SkyNet is Born

[Tonray's Ghost]

In short order it destroyed IBM's mainframe business leading to a world where Hunter Killer Apple PCs and Windows Machines took control

[toomanycats]

The technological apocalypse has already happened. It's not so overt as the storyline of Terminator, but just as devastating to human culture, civilization, our ability to persevere in modes of existence that had endured for millennia. Humanity went out with a whimper, not a bang.

[Tonray's Ghost]

The technological apocalypse has already happened. It's not so overt as the storyline of Terminator, but just as devastating to human culture, civilization, our ability to persevere in modes of existence that had endured for millennia. Humanity went out with a whimper, not a bang.

Took me a decade to accept a microwave in my house.

[mickey]

The technological apocalypse has already happened. It's not so overt as the storyline of Terminator, but just as devastating to human culture, civilization, our ability to persevere in modes of existence that had endured for millennia. Humanity went out with a whimper, not a bang.

Took me a decade to accept a microwave in my house.

I built my first microwave oven.
Remember Heathkit?

[nomadh]

IBM puts the DIC in EBCDIC

Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code is an eight-bit character encoding used mainly on IBM mainframe and IBM midrange computer operating systems. It descended from the code used with punched cards and the corresponding six-bit binary-coded decimal code used with most of IBM's computer peripherals of the late 1950s and early 1960s.Wikipedia

[redman]

Technology has changed so much in my 65 years when I was growing up there was only 3 ways to contact a friend, send a letter through USPS, call them from a phone with a cord hanging out of it or go to their house. Now we connect with smart cell phones, snap chat or other type software, email and on and on. The only way to purchase something was at a store or mail order catalog. I still remember getting so excited when the new Sear's catalog came in fact my first new guitar came from a Sear's catalog a Silvertone with an amp built into the case I also got my first set of drums from the Sears Catalog they were Slingerland. A 23' diagonal tv was about as big as they got. State of the art home recording was done on a 4 track reel to reel in my early 20's I had a Teac and thought nothing could ever be better. I could go on and on ad nauseam. I sometimes no longer recognize this version of the matrix we are now living in. Do any of you other old fa**t's ever feel the same way?

[Tonray's Ghost]

The only way to purchase something was at a store or mail order catalog. I still remember getting so excited when the new Sear's catalog came

I'd anxiously wait for the lingerie section of the latest Montgomery Ward catalog..technology marches on but some things never change.

[PoodlesAgain]

The French version of the Sears catalog was "Manufrance".
Every household had one. Originally a rifle manufacturer, so you had hunting rifles, small farm utilities like tools, beehives, toys, bicycles, etc.

Here is the 1931 (way before my time!) version, but my childhood one was the same, just more polished:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/taffeta/a ... 456911039/
(wait... musical instruments on second panel!)

The usefulness did not end there: the outdated catalog ended up in the outhouse...

[mickey]

I'm still that way, don't y'all get "Harbor Freight" catalogs?

[Tonray's Ghost]

I'm still that way, don't y'all get "Harbor Freight" catalogs?

If they have scantily clad young ladies holding cheap Chinese power tools I'm signing up today !

[PoodlesAgain]

Amusing how the early computer promos always had women doing the "data entry".

I even seem to recall a radio ad for some IBM "micro-computer" read by a woman office manager, which read like "Who knew blabla sytem could solve our problem!". Intentionally designed as sexist by making it sound a bit clueless and non-technical.

Also, separately, but from the same period: American Express ads, with wording implying that if you were quite not good enough (in their eyes), you were not getting access to the 'club". I never bought any American Express products, and STILL cringe at every exposure to the brand. Exception for travelers checks - remember these?

[Tonray's Ghost]

Amusing how the early computer promos always had women doing the "data entry".

I even seem to recall a radio ad for some IBM "micro-computer" read by a woman office manager, which read like "Who knew blabla sytem could solve our problem!". Intentionally designed as sexist by making it sound a bit clueless and non-technical.

Also, separately, but from the same period: American Express ads, with wording implying that if you were quite not good enough (in their eyes), you were not getting access to the 'club". I never bought any American Express products, and STILL cringe at every exposure to the brand. Exception for travelers checks - remember these?

