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On Monday 26 November 2007 20:38, Roger Bowden wrote: > I have recently joined the LUG and have followed this thread with > amusement. So that's how its done! I didn't understand how difficult IT > was these days. IT is easy - its doing it with 'management' that is hard. > > I was introduced to computing through PLAN (program language nineteen > hundred - machine coded and compiled to produce an object program on paper > tape!) I worked with a Local Authority ICL 1902S having progressed from a > ICL1901 that had 16k of core. Heady days! How I miss those whirring tape > drives and the punched paper tape. I remember the first exchangeable disc > drives - we almost needed a crane to mount them! > Circa 1960 we did the system analysis, wrote out the programs on paper for > punching by the *punch room* girls. We then came in at night after the > computer's normal operations had finished to do the testing, etc. operating > the big beast thro' teletypewriters - no VDU's in those days. > We had an enquiry program this had the database field definitions described > on 80 col punched cards that were *recycled* (note the modern jingo?) for > each new enquiry. The fields that we were interested in reporting on were > punched into a *parameter card*. The card pack was then thrown into a card > reader and surprise, surprise, whir, whir, out poured a box, or two, of 12" > listing with the required data thereon. We had not heard of outsourcing in > those days and I guess a £25 charge would have shown a good profit for the > IT Dept had it been run as a business unit in those days. > > I'm now ending - honest - as an 'old wrinkly', I staggered thro' the MS era > without being exposed to UNIX so I am rather hesitant to move my (home) XP > machine to Linux. MS has made life very easy for me. MS has made you dependant! Its a bit like schools not teaching you to read or add up in case you discover how to do it yourself. Or more like a butler who wont let you manage your own bank account... > Could anyone > suggest a 'starter' book to tempt me to play with Linux? I did try > setting it up on my PC a year or so back but as there were no suitable > drivers for my printer, net cards, etc., at that time, I did not pursue it > further and it did seem rather complicated whereas the MS option was plug > and go. Most installs of linux these days seem to be plug and go. They all work easily and play nicely together. Where are you base? Tom te tom te tom -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html