My New Computer Weighs 1,000 Pounds!

I took programming when everyone was still using 80 column paper cards. We were thrilled when paper tape came around and you didn't have to worry about getting the stack of cards out of order.

At work we had a "McDonald Douglas" computer that was 8' tall 8' wide and 5' deep, and sounded like a Dodge Hemi running at 4000 rpm all day long. You had to wear hearing protection to go into the room. We replaced that monstrosity with a 4 cpu PC that was 20,000 times faster and the size of a microwave oven.

We couldn't even GIVE the old one away. Until my co-worker called a local shooting club up in the mountains (he was a member).

I got to pump the first 20 rounds of .308 into it, after that it sounded like a war zone as about 50 members unloaded into it. After that there was a BBQ. Great day!!!!
Edited: Halloween 1978, check the "Lear Sieglar" CRT behind me. It's the same one they used to reactivate HAL in Space Oddesy 2010, lol...
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I took programming when everyone was still using 80 column paper cards. We were thrilled when paper tape came around and you didn't have to worry about getting the stack of cards out of order.

At work we had a "McDonald Douglas" computer that was 8' tall 8' wide and 5' deep, and sounded like a Dodge Hemi running at 4000 rpm all day long. You had to wear hearing protection to go into the room. We replaced that monstrosity with a 4 cpu PC that was 20,000 times faster and the size of a microwave oven.

We couldn't even GIVE the old one away. Until my co-worker called a local shooting club up in the mountains (he was a member).

I got to pump the first 20 rounds of .308 into it, after that it sounded like a war zone as about 50 members unloaded into it. After that there was a BBQ. Great day!!!!
Edited: Halloween 1978, check the "Lear Sieglar" CRT behind me. It's the same one they used to reactivate HAL in Space Oddesy 2010, lol...
View attachment 50975
I did something similar to the world's shittiest spinet piano. Dragged it to a shooting range in the mountains. Filled it with holes, then burned it for a band photo session. Unfortunately our photographer got stooooopid drunk afterwards at our camp site and somehow lost all but one photo. I only have this low res copy, I'm the one wielding the water bucket there on the left. Direct hit!
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I did something similar to the world's shittiest spinet piano. Dragged it to a shooting range in the mountains. Filled it with holes, then burned it for a band photo session. Unfortunately our photographer got stooooopid drunk afterwards at our camp site and somehow lost all but one photo. I only have this low res copy, I'm the one wielding the water bucket there on the left. Direct hit!
View attachment 50999
If there was one shot to get...that's a money shot!
 
I took programming when everyone was still using 80 column paper cards. We were thrilled when paper tape came around and you didn't have to worry about getting the stack of cards out of order.

At work we had a "McDonald Douglas" computer that was 8' tall 8' wide and 5' deep, and sounded like a Dodge Hemi running at 4000 rpm all day long. You had to wear hearing protection to go into the room. We replaced that monstrosity with a 4 cpu PC that was 20,000 times faster and the size of a microwave oven.

We couldn't even GIVE the old one away. Until my co-worker called a local shooting club up in the mountains (he was a member).

I got to pump the first 20 rounds of .308 into it, after that it sounded like a war zone as about 50 members unloaded into it. After that there was a BBQ. Great day!!!!
Edited: Halloween 1978, check the "Lear Sieglar" CRT behind me. It's the same one they used to reactivate HAL in Space Oddesy 2010, lol...
View attachment 50975

So....Did you save that box or what? Don't keep us in suspense here.
 
I took programming when everyone was still using 80 column paper cards. We were thrilled when paper tape came around and you didn't have to worry about getting the stack of cards out of order.

At work we had a "McDonald Douglas" computer that was 8' tall 8' wide and 5' deep, and sounded like a Dodge Hemi running at 4000 rpm all day long. You had to wear hearing protection to go into the room. We replaced that monstrosity with a 4 cpu PC that was 20,000 times faster and the size of a microwave oven.

We couldn't even GIVE the old one away. Until my co-worker called a local shooting club up in the mountains (he was a member).

I got to pump the first 20 rounds of .308 into it, after that it sounded like a war zone as about 50 members unloaded into it. After that there was a BBQ. Great day!!!!
Edited: Halloween 1978, check the "Lear Sieglar" CRT behind me. It's the same one they used to reactivate HAL in Space Oddesy 2010, lol...
View attachment 50975
That's an odd looking .308. Mine has a bolt action but no string,.....
 
So....Did you save that box or what? Don't keep us in suspense here.
We had an offsite backup storage company that showed up every Friday to collect the pile of tapes, and the cleaning crew kept throwing my box away..... That was about as "in the cloud" as you could get in the late 70's!!!!!

Tapes.... o m g...... 3 hours to backup 100mb..... takes less than a second now.
 
We had an offsite backup storage company that showed up every Friday to collect the pile of tapes, and the cleaning crew kept throwing my box away..... That was about as "in the cloud" as you could get in the late 70's!!!!!

Tapes.... o m g...... 3 hours to backup 100mb..... takes less than a second now.
tape....ouch! my only experience with tape was Oregon Trail.

I had to upload 100 GB of raw video to dropbox for a client last week and it took me just about 45 minutes. Just about USB 2.0 speed via fiber internet. 🤪 I don't like the constant barrage of upgrades (phones/TVs/cameras) but I really love what they've brought for us is a relatively short amount of time.

And why are you dressed up as Link from The Legend of Zelda?....pre-The Legend of Zelda!...nvmd....I just saw the edit.
 
tape....ouch! my only experience with tape was Oregon Trail.

I had to upload 100 GB of raw video to dropbox for a client last week and it took me just about 45 minutes. Just about USB 2.0 speed via fiber internet. 🤪 I don't like the constant barrage of upgrades (phones/TVs/cameras) but I really love what they've brought for us is a relatively short amount of time.

And why are you dressed up as Link from The Legend of Zelda?....pre-The Legend of Zelda!...nvmd....I just saw the edit.
I spent the day walking into other departments and saying HA HAAAA
Tis I, Robinhood!!!
 
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