POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : Elite Server Time
6 Nov 2024 04:17:27 EST (-0500)
  Elite (Message 1 to 9 of 9)  
From: Invisible
Subject: Elite
Date: 5 Aug 2008 04:54:26
Message: <48981542$1@news.povray.org>
When I left my dad's house on Sunday, we had has old Amiga 1200 up and 
running, and he was using it to run a ZX Spectrum emulator.

So... he's using an obsolete computer... to emulate a prehistoric 
computer... ELITE! o_O

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: TC
Subject: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 07:15:47
Message: <48983663$1@news.povray.org>
I am getting old...

I remember my firt computer, a VIC20. It had 5 kB of RAM and ASCII-Graphics.

When you wanted to draw something fancy, let's say plot the sin-function, 
you had to fill the screen  with characters from 0-255, map the characters 
from ROM to RAM and then redefine the the respective 8x16 bit-blocks for 
each character to achieve the respective dots.

The VIC cost me a small fortune...

And now, for the same price: Quadcore with 8 MB cache (1600x more), 4 GB RAM 
(almost 1 million times more), 512 kB Graphics card (100.000x more RAM).

We used to store our data on a cassete-tape (for thoses who do not know: in 
pre-CD times audio was stored on tape - one side 30 min.).

But hey, we were proud to have this. After all, the US lunar lander had a 
highly developed computer on board that had only 1 kB of memory ;-) - this 
was a lot better.

"Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> schrieb im Newsbeitrag 
news:48981542$1@news.povray.org...
> When I left my dad's house on Sunday, we had has old Amiga 1200 up and 
> running, and he was using it to run a ZX Spectrum emulator.
>
> So... he's using an obsolete computer... to emulate a prehistoric 
> computer... ELITE! o_O
>
> -- 
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 08:15:18
Message: <48984456$1@news.povray.org>
TC wrote:
> I am getting old...
> 
> I remember my firt computer, a VIC20. It had 5 kB of RAM and 
> ASCII-Graphics.
> 
> The VIC cost me a small fortune...

Heh. Now the VIC is a computer I've only heard about in legend. I own 
two Usborne science books that contain BASIC program listings, together 
with marks indicating lines that need altering for VIC, PET, Spectrum, 
Acorn and BBC Micro (and possibly C64, I don't remember off-hand).

(But then, strictly speaking, an Apple is a computer I've only heard 
about in legend, and they still *make* those! In fact, I recently 
discovered that something almost unbelievable has happened: there is now 
an Apple shop in my home town! So maybe I'll go take a look sometime...)

Still, I can remember being a small child, and reading about binary 
adders, and deciding that one day I'd sit down and *build* a computer 
out of 7400s! ;-)

Oddly enough, that never actually occurred...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 09:06:18
Message: <4898504a$1@news.povray.org>
TC wrote:

> The VIC cost me a small fortune...
> 
> And now, for the same price: Quadcore with 8 MB cache (1600x more), 4 GB 
> RAM (almost 1 million times more), 512 kB Graphics card (100.000x more 
> RAM).

Hmm, let me see now...


this cheap now!)



* Lamest graphics card I could find: nVidia GeForce 6200 TC with 64 MB 

maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536 at 85 Hz. I kid you not!


VAT. Even this has 24-bit, 48 kHz digital audio. And 6 independant 
channels of it, no less. For less than the cost of that drink at the pub 
the other day!

Yeah, digital is cheap now... ;-)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Doctor John
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 09:27:21
Message: <48985539@news.povray.org>
Invisible wrote:
> 
> Yeah, digital is cheap now... ;-)
> 

It's called the economy of scale :-)

John


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 13:21:38
Message: <48988c22@news.povray.org>
Doctor John wrote:

> It's called the economy of scale :-)

Is that where they use different scales of object to represent monetary 
quantities?

Is *that* how we ended up with the Pu??

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Doctor John
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 13:25:14
Message: <48988cfa$1@news.povray.org>
Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Doctor John wrote:
> 
>> It's called the economy of scale :-)
> 
> Is that where they use different scales of object to represent monetary 
> quantities?
> 

<thinks> Is this an invisible joke </thinks>

> Is *that* how we ended up with the Pu??
> 

Ummmm. Whatever :-)

John


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 14:05:57
Message: <48989685$1@news.povray.org>
>>> It's called the economy of scale :-)
>>
>> Is that where they use different scales of object to represent 
>> monetary quantities?
>>
> 
> <thinks> Is this an invisible joke </thinks>
> 
>> Is *that* how we ended up with the Pu??
>>
> 
> Ummmm. Whatever :-)

I'm just laughing at the "</thinks>" tag. Like anybody should ever end 
thinking! ;-)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Doctor John
Subject: Re: 5 kB Computer
Date: 5 Aug 2008 15:19:59
Message: <4898a7df$1@news.povray.org>
Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> 
> I'm just laughing at the "</thinks>" tag. Like anybody should ever end 
> thinking! ;-)
> 

imo most of us spend too much time thinking about stuff like "How do I 
get a date with cute person?" or "Should I apply for a new job?"

Don't think, do! ;-)

John


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