Cartoons we need em . post your favourites here .
- Thread starter bagpuss
- Start date
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Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
I remember when I started University, in 1977, them proudly showing us around the computer room, which was a pretty large room housing one mainframe computer and various storage devices.
It had 128K of main memory, and a few exchangeable disc packs, each about 12" across, 7-8" deep, and capable of storing 300K of data. Even 15 years ago, when smartphones were in their infancy, an average one had way more processing power and memory than that did.
Profpointy
Legendary Member
A friend described a visit to his university computer room in the same era. The room was largely empty, but with a couple of wardrobe sized pdp11 minicomputers in one corner. These had replaced the entire roomfull of earlier generation kit.
Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
Our Uni moved to those a couple of years later, while I was still there.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
Yup
anyone driving into the centre of Liverpool from the North might have noticed a mirrored building on the corner of Leeds Street and Old Hall Street
That was built to house the new Main Frame used by Littlewoods to run their Home Shopping business
it needed that whole building for the computer and all its accessories - such as comms devices and backup power supply
a just over 5 years later after it went live it was replaced (as planned) by a new system which only required 1 floor so the other floors were just used fro storage
even the new system - which was massively more powerful than the original - was massively less powerful than your average phone nowadays
cisamcgu
Legendary Member
- Location
- Merseyside-ish
et voila !
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
That's it
apparently not used for years since Littlewoods left and went to Speke - which was a while after I left
well - I say left - I was chucked out with some money
they were pretty good about it all - but it was a bit upsetting at the time!
cisamcgu
Legendary Member
- Location
- Merseyside-ish
Sometimes the mirrored glass panels fall off - it is just rough brickwork behind them as far as I can see !
Chris S
Legendary Member
- Location
- Birmingham
As the IRA found to their cost when they fired mortars at MI5's headquarters.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
Yup
Originally there was a problem with them breaking
it turned out (so I heard) that it was the landlord or the pub opposite who was smashing them with a high powered catapult and ball bearings
he was "annoyed" because the computer operators had been banned from nipping over there in quiet times
of which there were quite a few because they staffed the computer rooms based on what they might need - but when everything was going OK then some of them were just sitting around doing whatever (some stories about wheegee boards that I'll save for another time)
so they started nipping over to this scruffy pub instead and having a pint (or two)
banning them seriously screwed up his profits!!
anyway - he got caught when they put CCTV up - the appearance of several large cameras clearly didn;t make him stop and think!!!
but yes - behind the mirrors is just breeze block
originally it was supposed to be a rectangular building just built of brick but the council rejected it as not pretty enough for a new building on a well used approach to the business district
so they cam up with the curvy thing and mirrors to make the city look techy
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
It is worrying the amount of stuff I can remember from then
and can;t remember where I put my socks this morning!!!
and can;t remember where I put my socks this morning!!!
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
Have you checked your feet?
Chris S
Legendary Member
- Location
- Birmingham
Chris S
Legendary Member
- Location
- Birmingham
