On 01/02/2018 08:06 AM, Virgil Arrington wrote:
On 01/02/2018 10:32 AM, James Knott wrote:
My first hard drive was 30 MB. I also used PC-Write at home. I used
Wordstar 2000 & Word Perfect at work. I also maintained mini-computer
systems, including DEC VAX 11/780.
When my father ordered his first computer, he ordered a 10 mg. hard
drive. When he received it, it had a 20 mg. hard drive. They explained
that the 10 mg. had become obsolete since he ordered it and gave him a
20 mg. at no additional cost. He thought he had died and gone to PC heaven.
I also used PC-Write, both at home and at work. I worked as a lawyer and
wrote all of my legal documents and court briefs using that wonderful
little shareware program.
Obviously, LO can do much, much more than PC-Write ever could, but I
think it a shame that, after nearly a quarter century of development, my
quad-core laptop running LO on Linux is no faster than my old Toshiba
286 laptop running PC-Write and DOS. Admittedly, I'm comparing text
processing with text processing. I realize that, with graphical
interfaces, networks and Internet, more is required of today's
technology, but I often wonder. In terms of actual productivity -- i.e.,
getting work done, which for me meant word processing and an occasional
spreadsheet -- I was more proficient 25 years ago than I am now.
I recall back in those days reading an article that claimed that DOS
users made better writers than Mac users. The argument was that DOS
users focused on content (that was all they had), whereas Mac users
focused on appearance (since they could). I can relate for, these days,
I spend a lot of time tinkering with fonts, styles, etc., instead of
actually writing.
Virgil
I, too, sometimes get nostalgic for the "heady" old days of computing. I
started in the late 70s with hand-coding programs on an Intel 8080
system. I then graduated to CP/M-80 on an S100 Zilog Z80 processor
system. I then built my own PC-XT from components in the mid 80s and PC
technology has been progressing ever since. I keep a MS-DOS computer
around to talk to a device programmer with proprietary DOS-based
application software, just in case I need to program an EPROM or PAL
chip. I still think the Cromemco Z-80 Macro Assembler which ran on
CP/M-80, is the best macro assembler I have ever used, so I created a
CP/M-80 Z80 software emulator which runs on my Linux desktop, just in
case I have a need to assemble a Z-80 program or maybe run a CP/M-80
program or two. That emulator runs so fast on my desktop that a fairly
large assembly is done virtually before I can release the Enter key.
Would I go back? Heck no!
BTW: My Linux desktop has a 1TB hard disk and with a ton of large files
on it, it is only 20% used. My only concern is backing up so much data
each month. I am using 128GB USB Flash sticks, alternating monthly
backups (odd and even months) between two 128GB sticks. I can get almost
a year's backups from two computers on them. I am awaiting the 256GBs or
512Gbs soon.
Girvin Herr
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