Does anyone remember these
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Probably still faster and more reliable than typing it in from those magazines!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Oh God yes! And typing most of it in in 2 digit hex values. X|
Follow my adventures with .NET Core at my new blog, Erisia Information Services.
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Quote:
Known data capacities/tape length are: 4 kB/5 feet, 16 kB/20 feet, 48 kB/50 feet, and 64 Kk/75 feet. One complete cycle through a 20-foot tape takes 55 to 65 seconds, depending on the number of files on it.
So seek time of a minute, for a total capacity of 16kB ... I'm really, really, glad I never had one! :laugh: Thinking about it, if you stored one 16kB file on it, you'd be looking at a fetch time of between one and two minutes depending on where the "string" was ... that's horrible!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Compared to paper tape 16KB was impressive and 1 minute extremely fast. Paper tape readers were manually seek (find label written on tape) and pull it through as fast as you can. If you were rich and had an ASR33 teletype with mechanical paper tape the transfer rate was a breathtaking 10 bytes per second.
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... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.The stringy tape concept had been around for a long time by then, and survived in QIC format for quite a while longer. Old time PDP programmers will remember the LINCtape and later DECtape drives on PDP-8s that go back to the 60s. They were bi-directional block replaceable tape drives, sort of a linear disk drive. DECtape was a vast imnprovement over paper tape. There were some QIC tape cartridge drives that used a floppy interface to implement a stringy floppy. QIC-40 was a common backup medium on early PCs. Just start the backup when you finished for the day to save an overnight copy of that huge 20MB disk drive.
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... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.I had (still have actually) a Sinclair QL, 2 MicroDrives no less!
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Probably still faster and more reliable than typing it in from those magazines!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Especially when print magazines used the same character for lower case "L" "l" and number One "1". C64 had a total melt down if you typed
FOR 1=1to100
... instead of ...
For l=1to100Yes. They are different lines: One versus L. This taught me to "Save the program before trying to run it!". Confession: It took two times of typing in a 6 page program ("Castle Dungeon") and having it freeze (core dump with loss) on execution. After the second occurrence, my sister and I realized that we should save it BEFORE running it. That was our favorite game for a while. Probably, it was because of the sweat equity due to typing it three times. Historical aside: Many old typewriters did not even have a "1" key because you could use lower case "L".
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Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:
Never had Atari. I moved to Amiga (500 and 3000)
That, sir, is a contradiction. The Amiga was based more on the 8 bit Ataris than anything else, while the Atari ST was designed by the guys who also designed the C64.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.The Amiga 500 was 32 bit based on the Motorola 68000 chipset. The same chipset as the original MACs, but Amiga supported a true, pre-emptive OS with "virtual" desktops and color. The original MAC was black and white. It was used a lot in broadcast TV for generating graphics. (pre-HD)
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The Amiga 500 was 32 bit based on the Motorola 68000 chipset. The same chipset as the original MACs, but Amiga supported a true, pre-emptive OS with "virtual" desktops and color. The original MAC was black and white. It was used a lot in broadcast TV for generating graphics. (pre-HD)
The CPU was from Motorola all along, as well as for the Macs and the Atari ST/TT/Falcon. The chipsets (graphics, sound, IO, 'Blitters') were made by the companies,
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns. -
... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns. -
... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.I had the Atari 410 tape drive. Boy I wish I had my old programs from back then - all lost in the black hole where stray cassette tapes got sucked into :( I remember rendering images by changing formulas in a loop to generate colored pixels... basically was experimenting with fractals in the early 80's as a kid. Had no idea what they were nor their potential. I just liked the beautiful patterns. Looking back I was more nerdy than I would have thought at the time. :) Atari 8-bit computer peripherals - Wikipedia[^]
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I had the Atari 410 tape drive. Boy I wish I had my old programs from back then - all lost in the black hole where stray cassette tapes got sucked into :( I remember rendering images by changing formulas in a loop to generate colored pixels... basically was experimenting with fractals in the early 80's as a kid. Had no idea what they were nor their potential. I just liked the beautiful patterns. Looking back I was more nerdy than I would have thought at the time. :) Atari 8-bit computer peripherals - Wikipedia[^]
Did you have an Atari 400 or an 800?
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns. -
Did you have an Atari 400 or an 800?
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.Actually I started with the 400 then got the 800 and finally the 1200XL (and also the 2600 gaming console). I was such an Atari-stack guy!
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Actually I started with the 400 then got the 800 and finally the 1200XL (and also the 2600 gaming console). I was such an Atari-stack guy!
