28-04-2011, 01:44 PM
Chris - your last Post (above) evoked a few more memories.
My earlier post harked back to my days when I was involved with early computing systems for the printing industry: 1974 +. I was involved with the development of an editing console: its 'processor' used about 300 TTL packs, 16k bytes of dynamic RAM and a software-programmable character generator with its own 2k byte memory. Input and output was via paper tape with custom-designed monochrome monitor and keyboard. The floppy disc came later - in the form of the Shugart 800 series: 160 k-byte floppy disk (single-sided). Looking back, the subsequent early PCs running DOS 2.1 with a 10 MB hard drive seem almost crude by comparison to today's equipments, but, of course, they met most of the requirements of those times and were a substantial improvement on the earlier CP/M systems that were around at that time.
It was in those nascent years that the hardware guys were the acclaimed wizards: how things have now changed!
Al.
My earlier post harked back to my days when I was involved with early computing systems for the printing industry: 1974 +. I was involved with the development of an editing console: its 'processor' used about 300 TTL packs, 16k bytes of dynamic RAM and a software-programmable character generator with its own 2k byte memory. Input and output was via paper tape with custom-designed monochrome monitor and keyboard. The floppy disc came later - in the form of the Shugart 800 series: 160 k-byte floppy disk (single-sided). Looking back, the subsequent early PCs running DOS 2.1 with a 10 MB hard drive seem almost crude by comparison to today's equipments, but, of course, they met most of the requirements of those times and were a substantial improvement on the earlier CP/M systems that were around at that time.
It was in those nascent years that the hardware guys were the acclaimed wizards: how things have now changed!
Al.
