took computer courses in college, when core memory was the the thing..ferrite cores on a wire frame..
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There's the problem right there - college courses instead of real life. And it would seem whatever the educational institution, it was a tad behind the technical times; by 1977 there were even some cool home PCs that looked like the below. A bit more than a wire frame and a few electrical parts thrown together.

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One of our engineers brought his PET to work.
People were standing around gaping at it in awe..................