What do you want?

[Will Fastie]

CHANGE What do you want? Nice to meet you, how do you do? Thank you. To the over 4,000 AskWoody newsletter readers who answered our first-ever survey,
[See the full post at: What do you want?]

3 users thanked author for this post.

AmbularD, Mr. Natural, abbodi86

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[Ascaris]

The vast majority of the readership is about my age or older. Old enough to remember even punch cards, Windows 3.1, the BASIC programming language, Lotus 123, pfs:Write and WordPerfect.

Punch cards came before the rest of those in the group! I remember seeing them, but I never used them. I received a Timex-Sinclair 1000 computer (with all of 2k of RAM!) in 1983, if I remember correctly, and it intrigued me. Its method of storage was whatever cassette player you had around (they gave you a cord), and they sold cassettes with very rudimentary games on them. I discovered that I could hit “break” and it would then let me list the BASIC, which I had never seen before, and I began to try to puzzle out what each line meant. I changed some print statements and saw it reflect my will, and I was hooked.

In those days, computers often came with manuals that documented the BASIC that was inbuilt. I read through the Timex’s rather terse manual and began experimenting, and I soon was able to write guessing games and other such things.

Soon the soundless, two-color, ultra low res display, lack of a real keyboard, and limited memory got too confining, and I put the Commodore 64 on my wish list. I got that, eventually, and later moved on to the Commodore 128.

First year in college in 1990, with me studying computer science, there was an elective on building your own PC from components. Wait, what, you can DO that? Wow!

I built my first PC (in the “IBM PC” sense, as I’d already had three other personal computers before that) for that class, got my credit, and have been on the PC platform ever since. Over thirty years now!

Windows 3.0 was the latest version then, but real work like Lotus 1-2-3 was done in DOS. I loved 1-2-3… I used it for all sorts of things. I had R3.0, the first one with unified graphing and spreadsheet modules. Fit on a single 1.44MB floppy, if I remember correctly! Windows took FOUR… can you imagine something so big? (3.1 took seven when it came out! So much bloat!)

I used MS Word for Windows (Winword) 1.1b initially, but when I found that it took 45 minutes to print a ten page paper while the time to get to class to turn it in was quickly ticking by, I moved to Word for DOS. No fancy fonts (I had Postscript and everything), but the native character mode NLQ looked fine to me and printed much faster.

Ah, those were the days.

 

Group "L" (KDE Neon Linux 5.21.1 User Edition)

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wdburt1

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[Henwin]

Susan,

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your article, particularly the 2nd and 3rd to last paragraphs (“right in my thoughts” and “after torture”).  I guess it dates me that I remember & used punch cards–what fun to drop a deck! 🙂 .  Then, of course, there was the DOS version of WordPerfect, and COBOL–how many of the newbies can even define it without resorting to their search engine of choice?–OMG, EDLIN!  I haven’t thought about many of the referenced items in a very long time.

While I can understand your dad using his iPad/Phone, as a dedicated desktopper, I can’t see the necessity of either.  If there are two places where I don’t want to be writing without a keyboard–a nice clicky one–or editing photos, it’s on either of those two device-types.

I’m looking forward to more of what you are offering.

Are you considering a name change, perhaps?  Maybe to the “Windows PLUS Newsletter” or something equally “catchy”? 🙂

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[Alex5723]

Ascaris wrote:

Punch cards came before the rest of those in the group!

I remember punch paper tape. I even got a raise at work being the only one in IT able to read, edit (cutting the tape at a punched errors)…

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[OscarCP]

A propos of nothing: I started my graduate studies research work making my calculations on a PDP 8 Digital Co. computer that I had to program in its assembler language and then punch the code on tape to read it into the machine. The output came also in punch tape and to read it I had to spool it through a sort of teletype printer.

