[pinwheel man]

When I look back through old computer reviews on websites such as PC Pro or Computer Shopper, for example, I always find it funny reading the reviews on computers that cost nearly £2000 and had 2GB of RAM, whereas these days with the entry level computers,4GB of RAM as a minimum seems to be the norm!

[cnbcwatcher]

I love looking back on old reviews and adverts I recently looked at some from 1999 and 2001. I remember the days when multimedia and internet ready were the big buzzwords in computing and PCs that were advertised as internet ready were ones that had a modem in it! Now that and multimedia features are the most basic things we expect from a computer. How times have changed!

[pinwheel man]

Originally Posted by cnbcwatcher

I love looking back on old reviews and adverts I recently looked at some from 1999 and 2001. I remember the days when multimedia and internet ready were the big buzzwords in computing and PCs that were advertised as internet ready were ones that had a modem in it! Now that and multimedia features are the most basic things we expect from a computer. How times have changed!

My "internet ready", "multimedia" computer I got back in 2001 cost nearly £1000!

[John259]

Commodore PET: 6502 processor, 8KB of RAM, audio cassette deck, no disc drive, built-in 9" monochrome monitor, £750 back in the late 1970's.

[pinwheel man]

Originally Posted by John259

Commodore PET: 6502 processor, 8KB of RAM, audio cassette deck, no disc drive, built-in 9" monochrome monitor, £750 back in the late 1970's.

Just exactly what could you do on a computer like that back then?

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

Just exactly what could you do on a computer like that back then?

Probably most things people do with computers now...

[John259]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

Just exactly what could you do on a computer like that back then?

You could program it in BASIC, and store programs and data files on cassette. You could also buy games, including a good little chess game written in machine code. Later they introduced a floppy disc drive and a printer. I wrote a set of programs for a friend who used a PET system for a database of clients for his business. It was also a great device for learning.

[John259]

Originally Posted by alan1302

Probably most things people do with computers now...

No Internet connection, not even local networks back then. The Internet existed but was unknown to the public and the web hadn't been invented. We lived in caves and sang songs round the fire at night.

[pinwheel man]

Originally Posted by John259

You could program it in BASIC, and store programs and data files on cassette. You could also buy games, including a good little chess game written in machine code. Later they introduced a floppy disc drive and a printer. I wrote a set of programs for a friend who used a PET system for a database of clients for his business. It was also a great device for learning.

On average, how long did the printer take to print?

[StrmChaserSteve]

memories
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkKN4ZXqWTU

[John259]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

On average, how long did the printer take to print?

It was a dot matrix printer, very noisy and it used up ribbons fairly quickly. It used pinfeed fanfold continuous paper. I guess the average page might have taken a thirty seconds to a minute to print but that's from vague memory so don't quote me.

[Maxatoria]

Just be thankful you weren't in the business of buying mainframe stuff in the early 1990's....i can remember looking at replacing some gear with newer stuff and for about 3gb of disk storage it was about 15 grand plus vat and delivery (second hand) and about another grand to have it installed and but the removal of about 3 ton's of older gear didn't half save some money on the maintenance budget (and the electric bill)

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

My "internet ready", "multimedia" computer I got back in 2001 cost nearly £1000!

And now you can buy a tablet that does all that for £150!

[neo_wales]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

When I look back through old computer reviews on websites such as PC Pro or Computer Shopper, for example, I always find it funny reading the reviews on computers that cost nearly £2000 and had 2GB of RAM, whereas these days with the entry level computers,4GB of RAM as a minimum seems to be the norm!

I think you mean 2 Mb of ram lol

Go back from them a couple of years and I spent well and truly over £2k on a 386 with 4mb ram, SVGA monitor and a laser printer.

Well before that some of us radio hams were using packet radio and OSCAR satellite communication.

[John259]

Going way back.... the first computer I used was an Elliott 405. It had 21 cabinets, each 2 ft x 2ft x 6ft high plus a control console on its own desk. 3000 valves. Half a k (yes, 512 words) of immediate access storage on delay lines, paper tape for input, all powered by three-phase mains. It cost £300,000 when new in the 1950's. Photo here (not the one I used but identical):
http://www.computerconservationsocie...05%20Fred1.jpg

[cnbcwatcher]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

My "internet ready", "multimedia" computer I got back in 2001 cost nearly £1000!

I remember when a friend of mine got her first computer in 1998 and she bragged about all the multimedia stuff and I was rather envious because I didn't have a multimedia PC at the time It came with Windows 98 and even though I'm a Machead now I still have fond memories of that OS. How much would £1000 be now (taking inflation into account)?

[mac2708]

Originally Posted by cnbcwatcher

How much would £1000 be now (taking inflation into account)?

Using http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/

Current data is only available till 2010. In 2010, £1,000.00 from 1998 is worth


£1,370.00 using the retail price index

£1,560.00 using average earnings

However http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/b...nged-1900.html

reckons £2,097.90

[DeelyBopper]

Going way way back. I used to use an Abacus.

[bobcar]

Originally Posted by DeelyBopper

Going way way back. I used to use an Abacus.

I do remember using a slide rule and log tables. My first calculator was the Sinclair Scientific which came in kit form. In real terms it cost more than many modern computers.

[cnbcwatcher]

Originally Posted by mac2708

Using http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/

Current data is only available till 2010. In 2010, £1,000.00 from 1998 is worth


£1,370.00 using the retail price index

£1,560.00 using average earnings

However http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/b...nged-1900.html

reckons £2,097.90

I could buy a top-end Macbook Pro Retina for that money

[DeelyBopper]

My first modem was two yoghurt pots with string attached. I'd shout 'zero' or 'one' s as machine code so that I could say 'Hello World' to my neighbour.

I was very thankful when I got a Casio digital calculator watch one Christmas. I could do Math on my wrist!!!!!! Amazing!

[Pretinama]

Originally Posted by pinwheel man

Just exactly what could you do on a computer like that back then?

In many ways a lot more than now. People had to really think about what they did and how they did it. It helped people write very lean and efficient code.