Remember The Dark Days Before The Internet?

[blugill]

Originally Posted by ChasDen

I remember getting my first 14.4 modem and calling dial-up bulletin boards and paying long distance phone charges to download stuff. That was back when software came on a true floppy disk and p00rn was still in downtown movie theaters.

Chas

I took the day off when I upgraded from a 33.6 to a brand new 56k modem.

Oh yeah and ram was about 100 bucks per meg....LOL!

[TideRoll]

Yep. I was on CompuServe and before that a number of private BBSs.

And, to top that off, I can almost promise that I was a member of AmericaOnline before anyone else here. That is because before AOL became the AOL it is today, Quantum Computer Service (a.k.a. Steve Case) first had to acquire a catchy name, which happened to belong to a longtime local computer guy in Birmingham, Alabama, named Rocky Rawlins who was using it for his BBS. They bought it for what everyone around here thought was a crazy high figure which I forget now but seems like was between $5,000 and $15,000, and some new server equipment for Rocky. We all thought Rocky had pulled the deal of the century! He changed his BBSs' name to The Matrix, which nobody outside of the computer geek scene in Birmingham ever heard of again.

[hotreds]

Yes

[gnukfu]

Originally Posted by poker

I still remember punchcards and 5-1/4" floppy drives LOL

I lived through that crap in college - type out pile of cards, give the pile to the guy at the counter, come back the next day to get your print out and find out that you made a mistake on one punch on one card and all you have is crap.....fix the card, give the pile to the guy at the counter, come back the next day........I don't miss it! No wonder I drank so much in college.

[pearson]

My grandpa used to work for IBM and it is fun to hear all of his old computer stories, like dancing around one with a rubber chicken.

[Darb85]

There wasnt always an internet?

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Darb85

There wasnt always an internet?

But there have always been beanies.....

[Darb85]

Originally Posted by icehog3

But there have always been beanies.....

my beanies have brims, not propellers! sheesh

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Darb85

my beanies have brims, not propellers! sheesh

So you say....

[gnukfu]

Originally Posted by icehog3

But there have always been beanies.....

How does that stay on his head? Static elecricity? Glue?
Force of the spinning prop?

[Syekick]

300 baud modems, BBS (prior to AOL), and any images. A Kaypro II with CP/M O/S, dual 5 1.4 floppies and no hard drive. They called it "portable". Luggable was more like it.

I remember the pain. I need a drink, quick!

[Giovanni]

Originally Posted by TideRoll

...Quantum Computer Service ...(

I remember using the Quantum service to go online with my Commodore 64.

[Don Fernando]

my first pc had 8mb memory and a 540mb harddrive, that should have lasted me for years, the salesman said. I worked with Dos 5.2 (later 6.0 and Windows 3.1). That was back in 1993. 2 years later I bought my first cdrom player, an increddible 5 speed!

[Kwilkinson]

Being born in 87, I definitely don't remember anything pre-Internet. I like the internet.... I'm very happy Al Gore invented it.

[DriftyGypsy]

Originally Posted by Kwilkinson

Being born in 87, I definitely don't remember anything pre-Internet. I like the internet.... I'm very happy Al Gore invented it.

Al Gore didn't invent it I did and he stole it from me the rat bastage.