Windows 7 Professional, SP1, x64 Group W (ex B) & macOS Mojave + Linux (Mint)

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[anonymous]

My first COBOL class had us using paper-tape punched and read back into a teletype terminal; my small university used a microwave connection to a much larger university about 20 miles away for processing.  Moving to a an IBM 029, a 129, and finally to a TSO terminal was heaven at my first military assignment…and dropping the box of cards on the floor while on the way to dropoff at Production Control was something everybody experienced at least once.

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[BATcher]

> The MS-DEFCON ranking will also stay as is

Would it not be possible for this ranking system to be changed for something more meaningful and not so militaristic, and which is not entirely US-based?

 

BATcher

Ascetics go without, mystics go within.

4 users thanked author for this post.

Just Another Geek, access-mdb, satrow, NaNoNyMouse

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[anonymous]

No please, its suppose to be funny. Whats more meaningful than impending nuclear attack from Microsoft? 🙂

1 user thanked author for this post.

snalmond

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[anonymous]

Please do not change this AskWoody feature! Windows 10 1809 V1 is a very fine example of an update that was formally announced and then upon delivery bombed user’s files without warning. Also Windows 10 is slowly & purposely being made more difficult to control.

Users still need protective measures against Microsoft.

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[Mele20]

I HATE newsletters. I don’t take the one here or anywhere else. I like opinion columns, educational columns,etc AND forums for discussions of those columns and other relevant things.

I come here for information and then INTERACTION. To me, this combination is what makes this site invaluable.

I don’t think folks like me should have been excluded from your survey simply because of a strong dislike of newsletters.

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[Susan Bradley]

You won’t be.  I’m going to be doing some surveys in the forum as well.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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[Fred]

Alex5723 wrote:

Ascaris wrote:

Punch cards came before the rest of those in the group!

I remember punch paper tape. I even got a raise at work being the only one in IT able to read, edit (cutting the tape at a punched errors)…

same here, and it lasted for ever in the telex-world, so it seemed.

~ ~ ~

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[Just Another Geek]

Hi There,

Dropping comment since I missed the survey.

I’m going to make a concerted effort to give you more of a bullet-point view up front to give you actions to take on patching. My goal is to make this more concise. The MS-DEFCON ranking will also stay as is, giving you a quick and easy way to know when to install updates and when to hold back.

This is my primary reason for being here!  The local govt. I work for lacks the resources for proper testing…  I depend on not releasing patches and waiting for others feedback on patch stability.  I also depend on knowing if there’s a very critical need to release sooner.  So thank you – your feedback is invaluable.

Also, even though I cut teeth on a TRS-80 Model I, I do encourage the younglings to view your content.

Thank you for all you do.

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baggins

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[anonymous]

Thanks for the survey summary.  I am right there in the middle of my fellow AskWoody readers.  Good to know.

Kevin H,

19 years since joining the Langa List

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[WSDoug.S]

My early days were coding on punched cards using Fortran.

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Fred

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[kupo4578]

Hello Susan,

great Intro, it gave me an occasion to pause and refresh my memory on the past, the very past with punch cards COBOL etc, etc…heart warmening.

Good Health, Success and many, many sunny moments for 2021

Kurt

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[anonymous]

I’m in the punched tape cohort too – in final year in high school (1972) I was introduced to computer programming at the technical college (now Abertay University) across the road and I used paper tape to program a plotter to print a map of gradients in a small area for a geography project.  At university I studied geography but did a year of computer science, which involved punched card programming and when I graduated I joined ICL which meant more punched cards – operating systems booted from a deck of them – not a tray to drop!

Those were the days, and don’t start me on washing machine sized 30Mb disk drives and writing efficient code to save RAM.

I find the Newsletter informative and entertaining – keep up the good work.

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[anonymous]

It’s great to see Brian Livingston back!

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[OscarCP]

I think I wrote in Susan’s survey that I would like to see every week one article in the Newsletter, if possible a survey one, dedicated to Linux and Linux PCs and another to macOS and Mac computers. Or maybe every other week? Anyways, regularly. Others here might have somewhat similar ideas, I suppose.

