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Spinoff thread: Gen Xers, when did you first see the Information Super Highway and...
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:47 am
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:47 am
...get your first computer? What has been your tech journey?
When I was in the 5th grade, my middle school brought in some of those beige temp trailers to house our school's shiny new Macintosh computers. We were all excited until we realized they didn't allow us to do much. As a kid, I figured that was the extent of my computer experience. Then my buddy, Jimmy, was really into computers around this time and had an actual phone modem. He would place the corded receiver onto the modem and dial into this weird DOS-looking room where others had gathered (obviously kids) to write curse words. Again, I figured this was about as far as computers would go.
In college, our computer lab used DOS prompt machines for statistics labs, but that also didn't rock my world. I first saw the internet around 1994 at my niece's house. This was pretty cool, but not something I cared to have at my own place.
I pretty much went tech-free until I got my first cell phone around 1998. This was also around the time I purchased my own computer which I used to get a GIS degree (my 2nd) when my college started their GIS program.
Fast forward to today, I'm now a SQL DBA/developer. This is a long way from being a laborer on a concrete crew and broom-sweeping grocery store parking lots (my first summer jobs).
I'm not sure what the 'event horizon' of technology was for me, but it may well have been the movie War Games.
Even though I work in tech, I'm nostalgic for the days of riding my bike (Redline BMX) 6 miles to our local pool during summer breaks and playing wiffle ball pretty much all day with my buddies...just being a tech-free kid.
When I was in the 5th grade, my middle school brought in some of those beige temp trailers to house our school's shiny new Macintosh computers. We were all excited until we realized they didn't allow us to do much. As a kid, I figured that was the extent of my computer experience. Then my buddy, Jimmy, was really into computers around this time and had an actual phone modem. He would place the corded receiver onto the modem and dial into this weird DOS-looking room where others had gathered (obviously kids) to write curse words. Again, I figured this was about as far as computers would go.
In college, our computer lab used DOS prompt machines for statistics labs, but that also didn't rock my world. I first saw the internet around 1994 at my niece's house. This was pretty cool, but not something I cared to have at my own place.
I pretty much went tech-free until I got my first cell phone around 1998. This was also around the time I purchased my own computer which I used to get a GIS degree (my 2nd) when my college started their GIS program.
Fast forward to today, I'm now a SQL DBA/developer. This is a long way from being a laborer on a concrete crew and broom-sweeping grocery store parking lots (my first summer jobs).
I'm not sure what the 'event horizon' of technology was for me, but it may well have been the movie War Games.
Even though I work in tech, I'm nostalgic for the days of riding my bike (Redline BMX) 6 miles to our local pool during summer breaks and playing wiffle ball pretty much all day with my buddies...just being a tech-free kid.
14
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:49 am to Eli Goldfinger
nb4 pr0n
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:51 am to Eli Goldfinger
1994
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:52 am to Eli Goldfinger
Could see it coming a mile away man
it's the future
it's computers
SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!!!
it's the future
it's computers
SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!!!
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:53 am to Eli Goldfinger
Mine and my best friend's dads were engineers so they were using computers at work and I always remember having one at home. We held off on internet for a few years but my friend's parents had it and we were looking for boobies when we were about 10.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:54 am to Eli Goldfinger
First computer was a 386dx. I remember when the pentium 90 came out. It was magical
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:56 am to Eli Goldfinger
I got a Tandy TRS-80 in the mid 80s. It probably cost my parents a mint, but I could never get it to do much. 
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:02 am to Eli Goldfinger
I saved up and purchased a Dragon 64 (knock off of the Commodore 64) back in the early 8-s. It did not have a disc drive so I had to use a cassette recorder (the old black rectangular ones) to save any files.
The first website I ever visited was Tide.com because I saw it on a commercial and was trying to figure out what they were talking about.
The first website I ever visited was Tide.com because I saw it on a commercial and was trying to figure out what they were talking about.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:04 am to Eli Goldfinger
I still haven't, shite seems scary.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:04 am to Eli Goldfinger
In the 80's, we had always suspected that some sort of connected world was coming, but we didn't know what it would look like. There were already movies about hackers breaking into connected computers off-site and stuff (see WarGames), so we knew this was where things were heading. But in our heads we couldn't put two and two together on what instant mail delivery and web sites would be like. That was a whole other ball game. The connectivity we were looking at then was limited mostly to the government/military and research facilities, and we all knew it.
In the early 90's. I got my first taste of what the modern internet would look like. Someone brought a French Minitel machine to LSU, and showed me how it worked.
The Minitel machine allowed people in France to pay their bills online, send e-mail to each other, and order services online. Even food. I thought this was the coolest damn thing I'd ever seen, because it packaged all that potential that we saw in dial-up modems back in the 80's.
Well, of course, that tech was rendered obsolete within months, as Windows blew up simultaneously with the American version of the Internet around 1993/94. By 1996, shite was in full swing. The Worldwide Web was not just here, but fully popularized. I actually remember sitting down and trying to figure out how the web worked on my computer. It only took a few minutes to grasp it, and it's been like second nature ever since.
In the early 90's. I got my first taste of what the modern internet would look like. Someone brought a French Minitel machine to LSU, and showed me how it worked.
