Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

If you are among our younger readers, you missed many of the joys (frustrations) of late 80's and 90's computing and this article over at Tom's is a nice little history lesson. I still remember sitting in the technology class in college where the professor had just loaded up the first version of Mosaic and having my jaw drop. Lots of people don't recall that Amazon originally only sold books, my first order with them was July 23, 1998, nearly 12 years ago. Whats your favorite (least favorite) memory of classic computing?

"Last month, we took you on a tour of computing's most venerated classic PCs. In our classic PC hardware retrospective, we highlighted the computers that deployed the innovations we take for granted today. But just as a car without gas is just roadblock, computer hardware without software is essentially paperweight. And while it’s true that the hardware is the visually sexier component of a system, the software is equally important and often more challenging to create. Today, we take a look at the history of early computer software, from the first character-based interfaces to the last pre-32-bit OSes (yes, Mac OS included). We also spotlight the notable programs that ran on these various platforms, including the first productivity and design applications. And because we're avid gamers, we couldn't neglect video gaming's contribution to the software world -- we included the firsts of each gaming genre."

From OS's to applications and games, this article will be educational for our younger readers and a walk down memory lane for the not so young readers. Some of my fond memories of older software from each category include PFS Write, OS2, The Wrath of Nickedemous, and Microsoft Flight Simulator (pictured above). What were some of your favorite pieces of older software.

"Your next build may very well come configured with dual-SSD drives in a RAID 0 array for the OS, a gluttonous 2TB SATA HDD for storage duties, and a Blu-ray optical drive for movie watching and HD backups. And for quick transfers from one rig to another, does it get any sweeter than a 64GB USB thumb drive loaded with all of your favorite apps? Such a storage scheme is certainly worthy of dream machine status, but our storage options weren't always as fanciful, fast, and fat as they are today. Some of you may remember toting a 3.5-inch floppy to and from school, while others hearken all the way back to cassette tapes. And if you've lived long enough to remember the IBM Punch Card first hand, just ask and we'll SPEAK LOUDER."

Image Credit: IBM

You youngsters probably had optical storage on your first computers. Sadly I've actually handled most of these data formats (except the paper tape). Funny story, when I started my current job, the garland and topper on the office Christmas tree were made of old punch cards and many of the ornaments were made from the internal rings on magnetic tapes. Hey at least they were recycling.