I guess in those days it was a step up to get out from the kitchen and nursery. Yeah..I remember those Amex black card promos.. .. What a crock.. Invitation only lol...

[jtcnj]

I learned my first Basic, Cobol, and Fortran 4 on punch cards... I still call comment lines "REM statements" lol.
I'm not a code cruncher but have some experience with it.

Things sure have changed, in too many ways not for the better.
Some of them I cant comment on - purely in an objective manner based on fact and observation - because some might deem it "political" or "bigotry".
Used to be you could have an opinion someone else did not share without being demonized, or "cancelled".

I dont mean here on a guitar / music forum specifically (not the place for it). Though this is non-guitar related thread, where older folks like myself can opine about the "good old days", and these darn kids today who are always on my lawn!
Lets hope the same folks in society who polarize everything don't decide strats are "good" and LPs are "bad", or vice versa.

What will they think of those pointy guitars?
Does my Jackson make me want to kill myself? No, but sometimes my playing skill does.... speaking metaphorically, of course.

Internet based guitar forums, song demos and lessons, etc. sure are a good thing.
Maybe not so much for shopping or surfing ebay while somewhat intoxicated.
I bought a new chorus pedal.....

[mickey]

Y'all have caused me to remember back to 1969.
I was wearing "green baggies" (hup, two, three, four, your left right.)
Got stationed in Idaho. My wife was likely the most experienced, best qualified computer programmer
in the State of Idaho at the time. (99% of people couldn't spell computer in 1969.)
She walked straight into a "Systems Analyst" job with the largest corporation in the state.
They were withholding more in income tax on her than I was being paid.

About 6 months later, her department head called her in and told her they were going to have to let her go.
What he told her is still tattooed on my brain & I'll never forget it.
"We are in no way unhappy with your work here, in fact we will give you a reference that you can
heal the sick, raise the dead & make the blind to see.
At the time we hired you we were looking for a man, one with equal qualifications to yours has applied."

As a result, she moved into an even better job with the State Government less than a week later.

Today, it would be illegal to let someone go for that reason.

[PoodlesAgain]

^^ good one Mickey.

I wonder what the "department head" thought about his daughters' future?

[PoodlesAgain]

^^ good one Mickey.

I wonder what the "department head" thought about his daughters' future?

And @Tonray's Ghost Amex: it was not for the uber back Amex card, which you had to "earn" over time, I guess. It was for the regular, pedestrian green. Tone deaf marketing. FT.

[Tonray's Ghost]

Y'all have caused me to remember back to 1969.
I was wearing "green baggies" (hup, two, three, four, your left right.)
Got stationed in Idaho. My wife was likely the most experienced, best qualified computer programmer
in the State of Idaho at the time. (99% of people couldn't spell computer in 1969.)
She walked straight into a "Systems Analyst" job with the largest corporation in the state.
They were withholding more in income tax on her than I was being paid.

About 6 months later, her department head called her in and told her they were going to have to let her go.
What he told her is still tattooed on my brain & I'll never forget it.
"We are in no way unhappy with your work here, in fact we will give you a reference that you can
heal the sick, raise the dead & make the blind to see.
At the time we hired you we were looking for a man, one with equal qualifications to yours has applied."

As a result, she moved into an even better job with the State Government less than a week later.

Today, it would be illegal to let someone go for that reason.

They probably ferreted out the Russian spies by seeing which ones spelled it: "komputer"

[tlarson58]

We're not in great shape.

That said, I can order almost anything in the world and it will be here in two days. I can also pick amongst fresh fruit and vegetables in a little, middle-of-nowhere Colorado town in mid-January.

[Tonray's Ghost]

We're not in great shape.

That said, I can order almost anything in the world and it will be here in two days. I can also pick amongst fresh fruit and vegetables in a little, middle-of-nowhere Colorado town in mid-January.

That's what John Connor said just before the robots took over....and cancelled his Amazon account

[Rollin Hand]

I remember watching Jeopardy! when they had IBM's Watson AI playing against Ken Jennings and some other past champions. My wife works for IBM:

Me: You know you guys have created Skynet, right?

Mrs. Hand: (blithely) Oh yeah.