dicknite Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Hmmm...I wonder, if we added up all the years that each of us has worked on/with computers, what it would add up to?We are probably a part of a group of users/techs/admins that have literally THOUSANDS of years of experience! I have 23 years...d|:^)Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengeek Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I don't think the number of years means that much. I have an eight year old computer here that I got as a trade in on another used computer. The person who traded it in purchased the machine brand new and didn't even know (after eight years) that he'd been sold a 486DX-4 100 and not a Pentium 100, he didn't even know how big the hard drive was or how much RAM was in it yet he used it almost every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volunteer Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I don't think the number of years means that much.....I remember installing software patches (upgrades) by entering the binary data into registers and writing the data to magnetic core memory and then dumping the patched program onto magnetic tape for distribution. That was a few years ago. Now I am struggling with the innards of Linux and XP. I think you have to stay current with the technology which obviously I haven't. Many of you stay current and love the tinkering. Thank goodness you are all here and share your knowledge with those of us in need.Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Thank goodness you are all here and share your knowledge with those of us in need. As for me, i guess i have like 5 years under my belt. 2-3 serious years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I've been tinkering all my life... but with computers the last 8 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 i've been tweaking windoze ever since win 3.0 so yeah, about 10 years of experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicknite Posted July 16, 2003 Author Share Posted July 16, 2003 I don't think the number of years means that much....That's true! Look at congress - but that's a different subject!Let's see, with my 23, Ross549's 8, SonicDragon's 5, and Prelude76's 10, we're already up to 46 years! (So, volunteer - how long ago was THAT?)Remember, this is "computer experience" in general... Many here go back WAY before the PC introduction in, what was it, 1981?d|:^)Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 That's true! Look at congress - but that's a different subject!I hear ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volunteer Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Let's see, with my 23, Ross549's 8, SonicDragon's 5, and Prelude76's 10, we're already up to 46 years! (So, volunteer - how long ago was THAT?)It was 1969, so 34 years, but I have fallen behind the curve until now! Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Ken,they had computers back in 1969? was it like those scenes from Star Trek with hundreds of buttons flashing on and off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Hey Prelude Most of the early NTDS (Navy tactical Data Systems) where large 3 to 5 Bay ( Bay being about 4 " tall and 2 Ft wide Boxes..(not counting mag Tape drive or Stacked Disk Drives.and yes they did have the flashing lights...F-stops where set by toggle switches and IO channels where set by Buttons (and they had to be set in a certain sequence...and had less pure computing than a CHEAP desktop today...Anyway started with NTDS Systems in 1977 and Handheld Texas Instrument w/Mag strips to figure TMA (Target Motion Analysis for Anti-submarine warfare then moved to creating punchcards for scenario design for those big old hog computer ..so I guess ..in all you could say 26 Years experience....suddenly feeling old.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volunteer Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Ken,they had computers back in 1969? was it like those scenes from Star Trek with hundreds of buttons flashing on and off? Something like that. I was a Navy aircrewman (in-flight maint. tech) and relief operator. We had a general purpose office computer, a Sperry Rand 13?? series. It had four 8k memory banks. processors, a maintenance control panel with all those lights, buttons and switches (this was our our keyboard and computer display), and two large magnetic tape drives.Basically, all the sensor and flight data was fed to computer and recorded. At the end of the flight I'd dump all the data onto a blank tape and later the mission was replayed and analyzed.Not really Star Trek but it did have flashing lights. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicknite Posted July 16, 2003 Author Share Posted July 16, 2003 Wow! With only a few reporting in:106 years of computer experience so far!d|:^)Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 KenYou Air Crew Guys alway got the newest and best Equipment I think the surface fleet was always about 5 years behind. Of course I don't think either Air or Surf got the Nice toys the Sub guys had.