The deterioration of IT

Flinty997 · 12-09-2022 06:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608767#Comment_119608767

Ray wasn't talking about a bunch of kids playing games on a cheap computer. He was talking of a near 2k machine in 81 used for doing accounts and swapping files with the accountant. Pretty impressive for 10yr as you now reveal. But as he says this wasn't unusual in his area, but in fact was common.

The mistake I made was not stats. But not realizing working class areas after a hard day down the pit, could come home to 50%+ of them having computers was thing in the early 80s, including pensioners in bedsits. That Ireland was so vastly ahead of the UK in computer ownership during a decade of recession, unemployment and emigration.

I realise was probably sheltered from all this technological wealth, not being from a poor working class area.

As you say I'm just reading the stats wrong.

Flinty997 · 12-09-2022 06:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608941#Comment_119608941

Hand scanners, wow remember them.

I love the Mac's of that era. If you were in design you have to use a Mac. But CAD was done on the PC as was the corporate world.

Flinty997 · 12-09-2022 06:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608973#Comment_119608973

Wow trail blazing stuff. Must have been amazing to be involved in computing in those years.

12-09-2022 06:35PM

Interestingly in the 1980s I (a female) used to go to my (female) friend’s house and having 3 brothers there was a “micro computer” in the house, used for gaming. I was pretty impressed by the graphics, it was terrific for its time. Can’t recall the make of computer. My friend was a serious writer and had her own dedicated word processor machine, but I had the odd bit of fun playing on The brother’s Atari or whatever it was. It was a working class household, a rented council house, although father had a middle class type job as a journalist, but with modest income. Still the spare was dedicated to acquiring technology above anything h else.

Flinty997 · 12-09-2022 06:41PM

Probably an Amiga 4000 or such.

12-09-2022 06:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119609020#Comment_119609020

I am an artist by hobby, and nearly made a career if it, so was really torn as to whether I should get a Mac for this reason as well! I just wanted to learn as much as possible as this was going to be the future norm and I wanted to be ahead of the curve than scrambling up it.

12-09-2022 06:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119609078#Comment_119609078

I think you’re right, just googled that, it seems exactly what they had.

12-09-2022 06:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119609036#Comment_119609036

https://www.tcd.ie/itservices/50th-anniversary/index.php

First ever internet in Ireland was at Trinity. I always remember my Dad calling me into the living room to tell me all about the dawn of the internet and how I would be using it sooner rather than later, and I was bored stiff listening to him 😂 droning on. “All computers will talk to each other, it’s already happening with cousin John’s department at Trinity”. I yawn and leave the room.

Hotblack Desiato · 13-09-2022 12:49AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608822#Comment_119608822

So people in Dublin who had access to 3 UK channels in full colour on cable wouldn't get a colour TV because Gay Byrne was in black and white? Pull the other one...

Hotblack Desiato · 13-09-2022 12:57AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608997#Comment_119608997

No, he wasn't, you're completely misrepresenting what he said and he's already corrected you on that at least once. That machine didn't even exist in 1981.

He and I made it clear we were talking about our respective schoolmates, not fcukin' pensioners, you are not posting in good faith.

No point in any further 'discussion' with you.

Hotblack Desiato · 13-09-2022 01:00AM

..

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 01:08AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119610399#Comment_119610399

I think its worth pushing all these "facts" into the one story. Its greater than the sum of its parts. Bit like a render farm.

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 01:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119610404#Comment_119610404

LOL. That was entirely the point of a red herring.

Amiga's were popular/famous with 3D rendering crowd due lightwave/B5/Video Toasters.

Capt'n Midnight · 13-09-2022 01:35AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602008#Comment_119602008

Ray Kurzweil’s graph of Calculations per second per constant dollar.

An updated 2021 graph covers a 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 times decrease in the cost of processing using different technologies across 120 years. CPU's have given way to GPU's and ASIC. Likely to be at least another 20 years to go.

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 01:46AM

The modular PC demise, is nigh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPFblw4ybHE&ab_channel=ExplainingComputers

riclad · 13-09-2022 02:30AM

Anyone who wants has acess to powerful laptops, pcs, right now might be the golden age of computing,, 1000s of people make a living making podcasts, streaming video, the thing I find sad is blogs are no longer popular, people use social media, YouTube or tik Tok, I used to have a few blogs I, d read every week. Pcs are cheap compared to the 80s, 90s, buying spectrums or an Amiga even to play games was an introduction to computing for most teens. It was a big deal when games started being released on cdrom or dvd, instead of expensive cartridges

Ray Palmer · 13-09-2022 10:31AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608997#Comment_119608997

No I wasn't and I repeatedly corrected you. Vic 20 in 81 was not what I used on accounts that was 6 or 7 years later with a CPC6128. I said children in my class of boys about 50% had computers by 86. Many had more than one child so it was a computer for the home. Really not hard to believe with others telling you that is their experience too. I was excluding pensioners and bedsit of households that would have a computers which would distort general household numbers with computers

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 10:37AM

Its hard to keep up with your stories they change so much. I have no idea what's your obsession with pensioners and bedsits. Obviously a sore nerve for some reason.

