Hey, Shel, would you copy my 8" floppies to DVD for me? And I've got a
half dozen 1/4" 512mb SCSI tape cartridges that I would like to have
copied too... Oh, yes, about 150 3.5 inch floppies as well; my floppy
drive died last year and I do not feel it is worth $5 to replace it
although I may get around to pulling it out of the machine sometime real
soon now.
PS: Anybody got a paper tape reader I could borrow, and a PDP7 to hook
it up to? Anyone else out there realize that in 30 years we have gone
from teletype machines and paper type to 30" LCD's and 500gb hard drives
on personal computers? When I was born there was one one* electronic
computer in the world.
* Just googled it, apparently I was wrong, there were two working
non-programmable EC's, and one programmable EC under construction.
Humm...? That makes me think. The two modern conveniences I would not
want to give up are the indoor bathroom, and the personal computer.
graywolf
http://www.graywolfphoto.com
http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf
"Idiot Proof" <==> "Expert Proof"
-----------------------------------
Shel Belinkoff wrote:
A more powerful machine doesn't necessarily mean a machine that's more
complicated to operate. While it's true that new programs may require a
bit of time to learn, it seems that many, especially those designed for the
average user, aren't that difficult to figure out, especially if you've
used earlier versions of the same or similar programs. Granted, for some
programs and for some people, taking a class or reading a well written book
may be helpful.
As for compatibility, I've solved that problem. I keep an older machine in
running condition, plus, when I get a new machine, I add slots or older
media. The latest machine here takes the old 3.5 floppy disks, but also
has a CD player and burner and a DVD player and burner, as well as USB and
Firewire ports. I'm still using WordPerfect 6.1 and Lotus 2.01 as well as
the latest version of Photoshop.
Compatibility is available for those who seek it. However, one cannot
blindly go into CompUSA or some such and buy a computer "off the shelf"
without doing their homework. People go to Consumer's Reports and read
about refrigerators and toasters, buy car magazines to learn about the new
cars they are considering, and in general do their homework to some degree.
Buying a computer is no different in that regard.
Shel
[Original Message]
From: Malcolm Smith
For once, my sympathies lie with the public. Operating systems over the
years have made it become simpler and simpler to operate computers and yet
to keep up with technology, you need a more powerful machine, which folk
know less and less about. As folk update hardware, their need to 'know
how'
to work it becomes more unnecessary, along with the fact that the storage
methods used on previous machines aren't brought forward or are superseded
on the new. I know lots of people with floppy discs, zip discs or CDs with
their pictures stored on them, which their new machines can't access. How
do
you expect the non-technical average user to buy into a new system and
method of storage, when every few years it's been superseded and been made
obsolete? You used to take film pictures and put the results in the
drawer.
Now you have much more convenience on taking and sharing those images, but
for most people long term storage is an unknown - even when they try.
