I have Autism, and.....



@VP9KS oh you are lucky! You saw the whole evolution of computing and participated in it:cool:
Yeah Mitt, and now I'm passing on the torch to your generation:eek:. (I could tell you some stories) Keep it burning brightly dude, and always remember to have fun doing it!;):D
 
Yeah, I was born in 1952, so I got in on the ground floor of computers. I did 20 years in the navy (11/71 to 12/91) working on everything from the IBM PC to the VAX11-780, with all of the minicomputers in between.

At Great Lakes, in digital computer basics, I trained on a computer called the BI-TRAN six, which was made by Fabritek way, way back in the early 60's. You had to put the programs into the computer by cycling through the memory, and setting switches for what you wanted in each address. Even very short programs took forever to load by hand, but it was, after all, a training evolution. It was a "table top" machine, which as I recall was about 4 feet wide, 2 1/2 feet tall, and about 18 inches deep. As I recall it used core memory (a whopping 1k of it!!!) o_Oo_Oand was extremely slow, even as compared to a Commodore 64. I don't remember what the clock frequency was, but I know it was way below 1Mhz.:p:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Some of the older military computers that I worked on, like the AN/UYK-7 were wire wrapped on the backplane. That particular computer was quite quick, and had dual CPU, dual IOU, and dual IOA. It was used with four MU-750 hard disk drives (300MB removable disk pack drives). These drives were dual-ported. Each IOA was connected to all four Hard drives through two dual ported controllers. The redundant paths came in very handy. When one path to a drive failed, there was always another path to use. This made for a very reliable system.

Now you can have a 4Ghz, computer, with 8 processor cores, on your desktop for a fraction of the cost of that old system (MAYBE 1% of the cost).

The displays used on that UYK-7 based system, were AYDIN Direct View Consoles. The consoles were green, and each had two CRT displays side by side, 18 inches wide, by 24 inches tall. These displays did not scan like most CRT displays. The beam stayed in the center until it was deflected. It used 5 signals input to the display, X-major, X-minor, Y-major, Y-minor, and Intensity Modulation. I prefer the LCD display in front of me now. Did I mention that the video on those CRT displays were only in green? :eek::eek: Anyway, now I work in high speed industrial robotics, so the experience came in very handy.:D:DBeing a Ham radio Operator helped a lot too!!;)
Wow..... :) That's.... So AMAZING.....! :D I remember learning about some of that stuff in the Computer Chronicles..... :3 Also, I like Bits and Bytes....... :D Also, you were in the Navy.....? :) Thank you for your service, good sir..... :3
 
Keep yourself dressed to impress also helps and people have to brake a barrier to see your disability and they should give ffriendship.

I know..... :) It's difficult sometimes, but I haven't given up yet.....
 
Wow..... :) That's.... So AMAZING.....! :D I remember learning about some of that stuff in the Computer Chronicles..... :3 Also, I like Bits and Bytes....... :D Also, you were in the Navy.....? :) Thank you for your service, good sir..... :3
You are welcome sir. You and Mitt Green might like a show that was on PBS back a while ago. It was called "Connections". If you ever get the chance, check it out.:p:D
 
Rain Man is the best. Nice to have you among us forum pals.

Fear not, feel always welcome :)
 
You are welcome sir. You and Mitt Green might like a show that was on PBS back a while ago. It was called "Connections". If you ever get the chance, check it out.:p:D

I remember that show. A long time ago I saw reruns of the James Burke version.
 
You are welcome sir. You and Mitt Green might like a show that was on PBS back a while ago. It was called "Connections". If you ever get the chance, check it out.:p:D

Gah!..... XD I still have yet to remember to check that out!!..... :D
 

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