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Word processing machine. Was a word processing operator on an IBM unit while in the Army in the early 1970's and was fascinated by the technology. When I got out, I worked for Xerox while going to college and learned about a fax machine. Again, it was amazing to me at the time.
Yeah, Macs had networking built in from the beginning. It took forever for Microsoft to come up with a TCP/IP stack for the PC. We had to use 3rd party software to get on the internet. The first Mosaic browser I ever saw was on a NeXt cube, but versions for the Mac and the Sun workstation followed right behind. That was about the time the smart guys at Xerox PARC were experimenting with real time 3-D rendering. It's old hat now, but back then being able to enter a room, look around and actually move furniture in a browser was a real eye-opener.
The NeXt also blew my mind. What kind of computer didn't have a floppy disk? After Apple forced Steve Jobs out, he moved to Roseburg, not far from where I live now, and developed an OS based on UNIX (NeXt Step). When Apple crashed and invited him back to take over, he turned it into OSX. I was in my mid-40s then, so was long past my first jobs. Which reminds me, before he got famous, Steve Jobs pronounced his last name like the biblical Job, instead of "getta job." I guess he just gave up on the pronunciation thing.
Ah, walks down memory lane, even if it was just 25 years ago. On Usenet I used to be able to ask a question and get answers from two Nobel laureates. I swapped emails with Douglas Adams when he was researching _Last Chance To See_. Then came public internet and AOHeLL, and it all went away.
At that Mac shop a few of the CAD people had Suns. I'd borrow one of them to run Markov Models - our app ran on Unix.
Next place I went to after that ... everyone had at least a SPARC 2. Now talk about desktop heaven. That must have been about the same time you were getting into the NeXt gear or slightly before. Just a few months after I started there we Beta'd Mosaic. The benes of being one of their partners. I was already a total web addict before Clinton was elected.
I posted earlier re a Xerox copier being my 1st high-tech encounter but since so many here are discussing computers: in 1971, working for the Bell system, I supervised a group that operated a computer that was about 14 ft long by 2.5 ft wide and had exactly 1K of core memory.
Logic gates were mechanical relays that could be selectively disabled or re-routed by inserting wooden toothpicks, a useful trick for troubleshooting. Circuit packs were very 2001: Space Odyssey, i.e, they were large, rectangular, and required screwdrivers to install/uninstall; pulling one out was exactly like the movie. Programming instructions were relayed via series of 4-digit codes which were input via punch cards for normal operations or manually via a keypad for overrides.
I loved that monstrosity so much. It gave me a solid foundation for understanding logic circuitry, that served me well for decades to come. I had a great boss who while we were inserting toothpicks and keying in override codes would tell me "eventually all this will come down to how tiny you can make this operation [i.e., onto a circuit board"]. At the time - ca 1971 - I found that concept enormously intriguing and would ask him to explain further how that might work. He exactly explained it to me, in a manner that enabled me to understand; and that understanding enhanced my career to flourish for years to come.
Exciting times, I'm glad I was there. That experience led to advances in my career I could not have imagined, and eventually to a nice pension.
Interesting time frame, the early 70s. My dad was a semiconductor guy. Even at that early date, bipolar and ECL based ICs were already being released. MOS and CMOS were on their way. In fact, coming up with ways to produce CMOS devices was my Dad's meal ticket. It opened many doors. From the early 70s to 1980 it went from off-the-shelf rudimentary logic devices to ASICs. What a trip. Then a mere few years after that - mid to late 80s - I was sourcing foundries and ASIC design houses as part of my job.
We were using slide rules in school so I suppose calculators were the high tech thing when I started working. I wanted to say ball point pens but I was in grade school when I started seeing them.
The following inventions came to be in the year I held my very first job:
The first microprocessor (Intel 4004)
The first pocket calculator (Texas Inst.)
The floppy disk (IBM)
How about you?
I came into the military (Air Force) at the end of the 60's. Although we had some nifty toys -see (Valkyrie), office technology consisted of typewriters for the clerks. All of the reproduction needs were sent to admin, who had big machines to do this, and all slides (such as they were) were made by graphics using plastic sheets with cardboard frames. They were projected on pull down screens with projectors having light bulbs with short duration.
I remember the IBM selectrics, and the first PCs - everyone had different operating systems and different word processing systems - wordstar, peachtext, word, etc. I remember the Arpanet, the precursor to the internet,
I remember big, cold, light computer rooms filled with large machines with big reels and numerous lights. I remember punch cards for data input to these systems, and getting outputs on wide green and white paper to scrub for errors.
MS-Dos. Got pretty good using it until Windows came out in the mid 80s. Was able to program my work computer to be menu-driven. I thought I was so tech savvy, lol.
I miss doc commands. It had been awhile when I was looking up old usenet posts, and I had to actually look up the dos commands. For most of what I do, it would be much simplier and straight forward than windows.
I came into the military (Air Force) at the end of the 60's. Although we had some nifty toys -see (Valkyrie), office technology consisted of typewriters for the clerks. All of the reproduction needs were sent to admin, who had big machines to do this, and all slides (such as they were) were made by graphics using plastic sheets with cardboard frames. They were projected on pull down screens with projectors having light bulbs with short duration.
I remember the IBM selectrics, and the first PCs - everyone had different operating systems and different word processing systems - wordstar, peachtext, word, etc. I remember the Arpanet, the precursor to the internet,
I remember big, cold, light computer rooms filled with large machines with big reels and numerous lights. I remember punch cards for data input to these systems, and getting outputs on wide green and white paper to scrub for errors.
Gosh, I am old!
I thought the selectric was awesome. Well, except that it even recorded those moments when your finger barely scraped the side of a key. I actually learned on a twenty or so years old manual typewriter that worked beautifully, but you held your hands so differently on a flat keyboard. But its power supply never bit the dust.
I also remember sitting there in the computer lab punching cards for our homework in my first programming class, then finding the machine's 'punch' was off and it couldn't be read. But someone took the do not use taped on the keyboard off. Oh the days...
I miss doc commands. It had been awhile when I was looking up old usenet posts, and I had to actually look up the dos commands. For most of what I do, it would be much simplier and straight forward than windows.
Windows has a command line interface. Just hit windows R and enter cmd to get the prompt. You can also download a complete set of Unix utilities and a shell interface.
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