Windows 7 Professional, SP1, x64 Group W (ex B) & macOS Mojave + Linux (Mint)

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[Susan Bradley]

It may not be every other week but stay tuned.  We have Linux in the house and it’s a key topic going forward.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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[Fred]

OscarCP wrote:

I think I wrote in Susan’s survey that I would like to see every week one article in the Newsletter, if possible a survey one, dedicated to Linux and Linux PCs and another to macOS and Mac computers. Or maybe every other week? Anyways, regularly. Others here might have somewhat similar ideas, I suppose.

What’s the point of filling in questionnaires and contributing? Future is approaching very fast, and information on Linux is very much wanted. Especially when government IT is switching towards it when possible being less depending on the old school information technology.

~ ~ ~

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[JohnDeaux]

Ah, the good old days. Dating myself, I was introduced to computers while I worked for the Italian company, Olivetti. In 1968 it had me start selling a new product called the Programma 101, the first commercial desktop computer (1965-1971). It was compact enough to lug around. Very heavy, but someone had to do it. Programs were on plastic magnetic cards and were similar to assembly language, but simpler. It cost $3,500 or about $26,000 in today’s dollars. Ouch. Especially notable is that about 10 P101s were used by NASA to plan the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
It was intended as an unintimidating object everyone could use, not only programmers or IT specialists, even at home. This was revolutionary at the time. In that sense, there is no doubt that the Olivetti Programma 101 truly was the first Personal Computer in history.
Over the years it has been called a printing programmable calculator or desktop calculator. However, truth be known that it was saved from the sale of Olivetti’s computer division to General Electric. The P101 team didn’t want to give up the project and an employee one night changed the internal categorization of the product from “computer” to “calculator”. The calculator division was not part of the agreement with G.E.!
I smile whenever I see later PCs touted as the “first” desktop computer. Well, I confess it does irritate me a little, even all these years later. I was part of history and I get no credit!
A footnote is that later I landed at G.E., a world of room sized computers, punch cards — yes, I dropped a deck or two! — washtub sized disc drives, etc. I even taught Basic to G.E. customers, a generally dense lot of citizens. Yes, the good old days. Go here if you would like to see what it looked like
https://www.inexhibit.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Olivetti-Programma-101-desktop-computer-3.jpg

Moderator Edit: please do not post html. The forum does not handle it and we then need to edit your posts

2 users thanked author for this post.

Fred, OscarCP

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[baggins]

Thank you, Susan. I still use 1-2-3 and am grateful that the Lotus SmartSuite can still function after all the M$ OS changes through the years.

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[AmbularD]

Talk to anyone under 50, and they don’t care that there are beacons and trackers that track their every move. Talk to anyone over 50, and they are not so sure they like the fact that this new technology can track our every movement.

Hey, I object! I won’t be fifty for a few months yet, and I’ve been paranoid about tracking of every kind for years.  :p

i7-4790k - Z97X-Gaming 3 - DDR3 2133 x 32GB - GTX 1070 FTW - Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1 ESU

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Kirsty, Fred, OscarCP, Microfix

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[OscarCP]

I am well past fifty, but I still remember that before I was fifty, I did not care about beacons or tracking, because in those days of long ago, now lost in the mists of time, there were no beacons or trackers. Things might have been slower, cruder and clunkier then, but were also definitely more benign. O tempora o mores. And o malware, spyware and pervasive awfulness that keeps one, way too often, watching over one’s shoulder.

So, if there is something that I really want, is the care-free attitude possible in the old days  as well as the progress in computing power, convenience and connectivity we enjoy today. But that is a circle I am not sure that can be squared, or if so, how.

Windows 7 Professional, SP1, x64 Group W (ex B) & macOS Mojave + Linux (Mint)

1 user thanked author for this post.

Fred

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[bagnara]

i am in love with windows 10 2004 enterprise edt. can you folks suggest things to do in this version of windows? i do love the protection features of windows enterprise. =DD what shall i to do??? please advice me. thanks!!!

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[Author]

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