[ubuntu-uk] memory lane, was: Please can someone look at this and try to help

[Rob Beard]

Paul Tansom wrote:
> ** Rob Beard <rob at esdelle.co.uk> [2007-11-12 20:04]:
>> James Grabham wrote:
>>> You're all really old, I cant remember before my familys 486 with DOS
>>> 6.22 and win 3.11 for workgroups  (I was born in 1992!!) lol  I know
>>> my Mum had a computer before that, but I cant remember it - I found
>>> its dot matrix printer in the loft a while ago though.
>>>   
>> Ahh, if it came with a Dot Matrix printer it would be an Amstrad PCW.  
>> Ahh, those were the days.  I loved Amstrad (Locomotive) Logo on CPM.
> ** end quote [Rob Beard]
> 
> I took a lot of stick when the Amstrad CPC464 came out and I bought one
> to replace my Spectrum. I started with a ZX81, then Spectrum, but the
> Amstrad really got me into using computers seriously.

I had an Amstrad CPC464 for a while too.  After my Atari died we got 
another one and that died too.  This was in less than a year.  We then 
got a Spectrum +3 for a week but my dad thought the quality was rubbish 
(not sure what he was expecting!) and then he got a CPC464 with green 
screen monitor.  That's what got me into programming.  We then upgraded 
to a CPC664 which was luxury loading games off disc.  Still with a green 
screen monitor though :-(

> Before that it was
> just games and programming. I used the Amstrad with a ROM box loaded
> with wonderful software from Arnor to run a sailing club database and
> print off labels - much easier than a hand bander thing we had been
> using. I upgraded to a CPC6128 to get me through my degree with the aid
> of CP/M with Logo, Supercalc and Borland Turbo Pascal (helpfully copied
> onto 3" disks for my be a local computer store). I also got some work
> done on my car in return for helping out a mechanic friend with his PCW.

That sounds cool.  I remember seeing adverts for ROM boxes but didn't 
understand that much about them at the time and couldn't afford them.  I 
vaguely remember the old Datel Electronics adverts for things like 256K 
memory upgrades and 'silicon discs'.

> Protext (all hail the best word processor ever written) followed me onto
> my Amiga (mouse, GUI, eeek!) and I used that and DPaint to produce a
> 'brochure' for the IBM lab I was working in at the time. They wanted to
> do one, but when they talked to the in marketing department and looked
> into in house publishing decided it couldn't be done economically. I
> came in the following day with a printout from my Amiga and costings
> from a local printers that changed their minds. What did IBM know about
> getting work done on computers?!
> 
> Then this horrible x86 architecture with DOS and Windows started getting
> popular and took all the fun out of computers. Praise be to Linux,
> without which I would have given up on computers long ago.
> 

:-)

I'd say PC's started getting a bit boring with the advent of Plug & 
Play.  Then everyone was buying Packard Bell PCs from PC World and 
becoming 'experts' over night.

Rob