The part that mattered and y'all kind of missed was the "and don't touch
anything else kid".
I really was a kid, not yet old enough to drive. It was very unusual
someone my age would even be allowed inside the computer room. Not only
was I allowed in, I was allowed to do something, a very VERY minor
something, with the computer.
I wasn't even particularly interested in computers. If you can't take it
apart to see how it works, what good is it? I already understood enough
about the grown-up world to know "THEY" were never going to let me do that.
It was just the least boring place for me to wait around until my dad
decided to quit work and I could catch a ride home. I don't remember
what they used the computer for, although I'm sure I was told at some
time or another. It was an insurance company, so it must have had
something to do with keeping track of the money.
From: "Daniel J. Matyola"
Yes, I also worked with computers that had punch cards in the 1960s.
Dull Boring work.
As I result, I lost my chance to get in on the ground floor. My four
math courses in college were with John Kemeny, then head of the Math
Department, and later President, of Dartmouth College. He told us he
was working on a computer programing language, and was seeking student
volunteers. Our response was that we didn't want to get involved with
computers that gave you paper cuts, and anyway, we had our slide
rules; who needed computers? Kemeny went on to develop BASIC, which
was (and perhaps still is) patented by the college. It took 20 years
before I finally became involved with computers; by that time, BASIC
had gone through numerous iterations and improvements.
Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
On Aug 25, 2012, at 20:10 , John Sessoms wrote:
From: "Daniel J. Matyola"
My first computer was an Apple ][. Great computer. I loved it. I
learned Basic, Pascal, Assembler and even a bit of machine language
programing on it. It certainly wasn't "plug -and-play," but it was
designed for computer hobbyists, and most of them loved it.
Dan Matyola
My "first" computer was an IBM System 360. I learned to place the cards in the card reader
"Face down & nine edge first, AND DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE KID!"
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