Cleopatra's gems rise from the deep

London Times ^ | 5/11/06 | Roger Boyes

[John O]

I'm certain that almost nobody under the age of 50 would have the slightest idea how to use them.

I'm 45. I still remember some of it. Got one around here somewhere (in a nice gray plastic case)

[hedgetrimmer]

A diver from Goddios team brings a white marble head to the surface. The piece of find originates from the Roman period that antique city Canopus

[hedgetrimmer]

Here's another pic

[Old Student]

"And then in 77 or 78 when the Radio Shack TRS 80 computers came out and they cost more than most cars did at the time."

More like '76. I had one of the first 500 built, and they cost $600. Cars were in $2700-5000 range then, IIRC. (New, as my TRS 80 was.) 4K level-1 basic. Later I expanded it to 16K, when the price of memory dropped to where that was $100. I had the $1000 expansion box a couple of years later, a year or so after they were introduced; it was pretty flakey, and I never got a floppy drive for it, but I had 48K of memory by then.

I wanted one of the HP calculator wrist watches; those were also about $600, now you can get something like it, but much more powerful, for a couple of dollars. My, how times change.

BTW, my old TRS-80 is still functioning at my BIL's house. He had to put about $200 into repairing it after a lightning strike in the early 80's, or so I'm told.

[wagglebee]

You're right, I went back and did some research, it was the Level II model with the options that wound up being over $3000.00

[Old Student]

Yep. They were intended as business computers, competing with DEC's PDP-series minicomputers and the like. (and the Apple LIsa? that may have been later...) Those were around $10K or so for a 4K machine with no I/O. My wife, who is much younger than I, has a slide rule, though, and I've got a book on how to use them. We got them for Y2K, mostly as a joke. She took hers to school one day, in addition to her TI-83+ Silver edition...

I intended to put them in a glass case with an "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY..." sign on them, but she wouldn't let me. ;)

We got ours off EBay, they are probably still available there, if nowhere else.

[fuzzthatwuz]

"Won't they please bring it to Bakersfield???"

I heard that Oildale, Arvin or Cottentown had priority.Of course Pumpkin Center is also holding out for a better offer!

[bannie]

I was really hoping for McFarland--if not there, then Weedpatch.

;-p

[fuzzthatwuz]

As Martha S. would say, "Weedpatch is a good thing!