notebook from work. I paid a lot for a combination memory upgrade card and 1200 baud modem. The machine had 2MB of memory!

Remember all of the programs to break the 640K barrier, to allow you to load drivers and parts of the OS into "high" memory so that you could run larger programs in main memory.

My other recollection of those days was that GE was freak'n cheap, and always bought some program that was not the industry standard. SuperCalc5 instead of Lotus 1-2-3, etc.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by red-beard

The first PCs had no hard-drive. In fact, most started out without diskettes. They started with a tape drive using cassette tape. So you started up the machine and to load a program, you put the cassette in, then walked away for 5+ minutes while the program loaded. .

I just saw something like that in an old James Bind film, you just need a tape!

[red-beard]

"What is 'Diamonds are forever', Alex?"

I don't remember any commercial/industrial computers that used compact cassettes. The early personal computers that used cassettes, you usually supplied the cassette recorder. And they worked on the principle of a modem. The output was 300 baud modem sounds, recorded by the cassette recorder. These were 30 characters per second. They were SLOW!

[GH85Carrera]

I still have my original Microsoft Mouse. It has two huge green buttons and a steel roller ball. I got it with my Ventura Publisher Ver 1 that ran on my Compaq lugable 4.77 Mhz powerhouse. It had 640 K of ram and a 10 meg hard drive. I also still have my Compaq DOS 2.2 operating system.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by slodave

I have a client that still uses a dot matrix. Wide format to boot.

I had my sailboat hauled for a bottom job a couple of weeks ago. The boatyard used on old Okidata dot matrix to print invoices, etc. We used to sell that exact printer in the mid 80's. I asked about it and the girl in the office said the owner of the boatyard picked up the printer at a second hand store for $5 and was able to order ribbons from someplace on the internet??

[red-beard]

How to clean your mouse

This memo is from an unnamed computer company. It went to all field engineers about a computer peripheral problem. The author of this memo was quite serious. The engineers rolled on the floor.

"Mouse balls are now available as FRU (Field Replacement Unit). Therefore, if a mouse fails to operate or should it perform erratically, it may need a ball replacement. Because of the delicate nature of this procedure, properly trained personnel should only attempt replacement of mouse balls.

Before proceeding, determine the type of mouse balls by examining the underside of the mouse. Domestic balls will be larger and harder than foreign balls. Ball removal procedures differ depending upon the manufacturer of the mouse. Foreign balls can be replaced using the pop-off method. Domestic balls are replaced by using the twist-off method.

Mouse balls are not usually static sensitive. However, excessive handling can result in sudden discharge.

Upon completion of ball replacement, the mouse may be used immediately. It is recommended that each replacer have a pair of spare balls for maintaining optimum customer satisfaction. Any customer missing his balls should suspect local personnel of removing these necessary items."

I remember actually having to clean my mouse. You would get "mung" on the wheels and would need to scrape/clean them out. Optical ones are so much nicer.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by 74-911

I had my sailboat hauled for a bottom job a couple of weeks ago. The boatyard used on old Okidata dot matrix to print invoices, etc. We used to sell that exact printer in the mid 80's. I asked about it and the girl in the office said the owner of the boatyard picked up the printer at a second hand store for $5 and was able to order ribbons from someplace on the internet??

These printers are old . He does manage to find the ribbon cartridges on the Internet as well. There are a stack behind his desk.

[911pcars]

In some ways, hard drive prices have gone up. This one cost $17.5 million:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=485&tag=nl.e589

Sherwood