Max Eskin wrote:
Well, all of the college guys down here are moving and that means
lots of trash. I picked up an old magazine, Popular Computnig, from
1983. This issue deals with programming languages, all sorts of
comparisons and advice about them. I've never before seen a computer
magazine of this age, and I found it quite fascinating. There was an
article about 'Why you should learn to program', the depth of which
was immense compared to modern magazines. But the letters to the
magazine show that people were'nt any smarter back then, just more
curious and thoughtful. I laughed when I saw this letter:
"I opened up my computer, and found the 6502 processor. Could I get
speed gains by replacing it with an 8088 or 8086?" At least they
know the numbers. Good thing they went to the trouble of checking.
Too bad intel decided to drop numbers and use meaningless names.
When did the downward trend in magazines occur, or was it a steady
process? Another question: I found a VGA monitor in the trash. It hasn't
been dropped and works fine, but the glass is scratched from being
dragged on the sidewalk. Is prone to implosion?
1983? By then the magazines had been going downhill for about a year
but there were still quite a few good ones. Not like now when the
only magazines I don't throw away (almost before reading) are Linux
Journal and SysAdmin. Sad to say, but except for the adverts in the
magazines, the best computer information available these days is
on-line. And there's still a lot of garbage to sift before you find
the treasure.
--
Ward Griffiths <mailto://gram@cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/>
When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked me if I had any
firearms with me. I said "Well, what do you need?" -- Steven Wright