↓
 

Keeping up to date

Head Rambles Posted on by

How times have changed.

Back when I first started working in IT, very few people at work had computers.  I was plonked in front of a monitor and keyboard that worked off the mainframe.  Very dull.

Then a few PCs started to appear, usually in managers’ offices – the very people who were least likely to adapt.  How the fuck could they run a computer when they couldn’t run a department?

Some bright spark then connected the company network to a phone line – the Interweb had arrived!

No one had a clue about this newfangled Interweb thingy so demand was light.  This was just as well, as the PCs were all running Windows 3.1 which, like everyone else, didn’t know the Interweb existed.  To connect, each PC had to have a piece of software [an IP stack, for you geeks] and a browser installed.  Also each machine had to have its memory upgraded [to 16Mb if I remember correctly].  For some strange reason, this became my job. 

So there I was, running around the place with my stash of floppy disks and memory chips, not only having to upgrade all the machines but give fucking training as well.  This was actually quite good craic as all the men wanted was access to porn, which of course I gave them in spades.  Productivity in those offices dropped dramatically.

The phone line to the outside world of course had to be upgraded.  When the company switched up to a 256Kb Interweb connection there was much rejoicing.

Windows 95 made an appearance, but not in the company.  Their attitude was that 3.1 worked so why run the risk of changing, particularly as it would mean training everyone in the new setup.  A few of us in IT got pissed off with this and upgraded ourselves to NT.  There was even reputed to be a PC somewhere in Engineering running Linux but we ignored that.  Some things are too geeky even for a geek.

By this time I had discovered The Bastard Operator from Hell and was busily training my IT colleagues in BOFH techniques.

I eventually left the organisation in search of something better – early retirement!

I wonder if they ever upgraded their Windows?

They have probably upgraded to Windows XP by now.

I hope so.

 

 

Comments

Keeping up to date — 14 Comments

  1. Windows 3.1? Those were the days.

    Microsoft “You can multitask!”

    Me “If I’m willing to wait 30 minutes for the second app to load, sure.”

    Nope, don’t miss those days.

      • Back when I got ‘back into computers’ *cringe* in ’03  -my kids having persuaded me, their ever mug-able Dad, to buy a win 95 PC ‘for their school work’, that some mate was flogging for £50 as his parents had upgraded to a win98 machine. It arrived broken and after the obligatory ‘DaaaaAAd can you fix it?!?’ and my COMMAND to ‘Bring me my Broadsword tool box!’ I discovered computers had progressed a bit since the days when I had bought the kids a 2nd hand ZXSpectrum+ to play games on. I decided it would be a really good idea to download 3.1 and then 95 etc etc etc so as to get the hang of all this ‘windows stuff’ ….all on floppies. Great fun and got my DOS back up to scratch.

        Something perhaps for the grandkids of a wet and dark winter’s evening? Get an old box and teach them to use floppies etc. Keep their little minds off sexting.

        Hmmm ‘Bringing up kids the GIGO Way’… “Yes you may have a computer in your bedroom when you have a built a Win 3.1 box from scratch out of parts from the Car Boot”.

         

         

        • First PC I ever laid my hands on, the first thing I managed to do was reformat the hard disk.  I learned a lesson there.

          As for the suggestion of building from floppies – when did you last see a machine with a floppy drive?!  [I have a couple of spares if you want ’em?]

          • first thing I managed to do was reformat the hard disk

            *SNAP* well almost; in ’04 or there abouts I got given 16 bit rig that some neighbour had found in his shed. It had a funny button on the front…..

            That was annoying. But not as annoying as the time i thought ‘i’ll just see if this expensive 2+ GHZ cpu chip works, no need to worry about a heat sink or slap, just a quick boot up’….hmmmm that went well..

          • when did you last see a machine with a floppy drive?!

            Not for a whiles now…well actually since last week when Aged Mother asked me if I could find a use for her old Dell Optiplex running Win2K but last time I attempted clearing out The Cupboard Of Doom I did unearth my old Mulinux floppy…(yes boys and girls, an entire OS on a 1.4 floppy, I recall it often when I fire up my live usb of 2 gigs of Mint18 ‘SillyMoon’ or whatever it is called ).

              • Buy? BUY?!?!? Are you out of your fucking Irish mind?!?!? PAY for software?!? No doubt with actual real money I’ll be bound?!?!?

                I am offended.

                Last time i bought software was a WindowsME pirate CD from a carboot years back because the seller assured me that the crackers had also taken the time to sort out some of the bugs, and they had, only copy of ME that ever ran half way right….on a good day…with a fair wind…

                Software is art and art should be free, damn you! 😛

                If the Lord had meant me to buy software, however archaic, he wouldn’t have given us usenet , torrents and rabidgaydar. Next you’ll be telling me there are people who actually buy DVDS of movies (actually Crippled Son has made it his mission in life to buy a copy of every single movie dvd/bluray ever made, much to my chagrin, but then again he’s a spaz so I suppose allowances might be made).

  2. G.D. 

    My eternal thanks for introducing me to  ‘The Bastard Operator from Hell’ , brilliant site !

    This gentleman seems to share many of your qualities – Close relative ?

    • No relationship alas.  He was however an inspiration for us all in those early days.  The original “Blog”?

      • I have no love for Microsoft, but in fairness I understand that although XP is no longer supported they were aware of the vulnerability and issued a security patch which, rather obviously, seems to not have been applied by many IT managers in the NHS. Those managers should now be fired. End of.

        The problem, of course, is the cost of upgrading the hardware to run the latest ‘safe’ versions of Windows. That why they’re still on XP.

        • On the German TV news the other night they interviewed a Russian IT expert as to why the Russians seemed so relaxed about the Cyber-geddon sweeping across the globe, killing kittens and small children. I found his answer interesting; which was that for some time now Russia has been replacing it’s IT systems with a Russian made OS.

          Unfortunately the report didn’t go into details but I wonder if the NHS might like to consider it’s own OS, linux based, for all it’s machines that are internet connected (I doubt that ‘medical machine’ software , for scanners and xrays,  works on anything but MS or Apple but they should be closed systems anyways). Do GPs really need to use Windows ? Does the Pharmacist?

Hosted by Curratech Blog Hosting
↑