Anybody watching Halt and Catch Fire on TV?
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Is anybody here watching this show? It is on AMC, Sunday nights in the US. It is loosely based on the birth of the Compaq portable IBM PC clone in the early 80s. Set in Texas. I am finding it extremely fun to identify with engineers and software nerds on tv. It is, of course, not a 100% match to the 80s experience, but I am finding it pretty good fun and no-one to talk to about it. Anybody else? What do you think?
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Is anybody here watching this show? It is on AMC, Sunday nights in the US. It is loosely based on the birth of the Compaq portable IBM PC clone in the early 80s. Set in Texas. I am finding it extremely fun to identify with engineers and software nerds on tv. It is, of course, not a 100% match to the 80s experience, but I am finding it pretty good fun and no-one to talk to about it. Anybody else? What do you think?
Nope, never heard of it. If it hits this side of the pond, I might catch it. But...I miss the old Assembler instructions: HCF, XPI, CAI, WJP, RPI For the young, a translation. These were Machine Code instructions which executed directly on processors (in this case IBM) in big mainframe computers. Generally three letters, they were acronyms for memorable phrases.
HCF Halt and Catch Fire
XPI eXecute Programmer Immediate
CAI Corrupt Accounting Information
WJP Write and Jam Printer
RPP Read Printer PaperRegrettably, we don't have direct access to all of these any more.
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Nope, never heard of it. If it hits this side of the pond, I might catch it. But...I miss the old Assembler instructions: HCF, XPI, CAI, WJP, RPI For the young, a translation. These were Machine Code instructions which executed directly on processors (in this case IBM) in big mainframe computers. Generally three letters, they were acronyms for memorable phrases.
HCF Halt and Catch Fire
XPI eXecute Programmer Immediate
CAI Corrupt Accounting Information
WJP Write and Jam Printer
RPP Read Printer PaperRegrettably, we don't have direct access to all of these any more.
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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It did - but geeks could only type it with one hand for some reason... ;)
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Is anybody here watching this show? It is on AMC, Sunday nights in the US. It is loosely based on the birth of the Compaq portable IBM PC clone in the early 80s. Set in Texas. I am finding it extremely fun to identify with engineers and software nerds on tv. It is, of course, not a 100% match to the 80s experience, but I am finding it pretty good fun and no-one to talk to about it. Anybody else? What do you think?
Yeah, I've been watching it; it's kind of fun, except for this last week - the lead engineer hunting up a cabbage patch doll for 20 minutes - what was that? It was the first episode that didn't remotely move the story along and left me worried that it's stalled. This last episode was a real snore-fest for me, and has left me debating to whether or not to watch the next. My favorite part was the 10 second wait while they all stood around the old familiar hum of an old power supply warming up, waiting for a POST.
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Yeah, I've been watching it; it's kind of fun, except for this last week - the lead engineer hunting up a cabbage patch doll for 20 minutes - what was that? It was the first episode that didn't remotely move the story along and left me worried that it's stalled. This last episode was a real snore-fest for me, and has left me debating to whether or not to watch the next. My favorite part was the 10 second wait while they all stood around the old familiar hum of an old power supply warming up, waiting for a POST.
dexterama wrote:
My favorite part was the 10 second wait while they all stood around the old familiar hum of an old power supply warming up, waiting for a POST.
You're not selling it to me... :laugh:
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Yeah, I've been watching it; it's kind of fun, except for this last week - the lead engineer hunting up a cabbage patch doll for 20 minutes - what was that? It was the first episode that didn't remotely move the story along and left me worried that it's stalled. This last episode was a real snore-fest for me, and has left me debating to whether or not to watch the next. My favorite part was the 10 second wait while they all stood around the old familiar hum of an old power supply warming up, waiting for a POST.
That Cabbage Patch hunt was a nostalgia trip for the folks that aren't into the tech stuff. I'm not sure it is enough for them. That is one example where the show is not 100% about the engineering theme. I'm having fun with all of it. My cousin had a mazda like the marketing guy's. With the flippy-up headlights. That is a mazda, right? RX-7? I'm not sure what car the engineer is driving. A toyota maybe, but it has a little bit of a look like an old Saab. But his character doesn't seem like a saab driver to me. And the code girl is not recognizable to me. But I like her anyway. In fact, the first thing that I thought in the pilot ep was that they *never* would have picked a girl for that job. But the way the depicted IBMers in their intimidating blue suits at least resembled the way I remember thinking of IBM: an elite club. I like the way that ep broke that down. I enjoyed the celebratory feel when they turned the thing on for the first time. Nobody every gets that outwardly happy anymore when we reach a milestone.
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Is anybody here watching this show? It is on AMC, Sunday nights in the US. It is loosely based on the birth of the Compaq portable IBM PC clone in the early 80s. Set in Texas. I am finding it extremely fun to identify with engineers and software nerds on tv. It is, of course, not a 100% match to the 80s experience, but I am finding it pretty good fun and no-one to talk to about it. Anybody else? What do you think?
I wasn't aware of this show - thanks for the tip. :thumbsup: /ravi
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