On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article .com, Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.




Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article . com, Des
Higgins says...
Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

:-)

I've still got backups of some Fortran software I wrote on punched paper
rolls. There is probably no equipment left on the planet to load the
software now (unless it is in a museum).

More recently I've got stacks of backups on 5.25" disks but no hardware
to read them any more. My archive on 3.5" disks are also heading the
same way with only one computer left in my possession capable of reading
them.

Makes you wonder just how recoverable various important National
archives are? We take it for granted that various paper based records
can go back several hundred years, but what of digitally stored records?
--
David in Normandy.
(The free MicroPlanet Gravity newsreader is great for eliminating
rubbish and cross-posts)

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
In article . com, Des
Higgins says...
Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

:-)

I've still got backups of some Fortran software I wrote on punched paper
rolls. There is probably no equipment left on the planet to load the
software now (unless it is in a museum).

I never did get a Fortran prgram to run, but I did once enter a very brief
program into a 16 bit GEC computer using the instruction keys on the front
panel.

"CWatters" wrote

I never did get a Fortran prgram to run, but I did once enter a very brief
program into a 16 bit GEC computer using the instruction keys on the front
panel.

I know someone who used to hard wire programs with soldering
iron............
Jenny

In article ,
"JennyC" writes:
| "CWatters" wrote
|
| I never did get a Fortran prgram to run, but I did once enter a very brief
| program into a 16 bit GEC computer using the instruction keys on the front
| panel.
|
| I know someone who used to hard wire programs with soldering
| iron............

I know several, but am a bit young to have done that myself. I have
written a program using jack plugs (on an analogue computer).

I like the references to Fortran! I am currently revising a
course to teach Fortran to (graduate) students. Anyone who
needs help with that sort of thing is welcome to contact me :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Oct 9, 9:29 am, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,"JennyC" writes:

| "CWatters" wrote
|
| I never did get a Fortran prgram to run, but I did once enter a very brief
| program into a 16 bit GEC computer using the instruction keys on the front
| panel.
|
| I know someone who used to hard wire programs with soldering
| iron............

I know several, but am a bit young to have done that myself. I have
written a program using jack plugs (on an analogue computer).

I like the references to Fortran! I am currently revising a
course to teach Fortran to (graduate) students. Anyone who
needs help with that sort of thing is welcome to contact me :-)



this is from memory and is not accurate but have not written Fortran
since 1993:

IF(HELPFLAG.EQ.1) THEN
GOTO 10
ELSE
GOTO 11987
ENF IF
10 WRITE(5,10836) 'Help Nick'
10836 FORMAT('*')
11987 CONTINUE
STOP





Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Oct 8, 6:50 pm, David in Normandy wrote:
In article . com, Des
Higgins says...

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

:-)

I've still got backups of some Fortran software I wrote on punched paper
rolls. There is probably no equipment left on the planet to load the
software now (unless it is in a museum).

More recently I've got stacks of backups on 5.25" disks but no hardware
to read them any more. My archive on 3.5" disks are also heading the
same way with only one computer left in my possession capable of reading
them.

Makes you wonder just how recoverable various important National
archives are? We take it for granted that various paper based records
can go back several hundred years, but what of digitally stored records?

Rough rule of thumb for determining storage media:

Data to be kept for one year: magnetic/electronic
Data to be kept for ten years: Optical
Data to be kept for one century: ordinary ink on paper
Data to be kept for one millenium: Papyrus, Vellum, or similar

If you want longer than that, you are probably going to need baked
clay tablets (or arrange for regular transcription).

"Des Higgins" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article .com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary

On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

ups.com...



On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article .com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?

"Des Higgins" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

ups.com...



On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article .com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more
interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?

??

The melting point of beeswax is c70C. Mice aren't interested, not that we
have any as far as I know. If we have they're finding nutrition somewhere
else.

Mary

On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:57:27 -0700, Des Higgins
wrote:

On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

ups.com...



