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If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It: Ancient Computers in Use Today
PC World ^ | 19 February 2012 | Benj Edwards

Posted on 02/20/2012 7:27:49 AM PST by ShadowAce

It’s easy to wax nostalgic about old technology--to remember fondly our first Apple IIe or marvel at the old mainframes that ran on punched cards. But no one in their right mind would use those outdated, underpowered dinosaurs to run a contemporary business, let alone a modern weapons system, right?

Wrong!

While much of the tech world views a two-year-old smartphone as hopelessly obsolete, large swaths of our transportation and military infrastructure, some modern businesses, and even a few computer programmers rely daily on technology that hasn’t been updated for decades.

If you’ve recently bought a MetroCard for the New York City Subway or taken money from certain older ATMs, for instance, your transaction was made possible by IBM’s OS/2, an operating system that debuted 25 years ago and faded out soon after.

A recent federal review found that the U.S. Secret Service uses a mainframe computer system from the 1980s. That system apparently works only 60 percent of the time. Here’s hoping that uptime statistics are better for the ancient minicomputers used by the U.S. Department of Defense for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system, Navy submarines, fighter jets, and other weapons programs. Those systems, according to the consultants who help keep them going, will likely be used until at least the middle of this century.

Here are a few stories of the computers that time forgot, and the people and institutions that stubbornly hold on to them.

Punch-Card Accounting

Sparkler Filters of Conroe, Texas, prides itself on being a leader in the world of chemical process filtration. If you buy an automatic nutsche filter from them, though, they’ll enter your transaction on a “computer” that dates from 1948.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It: Ancient Computers In Use TodaySparkler Filters' IBM 402,

(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: ancient; ancientcomputers; computers; oldcomputers
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To: Erasmus

Knew a guy who worked for IBM in field service repairing copiers. Same problem with competitors’ toner. He’d come in on a service call and change the toner. When the customer asked what was wrong, all he was allowed to say was, “I changed the toner.”


41 posted on 02/20/2012 11:45:57 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Ceterum autem censeo, Obama delenda est.)
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To: Erasmus

42 posted on 02/20/2012 11:48:59 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Ceterum autem censeo, Obama delenda est.)
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To: duckman

“can current programmers read ‘core dumps’ understand machine language and op codes etc? just askin.”

Nope. They even mock those that can. They think “var x = 1;” is complex programming. They don’t even have to define the variable type for x, they just let the compiler do it.


43 posted on 02/20/2012 12:01:12 PM PST by CodeToad (NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!)
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To: CodeToad

“They even mock those that can.”
Just curious, why is that? I felt comfortable with Assembler because you pretty much had a one to one relationship with the source and machine language code. You were certain of what your code was executing as opposed to compiler source.


44 posted on 02/20/2012 12:08:52 PM PST by duckman (Go Newt...)
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To: duckman

Ego. Arrogance. They want to feel like the most capable heroes, yet, they lack basic computer skills. It really doesn’t take much to make a web site or program basic user interfaces. In fact, any kid can do it because it is so easy. So, they defend their fragile egos by mocking. Remember, most programmers fit the Gen Y mold perfectly: You have to congratulate them on not pissing on themselves when they go to the bathroom or else they feel you are being mean to them.


45 posted on 02/20/2012 12:24:02 PM PST by CodeToad (NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!)
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To: duckman
Being a retired Sys/App Assembler programmer from days gone by, can current programmers read ‘core dumps’ understand machine language and op codes etc? just askin.

Several years ago I was on an airplane with a recent computer science graduate. I asked him how he liked assembly language. He looked at me like I was speaking Swahili. He had NO IDEA what assembly language was.

What the heck are they teaching for 4 years ?

46 posted on 02/20/2012 12:40:22 PM PST by jimt (Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Ahhh..I’ve never seen the 96-column gauge before.

This one appears to have holes punched in the gauge; the 80-column type just had rectangles in black oxide on the surface.

But this one seems to have the punched alignment bosses just like the original kind.


47 posted on 02/20/2012 12:40:37 PM PST by Erasmus (Able was I ere I saw this crappy little island.)
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To: duckman
Being a retired Sys/App Assembler programmer from days gone by, can current programmers read ‘core dumps’ understand machine language and op codes etc? just askin.

Several years ago I was on an airplane with a recent computer science graduate. I asked him how he liked assembly language. He looked at me like I was speaking Swahili. He had NO IDEA what assembly language was.

What the heck are they teaching for 4 years.

48 posted on 02/20/2012 12:41:42 PM PST by jimt (Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.)
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To: duckman
Being a retired Sys/App Assembler programmer from days gone by, can current programmers read ‘core dumps’ understand machine language and op codes etc? just askin.

Do they even own six colors of flair pen?

≤}B^)

49 posted on 02/20/2012 12:42:24 PM PST by Erasmus (Able was I ere I saw this crappy little island.)
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To: jimt

“Why, he so dumb, he think dat Assembly Language is when de Principal get up to talk.”


50 posted on 02/20/2012 12:47:47 PM PST by Erasmus (Able was I ere I saw this crappy little island.)
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To: Erasmus

“Do they even own six colors of flair pen?”
To make matters more difficult, when IBM was on a ‘paper recycle kick’, back in the late 70’s, you had your ‘memory dumps’ put on to micro fiche.


51 posted on 02/20/2012 12:52:10 PM PST by duckman (Go Newt...)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Interesting, although the shopping doesn’t work.


52 posted on 02/20/2012 1:45:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv (FReep this FReepathon!)
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To: Erasmus

ROFL!


53 posted on 02/20/2012 1:50:20 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: SunkenCiv
Hmmm....

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Geez ....wonder what happened to these Guys.

54 posted on 02/20/2012 1:58:55 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: dangerdoc; MarkL

I am still using OS/2 works really well on a core-due with 4g of ram, but its now called ecs. lots of programs are being ported over even openoffice


55 posted on 02/20/2012 2:05:46 PM PST by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: jimt

Assembly is mostly unnecessary. I took the course way back when but haven’t used it since.


56 posted on 02/20/2012 2:06:11 PM PST by Lazamataz (If you only think about a diet, only your brain loses weight.)
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To: duckman
Being a retired Sys/App Assembler programmer from days gone by, can current programmers read ‘core dumps’ understand machine language and op codes etc? just askin.

If it's a 'core dump' from an IBM mainframe I can still read it. I'm retired too, but some things just stick with you. Trouble is, someone stole my Decimal/Octal/Hex calculator some years back so it might take me a bit longer. :)

57 posted on 02/20/2012 2:09:16 PM PST by ken in texas
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To: Lazamataz
Assembly is mostly unnecessary. I took the course way back when but haven’t used it since.

I use it every day to program the ATTinyXX parts. I could use C but the results are kind of bloatsome.


58 posted on 02/20/2012 2:16:33 PM PST by Mycroft Holmes (<= Mash name for HTML Xampp PHP C JavaScript primer)
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To: FReepers; All

DONATE

Best do it to retire HAL :^)

59 posted on 02/20/2012 2:17:13 PM PST by The Cajun (Palin, Free Republic, Mark Levin, Newt......Nuff said.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

“Document not found”

http://www.amiga.com/shop


60 posted on 02/20/2012 2:22:27 PM PST by SunkenCiv (FReep this FReepathon!)
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