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But you get to cuss at compilers and machines because they do what you instruct rather than what you want!And shooting com[puteers isn't illegal.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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I've usually been on the anoyying end of things,
I usually laugh at people who annoy me, but that appears to be more annoying than ignoring them.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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The first computer I laid my hands on was a Sinclair ZX81 (black and white), I was fascinated and got hooked on Basic programming. Did not think I would be doing this as a profession later on in life, evolved from Basic to VB, VB.NET and finally C#.
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I went the same path but started with a commodore 64 and went via SuperBase before I got into VB.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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SuperBase rings a bell with me, I had that on my Atari 1040ST but never did anything useful with it.
Later on I thought DbaseIII+ was more interesting because of job opportunities, and to my amazement I got a job as a database programmer pretty quick !
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Guess that's why I never had a Commodore
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When: Sometimes in 1981,82,83-ish (sinclair, Apple II...). and after that, university by the start of the 90's
Why: Because it was supposed to be the thing of the future, and I (well, my parents helped a bit) had to start learning it.
I'd rather be phishing!
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When: 1983-4.
Why: Because you can't do much else with a Commodore 64, its programming manual and a tape drive.
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When? Back in the late '70s at University.
Why? "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting".
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: with no heavy lifting
Unless you had one of those "boat anchor" portable computers.
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Hah! In those days you needed a crane to change the disk!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I remember the Kaypro!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Mycroft Holmes wrote: Kaypro
Yes! And the Osborne!
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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The Osborn was portable. If you had a forklift.
Sometimes the true reward for completing a task is not the money, but instead the satisfaction of a job well done. But it's usually the money.
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1984 if I remember well. A fantastic ZX Spectrum 48K. BASIC, Forth and Assembly.
Why? Fashinated by videogames!
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When: Spring 1980
Why: Because it was interesting (it became less interesting in college later that year because they used [time shared] mainframes and mainframes bored me and still do.)
I continued doing it because it's one thing I'm very good at and which pays the bills. One could argue that it's the only thing I'm very good at.
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Late 80s on a commodore64. I was sick of repeatedly estimating the number of tiles on a roof, and getting it wrong. The application reduced my error rate from about 20% to 5% and those were transposition errors because I had to write up the order manually.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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I learned in 1967, because I wanted to learn about those newfangled compputer machines. I started getting paid to program in 1972 when I took a job to pay for my university studies.I tutored and taught FORTRAN for several years, then worked for a research commision writing FORTRAN and Algol programs. I started a software business in 1990 after working as an engineer for 15 years.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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Walt:
Like you, I started in 1968 when I took a Fortran programming course at IIT. I went on to start writing programs at Argonne National Laboratory for nuclear reactor data collection and simulation. Data collection was done in assembly language for a HP 2115 mini-computer; simulation was done in PL/I on an IBM 360 Model 95 (the super-computer of the day).
When Tricky Dicky got elected, our budget was trashed, so I went to work at GTE writing factory automation software for the IBM 1800, Data General Nova, DEC PDP-11, and a few off-brands that nobody has ever heard of.
I found I had a knack for developing operating system software and communications systems. So I started my own software business in 1980. I learned that I liked sales, contract negotiation and writing, development, and a lot of other things -- except for people management! People management took me a looonnnnng time to learn and appreciate.
For me, learning a new language or system has always been a piece of cake which I attribute to a solid foundation in assembly language.
I still do a lot of development on both Windows and Linux systems. The hardest part for me nowadays is the circular definition that all too many people use in their documentation. E.g. "FunctionA -- Invokes FunctionA". Usually lacks any explanation of what FunctionA does, how it does it, what the parameters are, return values and conditions, etc.
To me, I want to know the internals so I can be effective and efficient. But that goes against many modern management and implementation models.
I could say a lot more...but I won't.
My only serious career regret is that I was writing an OS for the Intel 8080 at the same time Bill Gates was writing DOS. My system supported real-time, interrupt driven multi-tasking and multi-programming. I did mine under exclusive contract and did not retain rights of ownership -- Gate was smarter! The company subsequently went out of business. (I could have been rich!)
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Because I needed a job and there was good money to be made in IT
I actually learned on the job (and in my spare time after I got my first job).
I liked it, it kind of stuck, and I've been doing it happily ever after
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The year was 1992. It was DOS on a IBM386. My dad was a programmer back then, so I learned a few nifty things using his class notes...I ended up studying it in college after my hopes to pursue a career in aviation got crushed. But hey, 10 years into doing this for a living, no regrets!
WHY?
Because this world needs more people doing good things to make a difference.
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