Maybe this will cheer you up... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHzazhKIbzk&ab_channel=The8-BitGuy

Ray Palmer · 13-09-2022 10:45AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611170#Comment_119611170

It is only hard because you didn't pay attention and made up you own narrative. If somebody else can read what I said and get it the problem isn't me but you not understanding. What you could do is apologise for getting the details wrong and admit I didn't say what you claimed. Mentioning how stats work is the only reason pensioners to explain stats but you didn't get that either. You seemed to think I suggested they had computers in the early 80s.

You either through inability to understand or malice have misrepresented what I said. You have now been corrected yet again. At this point repeating your claims is just lying now

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 10:56AM

Guess it didn't cheer you up.

Ray Palmer · 13-09-2022 11:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611259#Comment_119611259

I guess you can't be honest

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 11:07AM

The development of ICT across the curriculum in Irish schools- A historical perspective (2008)

https://ulir.ul.ie/bitstream/handle/10344/2397/The+development+of+ICT+across+the+curriculum+in+Irish+schools-++A+historical+perspective+(2008).pdf?sequence=2

13-09-2022 11:08AM

In the 80s I was in my 20s and working, with the beginnings of computerisation in progress. Salaries were small, taxation enormous, lots of unemployment about. A Commodore 64 was almightily expensive. I was flying light airplanes at the time, and the amount of hours I could spend flying over the midlands for similar money would have been considerable. I was curious about getting into that, but I knew computers were undergoing more standardisation and versatility. I couldn’t afford to be spending my salary on upgrading too often. At least when Windows 3.1 came about, that was the start of widespread home computing.

Ray Palmer · 13-09-2022 11:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611317#Comment_119611317

Home computers in the 80s were primarily used as games consoles so not much interest to somebody in their 20s but you also didn't need to upgrade as quickly. You could easily learn computer programing on these micros back in the day but not much use for businesses until later. It was really the move by IBM into the personal computer market that changed everything. That introduced the concept of what PCs are now with the noticeable change being internal storage.

Flinty997 · 13-09-2022 11:28AM

Printing made a huge difference. Once Postscript and True type printing, lasers and inkjets, were available the DTP market exploded.

There doesn't seem to be the same joy or excitement in it anymore.

I know in our IT dept of about 40 there's only about 4 or 5 enthusiasts/gamers. The rest its just a job. The majority have no real passion for "Computing". They have no interest in discussing new tech.

Ray Palmer · 13-09-2022 11:29AM

Worth watching to see how computers developed. I was lucky enough to have meet some of the Park Xerox developers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toSRmKKiosQ&list=PLAXA1ccaOnGdbStEwcKE56YzlYDYOx2Tx

13-09-2022 03:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611393#Comment_119611393

I remember when using a Mac 2 for writing a book, it had a hard drive from which the software was loaded. It was an arts charity institution’a computer so I saved everything on floppies. But I saw an adjacent Mac with an A & B twin floppy drive and switched it on out of curiosity. In those times there were the two floppy types, the larger flimsier papery ones and the smaller ones which became standard.

I had absolutely zero curiosity about programming until I came across Basic on the first PC, and then it was only for mild amusement I wrote two programs, one simulating an interactive Confession Box which dispensed penance and the other a Doctor Consultation which calculated how likely you were were to die soon 😂 I gave a quick introduction to programming to a friend who ended up owning a tech company.

Now I’m learning a good bit of stuff in-depth out of sheer curiosity.

13-09-2022 04:51PM

Trinity’s first computer, the IBM 1620. Met Neville Harris, a really lovely man (RIP), he have a very moving eulogy at my cousin’s funeral.

13-09-2022 05:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611315#Comment_119611315

I was recently looking at the Leaving Cert Computer Science curriculum/ test papers. I could Very likely sit that exam now, at least pass it, but to do well I’d want to focus a bit more.

Floppybits · 13-09-2022 05:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611421#Comment_119611421

I remember when I started in Tech support in the mid 90's and there were some computer enthusiasts in the department. They'd have you bored to tears discussing the latest SCSI drive or whatever it was they read about in which ever computer magazine they had that week.

The deterioration of IT

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