OT: The Geek Test

You made me check to convince myself that the old memory isn't going away faster than I think it is. I think that's why I checked. Anyways;

The 1972 entry is what I was speaking of. They did a press release on it. It sparked some talk in BYTE magazine and even made the local news.

What used to be programs intimately related to the OS are now "services within the OS" which is really a large collection of small programs called resources.

So at least mechanically it probably counts.

I would not think the issue of graphics or non-graphics is the issue since that was as much a hardware limitation of the machine as any "creativity of the programmers". In fact sprites and symbols were used to create impressive graphics windows to perform "intuitive" things. My favorite on DOS for example was a little program called 1dir.exe. Basicly a finder like tool.

The Apple Lisa and the Macintosh simply made the paradigm the central feature of the marketing. So impressive Microsoft licensed the technology FROM APPLE and the rest is history.

Jerry

You're right. I was thinking of smalltalk-80. I wonder what they ran ST-72 on, given that they say the Alto appeared in 73. ST80 was quite a pig; I wasn't impressed.

BillW

33.8%, Total Geek, damn I thought I was better than that.

SB

I dunno. I'm a card-carrying AARP member and scored 41.27234%, making me a Major Geek. I had an HP-11 that served me well until recently when it finally ceased to function. I shall miss that calculator. (The Geek test should have had some points for folks who actually understood and used RPN.)

I dig LOTR. I am STILL mad at Peter Jackson for cutting Tom Bombadil out of the screenplay.

Geek is a state of mind, not an age. Anyone can aspire to geekhood.

Ad Astra! (Ain't that a geeky sig?) Bill Sullivan the Gray (hair)

Yes, I noticed that.

Correct. Although I recall using a joystick to interact with an OS earlier than that, but it wasn't something you could call windows.

I also made a list of things that were left off the test:

Used / Own any of the following: (one point each for used, one point each for own)

Slide Rule Abacus Core memory Tube memory Rod memory Transistor logic cards Toggle switch front panel Head per track disk platter Disk platter larger than 8" Disk platter larger than 14"

8" floppy Keypunch Punched cards Paper Tape Cassette tape for computer 9 track tapes 7 track tapes DECtape or LINCtape A real Nanosecond from Grace Hopper A backwards clock Wire wrap boards Wired a patch board (old IBM sorters, lister, etc)

I don't own a keypunch or the old IBM wire boards. Never used tube memory, but own some. Never owned or used rod memory. Got everything else on the list.

Any other additions to the geek list?

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"

No, I don't. Don't have any Spaceman Spiff underwear either. Do have Marvin!

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Hmmm, I think I've still got the first issue of BYTE. That must be worth a couple geek points!

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Circular? Pickett or K&E?

Tube Flip-flops

How about a disk platter larger than 14" with less than 1M capacity?

Does anybody remember the original IBM PC had a cassette tape port? And did anybody ever use this port for more than an interesting experiment?

I still use my old wire-wrap tool to make ignitors.

Drum Memory CP/M S100 Bus

4040 processor chips Any computer with words that were NOT a convenient power of 2. (THe HCM-204 used 18-bit words.)

Ad Astra! Bill Sullivan

I had a circular slide rule, that spiraled in so it was equivalent to a sliderule that was 24" long! Great precision, that one.

well, here's a few

remembering the bias voltage on a the Triode and Pentode vacumn tubes ever programmed by plugging in patch cords knowing what the acronym ENIAC stands for ever played a Theremin ever built a Jacobs Ladder knowing what a Telsa coil is good for having built (or dreamed about building) a HeathKit Ham radio knowing the difference between a VCO and a VCA having played moon lander on a PDP-11 remembering ARCNET remembering Novell before NLMs were invented knowing how to terminate an coaxial ethernet segment knowing how to program assembler for the Z80 microprocessor knowing the capacity of a single-sided single-density 5-1/4" diskettes in a KayPro running CPM knowing how to program in BASIC on a TRS Model II (w/ TRSDOS)

ah, these bring me back!

- iz

Bob Kaplow wrote:

And who is this Arwen character and why is she in my movie? She is referenced, what, maybe twice in the books?

What next? Orcs shooting first? Gimli nothing but comic relief? Starbuck is a girl now?...wait, wrong rant. Sorry.

;-)

If you had an HP-41 calculator, you qualify. It had 10-bit words, and used 7 8-bit bytes for each 'memory register' (try figuring out how all of THAT worked out!).

David Erbas-White

the Unisys (Sperry-Burroughs) A Series used 24 bit words, and you programed in Algol !

- iz

David Erbas-White wrote:

Magnetic Drum Storage...

Mario Perdue NAR #22012 Sr. L2 for email drop the planet

"X-ray-Delta-One, this is Mission Control, two-one-five-six, transmission concluded."

23.4714% - Geek

Oh well, the Geek shall inherit the Earth.

Scott McCrate NAR 71680

Yes.

No.

Defending your base in Red Alert.

I can see my copy of "Programming the Z80" by Rodney Zaks on my shelf.

I only go back as far as single sided double density - 180K.

But you try telling that to kids today - they won't believe you.

Yes

Yes

no

Yes (shocking)

Yes (kicked out of class)

no

no

yes

yes - and the pain of Netware 2

yes

yes, just donated the books this past summer

Yes heavier than the battery in my truck

Yes, wrote a couple of games

yes

yes

yes

no

no

yes

yes, Imsai(SP?) 4004 and 8008

yes

yes 14"

no

yes, TRS-80 Model II

yes, for Fortran and Cobol

yes

yes, guidance computer program load

yes, TRS-80 Model I

no, 18 yes

no

no

yes

yes, still have a wrist watch

still have the tool

- yes, 1966

Rocky "afraid to add up the score" Firth

Yes, Titan II flight computer