Post ARyiCA9oGAryECPG08 by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
(DIR) More posts by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
(DIR) Post #ARxSAQYWWhXU5F9mPg by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-24T04:59:56Z
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Amazing #Retrocomputing https://youtu.be/KA4Z7n_I14A
(DIR) Post #ARxSARFPxDqmEHE2Gu by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-24T05:06:20Z
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The Motorola 6809 processor was way ahead of other 8-bit CPUs but never became popular because it was relatively expansive. My SuperPET has a 6809 as one of its two CPUs (the other is a MOS 6502). To switch between the CPUs there’s a literal clunky hardware switch on the outside of the computer.
(DIR) Post #ARxSARkG6YWJlvefLN by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T05:12:12Z
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@thomasfuchs Ugh, I loved the PET *so much* as a kidThat machine, more than anything else on the planet, got me it a life-long fascination with computation
(DIR) Post #ARxTN31XQfR6oqJGt6 by tuckerteague@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T05:25:23Z
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@clive @thomasfuchs 9th grade computer class, 1979, I learned to write BASIC on one of these.
(DIR) Post #ARxUHE2LfacdByTbDE by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T05:35:58Z
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@tuckerteague @thomasfuchs I was in grade 6 in 1979, but yeah, same deal
(DIR) Post #ARxcq1Hnrrw7Pno7iS by adaddinsane@mastodonapp.uk
2023-01-24T07:11:53Z
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@clive @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs I'd been coding for ten years by 1979.Still writing code today.Hey-ho.
(DIR) Post #ARxcsam6tNec3qD4Wu by Paul@social.lightlyseared.online
2023-01-24T06:40:06Z
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@thomasfuchs That takes me back. The PET was the first computer I encountered, and the one that more than anything triggered my fascination with the things.
(DIR) Post #ARyNIgKdRyn4iRjlfE by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T15:47:31Z
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@adaddinsane @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs Right on!
(DIR) Post #ARyNxw7deAJTYtKVXs by DarkWraithLord@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T06:17:47Z
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@tuckerteague @clive @thomasfuchs even in 88 we were still programming in BASIC 🤣
(DIR) Post #ARyNxweFguOvC2aYNc by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T15:49:30Z
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@DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs People are still writing it today! Visual Basic, anywayI know of mid-sized firms where their entire business processes are running on these *janky* VB apps written 15 years ago .... 30,000 lines of spaghetti code, all global variables, just a total messBut it teeters along
(DIR) Post #ARyQ2QIjaGRkE7mqnY by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-24T16:08:31Z
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@clive @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague As long as software is well tested, either by actual tests or by decades of use—it doesn’t matter how it’s written.
(DIR) Post #ARyQMg1SqEvQmHMnFw by DarkWraithLord@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T16:10:29Z
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@thomasfuchs @clive @tuckerteague Cobol is still around and I always wanted to learn it too
(DIR) Post #ARyQMgS3FOC06jo1hI by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:17:11Z
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@DarkWraithLord @thomasfuchs @tuckerteague It's so damn interestingI wrote a big piece about it a few years ago: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/cobol-controls-your-money
(DIR) Post #ARyQUGFCZLBD8zPOvA by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:18:01Z
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@thomasfuchs @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague Yeah, it works for those firms, so that's all that matters!
(DIR) Post #ARyQcy7lJA5TYI55IP by danhon@dan.mastohon.com
2023-01-24T16:28:26Z
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@clive @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs Whole governments, even!
(DIR) Post #ARyRdOH8B94Gc2EDBo by danhon@dan.mastohon.com
2023-01-24T16:30:56Z
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@clive @DarkWraithLord @thomasfuchs @tuckerteague this breakfast thought your fault, Clive: https://dan.mastohon.com/@danhon/109745131308368815
(DIR) Post #ARyS18HjHYBPy9pTUG by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:33:55Z
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@danhon @DarkWraithLord @thomasfuchs @tuckerteague cosign, I dig it
(DIR) Post #ARySIdvcsxmj25q9oG by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T16:35:50Z
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@danhon @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs heh heh yes
(DIR) Post #ARySxGfQH8ZMlIdHmK by DarkWraithLord@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T16:47:51Z
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@clive @thomasfuchs @tuckerteague Nice, going to read it today!
