When Will This Stop?

Oldman · December 19, 2008, 05:02:52 AM

Quote...how did he get that money in the first place...

He worked hard, was / is a smart man that applied all of his talents in a open market place to attain what he has today.

Quotehow many folks did his company ruin to get there?

From the direction of this statement I take it that next you will be upset with Honda, Toyota etc. for the big threes' problems.

QuoteThere's a reason that the Unix kernel has been powering the world for 40 years.

The last time I talked with a friend who owns his own IT consulting business he told me that the vast majority of his clients' servers are Window based.

JNB · December 19, 2008, 06:44:59 PM

Quote from: Oldman on December 19, 2008, 05:02:52 AM
Quote...how did he get that money in the first place...
He worked hard, was / is a smart man that applied all of his talents in a open market place to attain what he has today.
Quotehow many folks did his company ruin to get there?
From the direction of this statement I take it that next you will be upset with Honda, Toyota etc. for the big threes' problems.
QuoteThere's a reason that the Unix kernel has been powering the world for 40 years.
The last time I talked with a friend who owns his own IT consulting business he told me that the vast majority of his clients' servers are Window based.

All I can base my observations on is being directly involved in the industry since before there was a Microsoft, and watching closely (and being affected by) their practices in the early and middle years. As much as they have "promoted" personal computing to the masses--most of whom that shouldn't be within 100' of a computer, they have also ravaged and stifled growth, innovation, security, thousands of businesses, and any hope of true standards-based computing for years to come. The current executive team has demonstrated that they would prefer to continue the hegemony they enjoyed throughout the 80's & 90's. Thankfully, most of the world is finally catching up and passing beyond the sad state of affairs in Redmond. MS's last five years in particular have been anything but promising, and only their sheer size, cash position, and inertia have allowed them to hold any measure of market dominance.

Oldman · December 20, 2008, 03:18:47 PM

QuoteAll I can base my observations on is being directly involved in the industry since before there was a Microsoft

Oh the punch card days uh?

Smokin Soon · December 20, 2008, 04:15:54 PM

Olds, I wonder now many here even know what a punch card Is? ???

JNB · December 20, 2008, 04:18:28 PM

Quote from: Oldman on December 20, 2008, 03:18:47 PM
QuoteAll I can base my observations on is being directly involved in the industry since before there was a Microsoft
Oh the punch card days uh?

IBM 026/029's. Played 5200-card pickup on more than one occasion. ;)

"Do not bend, fold, spindle, or mutilate."

Smoking Duck · December 20, 2008, 04:21:02 PM

Oh, those hanging chads :D

Oldman · December 22, 2008, 04:08:29 AM

Well I bet the folks 40 and under do not know what punch card system were unless they looked it up.

1970 I went into the resturant business instead of the punch card business... stupid uh? The reason I did was in those days all employee meals were free.

3rensho · December 22, 2008, 04:44:28 AM

Oh yeah, as a young student I used to carry all my Fortran programs around in boxes of punch cards. Glad those days are long gone.

JNB · December 22, 2008, 06:46:32 AM

Quote from: 3rensho on December 22, 2008, 04:44:28 AM
Oh yeah, as a young student I used to carry all my Fortran programs around in boxes of punch cards. Glad those days are long gone.

I accidentally mixed up projects between my Fortran (can't remember if it was IV or '77) and COBOL classes. Hilarity ensued.

Caneyscud · December 22, 2008, 08:49:54 AM

Quote from: 3rensho on December 22, 2008, 04:44:28 AM
Oh yeah, as a young student I used to carry all my Fortran programs around in boxes of punch cards. Glad those days are long gone.

Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one here old enough to have done Fortran on punch cards!

westexasmoker · December 22, 2008, 09:26:40 AM

I kinda miss the mainframe at work!

C

Smoking Duck · December 22, 2008, 12:10:19 PM

Wow, way before my time. Did yinz guys use the abacus or did they have calculators? ;D

Caneyscud · December 22, 2008, 01:29:47 PM

Slide rules. The personal hand held battery powered calculators were just coming out and some of us couldn't afford them. Besides a Prof. or two (esp. Engineering. Profs.) required the use of slide rules. In 1972 or thereabouts Texas Instruments introduced their first useful pocket calculator (I think it had 8 functions) and the bargain price of about $220.00 - a fortune in those days. Their first was a 4 function (+,-,*, and /) a year or two earlier for $150.00 or so. HP put out their first pocket calculator and first scientific calculator (it could do simple trig) in 1973 or 74 I believe, for right at $400.00, but they were in short supply and often sold for quite a bit more than that. IMHO - even $400 was way too much for something that used Reverse Polish Input ;D I got my first - a TI SR10 for I think $160 in 1975 (by that time the price had come down and it had 8 or 10 functions - no trig. Ahhhh the good ole days! :o

Oldman · December 22, 2008, 05:54:21 PM

QuoteSlide rules

LOL... man is that not the truth~~! Personally I use to used my fingers and toes. Heh he he he~~!

3rensho · December 22, 2008, 10:29:48 PM

QuoteSlide rules. The personal hand held battery powered calculators were just coming out and some of us couldn't afford them.

Same situation I was in. Still have my 12" yellow metal slide rule complete with carrying case and belt loop. Talk about a nerd!!