The Minitel machine allowed people in France to pay their bills online, send e-mail to each other, and order services online. Even food. I thought this was the coolest damn thing I'd ever seen, because it packaged all that potential that we saw in dial-up modems back in the 80's.
Well, of course, that tech was rendered obsolete within months, as Windows blew up simultaneously with the American version of the Internet around 1993/94. By 1996, shite was in full swing. The Worldwide Web was not just here, but fully popularized. I actually remember sitting down and trying to figure out how the web worked on my computer. It only took a few minutes to grasp it, and it's been like second nature ever since.
This post was edited on 6/15/17 at 9:05 am
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:07 am to Eli Goldfinger
I had a commodore 128 growing up that was basically used to play Dr. J vs. Larry Bird and Zork. First internet experience was in 1994 in college. AOL chat rooms and waiting an hour for a titty pic of Elle Macpherson to download.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:08 am to Draconian Sanctions
My Dad (boomer) saw it coming a mile away. He got us a Tandy 1000 in the mid 80s. I was still in elementary school, don't remember which grade, I was pretty young. We played the shite out of some 5.25 floppy disk games and learned the ins and outs of DOS on that thing.
I don't really recall the year we got a computer that had a modem. It was pretty early as well. He taught us to use it to access local terminals. I messed around with calling local BBS and MUD games well before ISPs were popular/rise of AOL. My first computer pr0n was found calling local boxes, he should of supervised us better.
We never had AOL, I can't remember the first ISP we had, we had a few over the years trying to get more hours for less money. Disappointed I never really got to enjoy AOL chat rooms when they were hookup central.
I don't really recall the year we got a computer that had a modem. It was pretty early as well. He taught us to use it to access local terminals. I messed around with calling local BBS and MUD games well before ISPs were popular/rise of AOL. My first computer pr0n was found calling local boxes, he should of supervised us better.
We never had AOL, I can't remember the first ISP we had, we had a few over the years trying to get more hours for less money. Disappointed I never really got to enjoy AOL chat rooms when they were hookup central.
This post was edited on 6/15/17 at 9:41 am
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:09 am to Eli Goldfinger
Started out with a Tandy 1000. Then moved up to a computer someone built for us with a modem. We used to LAN For Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem, Command & Conquer and of course we were on AOL.
a/s/l
a/s/l
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:14 am to LSUaFOOL
quote:
a/s/l
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:18 am to Master of Sinanju
My dad had a TRS-80 too but they were really too much trouble to get much done unless you just wanted to play games or chat on a bulletin board system.
Back then most games were written in BASIC and the code was in plaintext and easily hackable. My brother and I at the time liked to play a game called "Tueday Morning Quarterback" and he was a big Steelers fan. So naturally I hacked it to make sure that whenever the Steelers scored a TD it would be called back for holding.
Back then most games were written in BASIC and the code was in plaintext and easily hackable. My brother and I at the time liked to play a game called "Tueday Morning Quarterback" and he was a big Steelers fan. So naturally I hacked it to make sure that whenever the Steelers scored a TD it would be called back for holding.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:27 am to Eli Goldfinger
I had used computers in college but the first PC I ever saw was when I visited a buddy at his workplace. He had an IBM PC that was running a spreadsheet and I was blown away. First home computer was in the mid nineties, using Windows I guess. We were on some service, it may have been AOL but not sure. You paid by the minute and I think there may even have been long distance charges. Too slow for video, but you could download still pictures of porn.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:31 am to Eli Goldfinger
I still remember the first time I was introduced to the internet. It was toward the end of my senior year in HS in 96. Had a computer class and the teacher hooked us up to checkers. I was amazed that I could play someone somewhere else in the world and even talk to them.
It didn't last long because whoever was on the other end quickly when he/she started telling us all to go frick ourselves/frick off etc etc etc Teacher said that sort of thing is one of the down sides of the internet. Trolls even existed then.
It didn't last long because whoever was on the other end quickly when he/she started telling us all to go frick ourselves/frick off etc etc etc
Teacher said that sort of thing is one of the down sides of the internet. Trolls even existed then. Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:32 am to Prominentwon
quote:
It didn't last long because whoever was on the other end quickly when he/she started telling us all to go frick ourselves/frick off etc etc etc Teacher said that sort of thing is one of the down sides of the internet. Trolls even existed then.
That's a feature, not a bug.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:32 am to JetFuelTyga
1992 at the disney store where there was this thing called e-mail. It was the email system within the private disney network. I changed my major from history to computer science not that long after.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 9:35 am to Jim Rockford
Late 80's as a teenage had an Amstrad computer with a 1,200 baud modem. Hit up local BBS sites...
Text would load 1 line at a time.
Couple of years later...jumped to a 14,400 baud modem. Massive jump in speed.
You kids don't know how good you have it. It used to take us all night to download one naked picture...and you wouldn't even know if it was good or not.
Text would load 1 line at a time.
Couple of years later...jumped to a 14,400 baud modem. Massive jump in speed.
You kids don't know how good you have it. It used to take us all night to download one naked picture...and you wouldn't even know if it was good or not.
This post was edited on 6/15/17 at 9:38 am
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