On Sunday, October 13, 2002, at 08:56 , John Teffer wrote: > I mean, in 1985 people were basically doing the same things with their > C64s > we are doing today with our iMacs. Word processing, email, record > keeping, > playing games... we may have 2048 times the RAM we had back then, but > I do > not think that things are anywhere near 2048 times as entertaining, or > efficient, or cool.
Maybe for most people, but there are things I do on this machine today that I could never have even APPROACHED doing on a Commodore 64. I watch DVD movies with full quality digital sound. I record my own singing, digitally mixing it with the music tracks. I browse web pages that include integrated movies, images, animations, and even small applications! I view photo quality images. I search the Internet for high quality digital music (MP3s). Even the simpler tasks, like word processing, are MUCH easier on this system than I ever thought possible. I tried to write a screenplay on a Commodore 64, but it simply did not even have CLOSE to the processing power necessary to do the formatting (screenplays are easy to read, but a real b**** to format on a conventional word processor). Today, I use Final Draft, a word processor specifically TAILORED to screenplay formatting. I'm astonished at how easy it makes writing compared to the C64. The 64 was probably the most powerful 8-bit computer ever made. But it still had limitations. Its resolution was limited to 340X200 or thereabouts, with only 16 colors. Even the most creative Commodore 64 programmers in history couldn't make the 64 into a machine like today's. Even those who use their computers for simple things that the 64 CAN do still, occasionally, look at photos and listen to digital sound as a rule, things you could never do on a 64. (Actually, technically speaking, the 64 COULD do digital sound. Some video games (including one memorable "Three Stooges" game I once played) had digitized voices and sounds. But the resolution was only 8-bit. The sound quality was horrendous by hi-fi and CD standards. Still, the fact that the 64 could even DO digital sound was pretty amazing for an 8-bit machine). Also, the increase in power has made it possible to make computers far eaiser to use than they ever have. The increased power makes the GUI interfaces of Mac OS X, Linux, and yes even Windows possible. The best GUIs on 8-bit machines, like GEOS on the 64, certainly made the machines easy to use, but they pushed the limits of what the hardware could do. Today's GUIs give you much better control over the systems and don't take up NEARLY as much of available processing power (though still quite a bit). So most of the increased abilities have been burned up in making the fancy GUIs and making the computers easier to use. You have to admit, formatting a disk is a lot easier on Mac OS X than on a Commodore 64. On a Mac, you just go into Disk Utility and select "Erase Disk." On the Commodore 64, after choosing a name and an ID for the disk, to format it you would type: OPEN 15,8,15,"N0:DISK NAME,ID":CLOSE 15 And, of course, a CD-RW holds as much as a whopping 4344 Commodore 64 floppies... ;) So I think people are using their computers for much cooler stuff now, especially now when over 90% of all computers in general use today have Internet access. Power of a computer aside, there's only so much you can do with a computer in a "vacuum." John A. Ardelli Owner/Moderator BIFIDA-L: The Original Spina Bifida Discussion List The Crystal Corner - The Original Dark Crystal Discussion List -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
