Life before computers

[DougieAB]

Had a power cut at work this morning so we all sat around chatting for a while. Probably could have found something to do that didn't require a pc, but to be fair it was still dark outside so not even enough light to read by. Amazing how much we have come to rely on them.

 

[biggs682]

...the grass was greener right?

totally agree

 

[Andrew_Culture]

...the grass was greener right?

Only because someone hadn't farked up the picture in Instagram to try and convince themselves they have an artistic streak.

 

[Hover Fly]

[QUOTE 2139437, member: 259"]Cyclechat was rubbish when we used to have to fax each other. The younger members probably don't recall getting seventeen badly typed pages about road tax every five minutes.[/quote]
I was a member of a railway photography circle, every two or three months an infant school tidy box would arrive, containing photos, and a grubby notebook, one took the last photos one had put in out and put the best of one's new ones in, and write comments (in pencil so the next recipient could erase them if they were defamatory) about the other photos in the book, fix a new label and post them off. Now you can tell someone they are cross eyed, their instamatic is broken and life in Dullton must be really boring if that is the best train they have, in minutes.

 

[ColinJ]

Pre personal computer era:

I wanted a personal music player so I saved my pocket money for several months. When I thought that I had enough, I caught a bus to Coventry city centre and spent an afternoon wandering round the shops. I couldn't afford anything that I fancied. Eventually, I spotted a junk shop which had an old valve reel-to-reel tape recorder in the window at a price that I could afford. I bought it, lugged it back to the bus stop and caught the bus home. It didn't work! I took it to bits and fiddled with it and eventually spotted that a wire had pulled off the back of the tape head. I soldered it back on and it came to life!

Personal computer era:

My nephew wanted a personal music player so he asked my sister to get him an iPod. She fired up t'interweb on her laptop and ordered it for him a couple of minutes later. It arrived the next day!

 

[Doseone]

 

[postman]

I remember buying my first fax machine,only my bigger clients could afford them.Within a month,most of our work arrived by fax,& all clients had them.Thats how fast things moved .

Bigger clients-Was there a size and height you had to be to get one then?

 

[postman]

My girls both teenagers HATE shopping live as i call it.Everything is bought via this or their own computers.

 

[ianrauk]

I remember buying my first fax machine,only my bigger clients could afford them.Within a month,most of our work arrived by fax,& all clients had them.Thats how fast things moved .

The company I was with at the time sent letters to all the customers asking if any one was going to get one of these new facsimile machines. Because if people were then they would too.

 

[Speicher]

[QUOTE 2139437, member: 259"]Cyclechat was rubbish when we used to have to fax each other. The younger members probably don't recall getting seventeen badly typed pages about road tax every five minutes.[/quote]

If you were using CycleChat in the days of the telex, the noise was never-ending, and all those small white circles of paper went everywhere.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Brilliant things! Esp' in conjunction with the web.

www. has to be one of mankinds greatest inventions; no longer does knowledge reside in the brains of the few!

So much better than the pre-computer era.

 

[asterix]

Brilliant things! Esp' in conjunction with the web.

www. has to be one of mankinds greatest inventions; no longer does knowledge reside in the brains of the few!

So much better than the pre-computer era.

Good ol' Tim Berners-Lee, eh? Eat your heart out Bill Gates.

 

[Over The Hill]

I did some temp work at the AA in about 1990. Payroll department had just taken deliverey of the first computer in the office.
Rest of us sat there with countless sheets of paper and a biro filling in the change we wanted to the payroll and then the bits of paper were taken downstairs where other people in "data entry" then typed in what we had filled in.

One job was employees tax codes. Inland revenue sent out a big wadge of paper (that striped green paper with holes along the edge) which was a print out of everyones new tax code.
Armed with a brio I then had to copy out into box a) the payroll number and box b) the new tax code. It took me three weeks to do the whole staff at the company.
End result was a pile of A4 paper about six inches high. then went off for someone to type it all in.
Next day the revenue sent a revised print out with all new codes!

 

[Speicher]

I started work in 1978 for a comparatively small textiles manufacturer. The Company had one computer. It was housed in a room about twice the size of the average lounge in today's homes. It needed about four staff to look after it, changing the tapes etc, and needed to be in a temperature controlled environment. All it did was calculate and print the invoices.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

The Company had one computer frustrating woman It was housed in a room about twice the size of the average lounge in today's homes. It needed about four staff to look after it, changing the tapes etc, and needed to be in a temperature controlled environment. All it did was calculate and print the invoices