Trains.com

NOT GRR but funny

1542 views
10 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: North, San Diego Co., CA
  • 3,092 posts
NOT GRR but funny
Posted by ttrigg on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 7:44 PM
Sorry folks, I know this is not GRR related but I just had to share the one.  I almost L.M.A.O. when I saw this.  Hope you enjoy a good laugh.  I realize that many of our current GRR's have more computing power than they could conceive of, when this picture was taken.



Rene:
I hereby self impose a weeks banishment for this, but just had to share!

Tom Trigg

  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point)
  • 11,439 posts
Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 7:50 PM

Actually it is a Linn Westcott design for DCC circa 1954

Actually it is a prize winner in an image modification competition and has nothing to do with what the Rand Corp. was predicting for a home computer in 2004.

The photo is an urban legend:

 http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/computer.asp

but a funny one.

Dave Nelson

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: silver spring, md
  • 1,232 posts
Posted by altterrain on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:37 PM

That is pretty funny. What do you suppose the double steering wheel is for? Thank goodness Steve Jobs, Woz and the HP boys came along.

 -Brian

President of
  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Peak District UK
  • 809 posts
Posted by cabbage on Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:38 AM
Well the following is actually TRUE!!! The Britsh code breaking centre "Station X" (Bletchley Park) had at the end of the second World War ten code breaking engines, (the term computer was a human one at this time).

The machines were staffed by a team of Wrens (Womens Royal Navy). They found that the waste heat output from the fans cooling the DOZENS of Pentodes running the Collossus X engine was THE perfect way to dry their laundry. Most of the time the Wren staff were wearing just swim suits or knickers and bras (and caps with rank badges on them) -due to the high temperatures caused.

THUS most of the world FIRST REAL computer operations centre -was normally adorned with washing lines covered in female underwear.

regards

ralph

The Home of Articulated Ugliness

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • 6,434 posts
Posted by FJ and G on Thursday, April 19, 2007 8:25 AM
the computer screen hasn't evolved much in size
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Smoggy L.A.
  • 10,743 posts
Posted by vsmith on Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:50 AM

 cabbage wrote:
Well the following is actually TRUE!!! The Britsh code breaking centre "Station X" (Bletchley Park) had at the end of the second World War ten code breaking engines, (the term computer was a human one at this time).

The machines were staffed by a team of Wrens (Womens Royal Navy). They found that the waste heat output from the fans cooling the DOZENS of Pentodes running the Collossus X engine was THE perfect way to dry their laundry. Most of the time the Wren staff were wearing just swim suits or knickers and bras (and caps with rank badges on them) -due to the high temperatures caused.

THUS most of the world FIRST REAL computer operations centre -was normally adorned with washing lines covered in female underwear.

regards

ralph

Do you know what the first computer "bug" was?

It was literally a "bug", a large moth to be exact, that flew into the US equivelent of Collosus, and caused a nasty short. A lady tech who cleaned up the mess coined the term, "getting a bug out of the system"

   Have fun with your trains

  • Member since
    August 2004
  • From: Whitmore Lake, Michigan
  • 350 posts
Posted by markperr on Thursday, April 19, 2007 2:11 PM

The wheel was an early mouse device which worked much like the principles used in etch-a-sketches.  The inner wheel controlled horizontal mouse pointer movement while the out wheel controlled it's vertical movement.  Once the operator positioned his mouse pointer over the desired object on the screen, he would slide over about four feet to his right and smash that big black button located about a foot up from the bottom of the console.Whistling [:-^]

Note how far ahead of their time they were in the combination keyboard-printer.  Also note the ten key pad on the right of the keyboard, another invention which had not yet come to fruition but was envisioned in the minds of the good folks at RAND.Laugh [(-D]

Mark

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: Fort Worth, TX
  • 8 posts
Posted by wildbill001 on Saturday, April 21, 2007 6:00 PM

If I remember my history correctly, it was Admiral Grace Hooper that coined the term.  She may have been a tech then but quickly rose in the ranks.  She was a fantastic speaker.

 

Bill W 

You can tell the pioneers by the arrows in their back -- unknown
  • Member since
    June 2006
  • From: Oakley Ca
  • 1,407 posts
Posted by dwbeckett on Sunday, April 22, 2007 9:37 AM
Funny or not I worked on computer printers larger then that, back in 68-72. 132 char. wide impact type. and the computer the was used had a 64x64 stacked memory (core plane). BOY I AM OLD. My wife's new laptop has Vista with 2gig and 120gig HD + a DVD burner. and she won't let me play with it.

The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 23, 2007 9:48 PM

 dwbeckett wrote:
My wife's new laptop has Vista with 2gig and 120gig HD + a DVD burner. and she won't let me play with it.

Oh man come on, you want to play with Vista? Become a computer tech., I know one who is swamped with Vista people yelln "help".

Think I will stick to where I am at. Big Smile [:D]

  • Member since
    August 2006
  • From: Saskatchewan
  • 2,201 posts
Posted by last mountain & eastern hogger on Monday, April 30, 2007 2:33 PM

Whistling [:-^]

I wonder if he is available to build control panels ?????????????????????????????

Johnboy out.................................

from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North.. 

We have met the enemy,  and he is us............ (Pogo)

Search the Community

FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Garden Railways magazine. Please view our privacy policy