I still have a 400, two 600XL and a 800XL plus 1050 disk drive and boxes full of disks in the shelf.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns. -
I still have a 400, two 600XL and a 800XL plus 1050 disk drive and boxes full of disks in the shelf.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.Then by any measure in my book you are a wealthy man my friend! :-D Those were good days for me. These days its hard to recapture the *actual* thrill felt back then of exploring algorithms for the first time. It probably has something to do with the utter lack of worldly responsibilities I enjoyed as a kid. Everything comes with such weight attached to it now in middle age... deadlines, boss or peer review, balancing home and family life, managing debt, mortgages, etc. I should probably add staving off alcoholism to that list cuz I feel the strong need for a drink right now. :sigh:
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... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.I had a tape drive for an Atari -- it would buzz once if it wanted you to press Play, and twice if it also wanted you to press Record. It was about as reliable as predicting a sunny day in England. Later, I got an Epson HX-20 and it had a cassette drive which took the type of tapes you put into a dictation machine. It could wind to a specific position *under software control* -- luxury! It was almost - but not quite - entirely unlike having proper random access to the backing store. That computer also had a little printer which printed on cash register paper. If (with a bit of machine code) you disabled the safeties which powered the thing down if it ever went nuts, then told the printer to stick out its (single) pin and keep it there, it would burn out after a couple of minutes and smoke would come out of the printer. Very satisfying. A friend of mine used to go to Dixon's (which was an electronics retailer in the UK) and burn out their HX-20 display models...
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... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.Never had one of those but do remember, in about 1981 or so being given a sample "hobbit drive" which was a small digital cassette drive with a view to possibly using it in a project. It had a hinged door like a hi-fi style cassette unit, but took tapes about as small as the ones that fit in pocket dictaphones. Never did get around to evaluating it. EDIT - found some details. The company I was then working at sold a machine which was based on the Nascom so that would fit. Link to hobbit drive info
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... or even have one? Exatron Stringy Floppy - Wikipedia[^] Back in 1978 a floppy controller plus drive was far beyond my budget. Stuck with a ordinary tape recorder (I still have it and use it to load the old tapes), this appeared to be a compromise, but turned out to be a dead end.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.I remember the Exatron drive, but never had one. Like several on the list, my history started with Atari 800 and a 410 recorder; migrated to 810 then 1050 disk drives (remember 88K/floppy?). After the N key quit on my 800, I got an Atari 1200, a design I still think was one of the most elegant ever. Then bought an Amiga 1000 because, as one person wrote, it was designed by the Atari guys (Jay Miner et al): nice machine that never lived up to its potential through extreme corporate mismanagement. Eventually, I was reluctantly dragged into the Microsoft Windows world when I bought a DEC PC (having used PDP-11's at college and my first job). Bought a Gateway and a Dell along the way, too. Finally, made the escape to Apple about 2010. For those who want to relive that past, there are some excellent emulators with a lot of the old software out there. I am getting great joy out of Atari800MacX with a couple of USB Atari-style joysticks these days. Today's games using fancy controllers with more than one joystick and a button are too complicated for me!
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All you young whipper-snappers have life easy. When I started out on a DEC PDP-11, I had to store my files on paper tape, and feed then in through a teletype which printed them out as it loaded, one character at a time.
Cheers, Mick ------------------------------------------------ It doesn't matter how often or hard you fall on your arse, eventually you'll roll over and land on your feet.
There you go, same here PDP-11, but I had the 512k color graphics option, that option was so expensive it was not even funny. Wrote my first CAD/CAM on that machine.
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God, no! Nobody used ferrite core memories anymore even then. Typical were around 300 to 400 ns for SRAMs, like the Intel 2102 (1 kilobit!)
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.The 2102 was the first memory chip I used. My first homebrew box used 8 of them. 1k of memory and it drew almost 2 amps from the 5 volt supply. Later upgraded to the low power versions and that allowed me to have 8 kbytes using the same PSU. Whoopee!
We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.
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Compared to paper tape 16KB was impressive and 1 minute extremely fast. Paper tape readers were manually seek (find label written on tape) and pull it through as fast as you can. If you were rich and had an ASR33 teletype with mechanical paper tape the transfer rate was a breathtaking 10 bytes per second.
ASR33 was probably the noisiest device used for printing.
We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.
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CDP1802 wrote:
until Commodore kicked the can
Amiga was a sad case of incompetent marketing dumping the excellent work of engineers - originated from Atari or Commodore...
Skipper: We'll fix it. Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this? Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
I still have my Amiga 500 complete with its 40MB hard drive and memory expander (bringing it up to an astounding 1 MByte). I wrote my first PC programs on this box using Lattice C and a translator. That was in the days when windows was scarce and DOS was king. The most memorable thing about the A500 was the ridiculously heavy mouse. Well I remember the arguments betweem Atari and Amiga fans. Bottom line is they have both faded into the dim and distant past.
We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.
