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Old January 14th 05, 02:15 AM
Hugh Candlin
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Default What a HOME COMPUTER could look like !! :-)


"Kevin" wrote in message
...
The real thing is much more "science fiction looking" than you can

imagine.
The massive main frame that was being used at Oregon State University back
in 1974 invoked images of the computer in the movie "Colossus: The Forbin
Project". A real classic, by the way, and a must-see sci-fi flick.


Good movie.

Row upon row of upright, refrigerator sized units with those big 1" wide

tape
drives.


You could actually dismount the system tape to mount
an extra work tape when doing a tape sort.

Stacks of vinyl record sized platters that loaded into what looked
like washing machines.


Dont forget the "cake dish" cover, with the handle
so that you could lower them in and screw them down

A huge impact printer that printed on 24" wide continuous paper.


You have NEVER lived until you have changed the paper in the middle of
a 24-hour print job - 8-part part paper, with 7 interleaved sheets of carbon
paper -
and later found out that you put it in backwards, with the carbon paper
facing the print hammers instead of away.

It was all behind three doors of glass and steel, very futuristic looking.


Raised floors, lowered ceilings, tons of air-conditioning, NO smoking.

You could spot the engineering students by the HP calculators on their
belts. It was all very cool.


White lab coat. White NYLON lab coat. At least until the pen leaked.

Now you can buy a machine that will run
circles around that main frame for about $5000.00 and have it shipped to
your door.


$500, and you can pick it up down the block.


"Torgeir Bakken (MVP)" wrote in message
...
RJK wrote:

Picture from 1954 Popular Mechanics Magazine
(See Caption Below the Picture)

Hi

The picture is a hoax:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/computer.asp


--
torgeir, Microsoft MVP Scripting and WMI, Porsgrunn Norway
Administration scripting examples and an ONLINE version of
the 1328 page Scripting Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scr...r/default.mspx





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