(DIR) Post #ARyXoYXqw5qLNEl0Pg by Andrewhinton@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T17:50:11Z
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@clive @danhon @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs I had a client a while back that had grown a $30 million business on a Microsoft Access database — one giant table, growing like a slime mold for 20 years. Some years earlier they’d moved it to a PostgreSQL to “speed it up” 😅
(DIR) Post #ARyZ7oyIBeU3m9sG4e by DarkWraithLord@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T18:04:53Z
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@clive @thomasfuchs @tuckerteague Clive, what a great read. Must have taken some time to write all of that. It’s so interesting the views of others considering old stable code and the new flashy code. I’m in the old stable code camp 😂
(DIR) Post #ARydos6inqFXlpbHzE by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T18:54:14Z
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@DarkWraithLord @thomasfuchs @tuckerteague So glad you dug it!!
(DIR) Post #ARyeKDlgJqVhvWhw5Q by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-24T17:58:05Z
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@Andrewhinton @clive @danhon @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague Microsoft Access might be my favorite programming environment of all time. Fully featured apps (full access to Windows APIs etc), even multi-user over the network, all with literally just a single file that you can copy around. Database design and reporting features second to none.
(DIR) Post #ARyeKEDgdiubKNoIjo by DarkWraithLord@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T17:59:58Z
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@thomasfuchs @Andrewhinton @clive @danhon @tuckerteague We use it at work for many administrative tasks but mostly because it works well with all the other Microsoft and Windows environments.
(DIR) Post #ARyeKEhoph0yppuMhk by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-24T18:00:52Z
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@DarkWraithLord @Andrewhinton @clive @danhon @tuckerteague I have to preamble with that I haven’t used it since the 90s
(DIR) Post #ARyeKFFqnAEkXNpXkW by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T18:55:03Z
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@thomasfuchs @DarkWraithLord @Andrewhinton @danhon @tuckerteague I totally get the idea that Access would be used in incredibly powerful -- and sprawling -- ways
(DIR) Post #ARyfgZFbECQEsXvABc by Andrewhinton@mastodon.social
2023-01-24T19:09:22Z
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@clive @thomasfuchs @DarkWraithLord @danhon @tuckerteague over the years it’s been used by departments & teams in enterprises to cobble together their own db to get stuff done, due to lack of IT priority, and when it’s successful it just keeps going (like Excel, but more scale)
(DIR) Post #ARygHGoKkWyIP4fWfw by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T19:25:00Z
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@Andrewhinton @thomasfuchs @DarkWraithLord @danhon @tuckerteague Yep yepDatabases are powerful -- as I often say, 95% of silicon valley's products do nothing more than allow you to a) put something in a database and b) retrieve itSo any toolset (Access, Filemaker pro, and these days stuff like Airtable) that let employees quickly create a database for their own specific gnarly purpose ...... they're going to jump on it
(DIR) Post #ARyiCA9oGAryECPG08 by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-24T19:46:30Z
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@clive @Andrewhinton @DarkWraithLord @danhon @tuckerteague Exactly.
(DIR) Post #ARyvn2c2ZYEywnWhEW by danhon@dan.mastohon.com
2023-01-24T19:47:22Z
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@thomasfuchs @clive @Andrewhinton @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague also why most people treat spreadsheets like databases anyway
(DIR) Post #ARyvn3AQVhkKfRc9pY by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-24T22:18:11Z
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@danhon @thomasfuchs @Andrewhinton @DarkWraithLord @tuckerteague yep yep
(DIR) Post #AS2lJZWFRLy7PNxx7g by N4g41n4@mastodon.social
2023-01-26T12:56:12Z
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@tuckerteague @clive @thomasfuchs I learned BASIC on a trash80 very few kids in my school had computers
(DIR) Post #AS2lJkpROKrCU61w48 by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-26T18:38:12Z
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@N4g41n4 @tuckerteague @thomasfuchs TRS 80, a venerable machine
(DIR) Post #AS2lhWlVKZX7ojWbZY by thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io
2023-01-26T18:41:44Z
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@clive @N4g41n4 @tuckerteague Best computer nickname of all time
(DIR) Post #AS2mcaGJ0CnLAW8e8m by clive@saturation.social
2023-01-26T18:54:59Z
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@thomasfuchs @N4g41n4 @tuckerteague heh heh yeah