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Let me think. A year of programming in college (1976 - punch card - teletype). Setting up system in AF in 80. Nonstop use 82 - now so that makes about 23 years. Guess that adds a little to your count although I don't have half the knowledge of some around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 KenYou Air Crew Guys alway got the newest and best Equipment  I think the surface fleet was always about 5 years behind. Of course I don't think either Air or Surf got the Nice toys the Sub guys had.. Barry, knowing the Navy, those computers were probably got replaced last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Met my first computer in 1975, so I'll add 28 years to the total...even though that number includes a couple several-year gaps in usage. We Army guys at Ft. Meade gave our oldest computers to the sub guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfProRM Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Have to add 13 years here... Been working with computers since I was 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quint Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 3 years, 6 months, 2 days. Wish I had started earlier, but I'm enjoying every minute of my learning experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeg4 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 My First Computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeg4 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Actually I started with a commodore 64 in 1983 and had it for about 2 yearsand then I retired and didn't get back in till about 6 years ago So I guess I have about 8 years total . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicknite Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 181 years of computer experience to here... Wow! 181 years of frustration! (These are just mile-markers - makes it easier to add back to the last one!)d|:^)Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengeek Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 OK, I didn't want to admit that two and a half years ago I didn't even know how to turn a computer on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicknite Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 OK, I didn't want to admit that two and a half years ago I didn't even know how to turn a computer on!greengeek -Don't be embarassed! I can't imagine coming into computing now, with the hardware and software that are out there these days!When I got into them, we learned on pretty simple machines, with limited software. We kind of grew with it.If I were to start computing nowdays, I would be completely lost! There is SO much available, and a lot of technical knowledge is required to be comfortable with all of it. People starting out over the past 5 - 10 years really are living with a mixed set of blessings: There is a lot out there to work with, but it takes a lot personally to be able to really do it!It seems that the norm on these forums is, people that are comfortable with:- Multitudes of software (we had Basic, a few communication programs, games that we typed from the back of magazines into either basic or a compiler, Lotus 123, MultiPlan, and Wordstar!)- Massive possible pieces of hardware (Our choices were limited - Monochrome or VGA video card, 10 or 20 MB hard drive, modem - 300 baud, green or amber screen, and the decision to "take the jump" and try installing more than 640k of memory and see if we could make a RAM-drive out of it!)- And networking (we had, like I said, 300 baud modems and it was PURE text. It could take hours to get your modem to talk to your neighbors modem! BBS's were SO COOL! You could type in a message, and within 2 or 3 days, it would migrate across the country from house to house to shop to house, over dial-up connections, and be there for your friend to read! Kind of like the Pony Express!) If you folks that learned computers recently (we are all still learning - hence, SFNL!) were to be dropped back to 1983, you would laugh!Keep up the good work - and be proud that you have the gumption to hammer your way through all of this!d|:^)Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 I guess it's been about 10 years. My cousin (a network engineer) got me started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Lessee,Grade 10 (1982) I took Computer Studies and we started with Commodore PETs. 640 K RAM, tape cassette storage, monochrome 80x25 line screen. So in 21 years I've used:Commodore PETApple //e (65C02)Commodore VIC-20Commodore 64IBM PS/2Intel 386DXIntel 486DX-2Intel PentiumIntel Pentium IIAMD K6-2Intel Pentium III (Coppermine)Intel Pentium III/Celeron II (Tualatin)Intel Pentium 4 (Northwood)When will it ever end!!!???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 . We Army guys at Ft. Meade gave our oldest computers to the sub guys. That explains that D*** Green paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 KenYou Air Crew Guys alway got the newest and best Equipment I think the surface fleet was always about 5 years behind. Of course I don't think either Air or Surf got the Nice toys the Sub guys had.. Barry, knowing the Navy, those computers were probably got replaced last year. True Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragnar Paulson Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 No computers in our high school (too long ago) but decided to study Computer Science in University anyway, done the cards thing, 640k computers, (no one would ever need more right), etc. etc. This discussion reminds me of the joke about 3 old computer programmers.Programmer 1: Back in my day, we didn't have fancy 3rd generation languages, we coded right down in assembler. Just feed the machine pure instructions.Programmer 2: Assembler! We coded in raw machine language. That's right, microcode, right down on the hardware with long binary strings of 1's and 0's.Programmer 3: Ones! You had ones!!Anyway, I can add 23 years (1980-now) ... we should reach a thousand easily. Ragnar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicknite Posted July 18, 2003 Author Share Posted July 18, 2003 Milepost: 238! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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