LookinAround
Posts: 6,429 +186
Was just chatting with someone about this and thought it might be interesting to discover where people experienced and honed their first computer skills. (Though i guess is also somewhat indicative of, ahem, one's age).
Anyone else work on or remember these computers?
What did you start out with? What were you doing on them?
/****** Edit *******/
In response to a private message (and to clarify)
1. Yes, these were some of the computers i worked with during college years
2. DEC = Digital Equipment Corporation who pioneered some of the most popular mini-computers for their time (the PDP-8 and then the PDP-11). DEC was later acquired by Compaq who was later acquired by HP
3. CDC = Control Data Corporation who was well known for Seymour Cray, who used to be the architect behind the then "super" computers they designed and sold with a small staff of engineers. IBM couldn't understand how they could be outdone and sent a small group of their own engineers off to build something to compete (at the time IBM just had the standard business mainframes) but when it came down to it, IBM failed to product a machine that could compete AND be compatible with their other computers.
Anyone else work on or remember these computers?
- Intel 4004? (was the 1st microprocessor)
- DEC PDP-8? (was a great "mini"-computer)
- CDC 6400? (was a "super"-computer with "central memory" (i.e. RAM) using a 60-bit word organized in 32 logically independent banks of 4096 (60-bit) words)
What did you start out with? What were you doing on them?
/****** Edit *******/
In response to a private message (and to clarify)
1. Yes, these were some of the computers i worked with during college years
2. DEC = Digital Equipment Corporation who pioneered some of the most popular mini-computers for their time (the PDP-8 and then the PDP-11). DEC was later acquired by Compaq who was later acquired by HP
3. CDC = Control Data Corporation who was well known for Seymour Cray, who used to be the architect behind the then "super" computers they designed and sold with a small staff of engineers. IBM couldn't understand how they could be outdone and sent a small group of their own engineers off to build something to compete (at the time IBM just had the standard business mainframes) but when it came down to it, IBM failed to product a machine that could compete AND be compatible with their other computers.