On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article .com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?

On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:57:27 -0700, Des Higgins
wrote:

On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

ups.com...



On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article .com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?


If they melt, you can make them into very good earplugs, and when
you're finished with them a few drops of mint oil and they make
spiffing chewing gum - which can be composted in the end.
But the wastrel that you are would now know anything about that...
Cat(h) (I think Desmond is taking the Michael. He only does it very
very rarely and you have to be really careful to notice.)

"Cat(h)" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:57:27 -0700, Des Higgins
wrote:

On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

ups.com...



On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article
.com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more
interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap
tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?


If they melt, you can make them into very good earplugs,

How can you make tabulae into earplugs? And at body temperature beeswax is
too hard for earplugs - I've tried it.

and when
you're finished with them a few drops of mint oil and they make
spiffing chewing gum -

Why bother adding flavour? Beeswax tastes delicious as it is/

which can be composted in the end.

Why compost? Why not swallow it?

But the wastrel that you are would now know anything about that...
Cat(h) (I think Desmond is taking the Michael. He only does it very
very rarely and you have to be really careful to notice.)

He doesn't do it very well.

Mary

On Oct 10, 10:37 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote in message

...





On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:57:27 -0700, Des Higgins
wrote:

On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

groups.com...

On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article
.com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more
interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap
tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?

If they melt, you can make them into very good earplugs,

How can you make tabulae into earplugs? And at body temperature beeswax is
too hard for earplugs - I've tried it.

and when
you're finished with them a few drops of mint oil and they make
spiffing chewing gum -

Why bother adding flavour? Beeswax tastes delicious as it is/

which can be composted in the end.

Why compost? Why not swallow it?

But the wastrel that you are would now know anything about that...
Cat(h) (I think Desmond is taking the Michael. He only does it very
very rarely and you have to be really careful to notice.)

He doesn't do it very well.


Hmmm.

Cat(h)

On Oct 10, 11:47 am, "Cat(h)" wrote:
On Oct 10, 10:37 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:





"Cat(h)" wrote in message

.. .

On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:57:27 -0700, Des Higgins
wrote:

On Oct 9, 10:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

groups.com...

On Oct 8, 6:28 pm, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
David in Normandy writes:
| In article
.com,
Des
| Higgins says...
| ahhhhhhhhh when computers were easy to use and were proper big
things
| and made noises and had flashing lights.
|
| And carrying a backup disk to the fire safe made your arms ache!

Ah, you youngsters! Mountable disks are a recent development, and
traditional backups were on tape.

Tape?? Tape?? Luxury; in my day we had to take the hot valves from
the glass blowing department and design our own circuits and invent
computers and keep the operating system in our heads (backwards
because that was how you loaded it). We had to wait 40 years before
tape was invented. We had wax tablets and small boys as back up.

I MAKE wax tablets - and the styli.

A couple of years ago we made some for a top computer 'expert' who later
attended a US computer convention and caused astonishment and more
interest
than the speaker when everyone else in the audience opened their lap
tops
and he pulled out his codex of tabulae :-)

Mary
gasp :-)
do you have to keep them in the fridge on a hot day or keep them away
from mice?

If they melt, you can make them into very good earplugs,

How can you make tabulae into earplugs? And at body temperature beeswax is
too hard for earplugs - I've tried it.

and when
you're finished with them a few drops of mint oil and they make
spiffing chewing gum -

Why bother adding flavour? Beeswax tastes delicious as it is/

which can be composted in the end.

Why compost? Why not swallow it?

But the wastrel that you are would now know anything about that...
Cat(h) (I think Desmond is taking the Michael. He only does it very
very rarely and you have to be really careful to notice.)

He doesn't do it very well.

Hmmm.

Cat(h)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

How is yer heart rate after the weekend exertions? I presume you
watched a certain rugby match on Saturday night. Have you calmed down
yet. I saw Frederic Michalak and his thighs and I thought of you.

Des