Retro Computing Fun

I love history--always have. For people like me, there is an endless archive to sift through on line. The history of computers is fascinating...massive mainframes...simple calculators which cost $500...80 meg hard drives...iPhones and lots of stuff in between.

So as we hit the middle of the week I bring you this history packed post. Check out some of that history on this cool website called Web Urbanist.

One more for you...it doesn't have anything to do with tech, however. Explore NYC and surrounding areas at the amazing site Forgotten NY

Thoughtful commentary returns next post.

Creative Purpose

By the time some, if not most of you read this, you will already be at work plugging away at doing whatever you happen to do every day. Some of you might even be enjoying what you do. We can only hope.

Maybe today will be the day you get to do something extra fun, or maybe something different from other days. Maybe today your creative side will have a chance to emerge from the normal grind. Whatever you do today, if only for yourself, think about new creative ways to program, announce, sell, or produce. Give it a shot.

I thought I would share with you this video of MIT graduate, David Merrill. Now, his work life is centered around being creative. Among other things, he and his team have created these little cubes that are all interactive computing devices. They interact with each other [and the user] and can morph into whatever the programmer imagines them to be.

Nothing about radio here. Or is there? Enjoy.

The Year Was 1969...

And some futurist came up with this--computers in 1999. Found it on You Tube:



Remarkable how close they came--at least conceptually. They missed the mark on the interface, but hit the bulls eye when it came to many of the computer functions we now take for granted.

I'm not sure of the origin of this film, but in this clip the focus was on functionality and it got me wondering if there was a "part II" that focused on entertainment.

One can imagine what things will be like 40 years from now. Maybe I should make a film?

40 Years In The Future 1968-2008

Doing a little blog surfing and ran across a very fun site. Interesting article from 1968 about what our lives would be like in 2008. Read on...

40 Years In The Future

The single most important item in 2008 households is the computer. These electronic brains govern everything from meal preparation and waking up the household to assembling shopping lists and keeping track of the bank balance. Sensors in kitchen appliances, climatizing units, communicators, power supply and other household utilities warn the computer when the item is likely to fail. A repairman will show up even before any obvious breakdown occurs.

Computers also handle travel reservations, relay telephone messages, keep track of birthdays and anniversaries, compute taxes and even figure the monthly bills for electricity, water, telephone and other utilities. Not every family has its private computer. Many families reserve time on a city or regional computer to serve their needs. The machine tallies up its own services and submits a bill, just as it does with other utilities.

Money has all but disappeared. Employers deposit salary checks directly into their employees’ accounts. Credit cards are used for paying all bills. Each time you buy something, the card’s number is fed into the store’s computer station. A master computer then deducts the charge from your bank balance.