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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>Hi Steve,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>As much as I didn't want to continue this thread, I had to
pick up on the Osborne 1. In one of my first jobs after Uni (81/82) I introduced
one of these to NZI so they could do stuff outside the DP
Dept.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>I recall setting up a Supercalc spreadsheet to do branch
budgets, but the twin 380kb floppies could only hold about 3 branch files, so I
wrote a program in Basic to read these Supercalc files 3 at a time, prompting
for disk changes etc to consolidate the budgets for regional/NZ/Group totals
(about 50 branches from memory). What used to take them several days at each
regional centre took only minutes and they were sold.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>The tiny screen wasn't the best though for large
spreadsheets.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>Shortly after that I bought dBase, then Turbo Pascal (1) on
8" floppy....</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>And I still have a piece of core memory from the Uni
Burroughs B6700...it was a throwaway as too many of the fragile core rings
were broken.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>I keep it in a shoebox in the middle...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=852323620-01042009><FONT face=Verdana
color=#800000 size=2>Steve</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
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style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #800000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
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<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> Steve Peacocke
[mailto:steve@peacocke.net] <BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, 31 March 2009 12:57
p.m.<BR><B>To:</B> NZ Borland Developers Group - Delphi
List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [DUG] [DUG-Offtopic] new PC<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Oh dear Phil, you sound as young as I do.<BR><BR>How about the
Commodore Pet in 1979? then a soldered together computer from a kitset and
resembled a ZX80 and had a whole 1kb of memory to play with.<BR><BR>A couple
fo years later I remember a discussion with someone telling them for a serious
business computer you needed at least 16kb of memory and even a disc
drive.<BR><BR>I still have an early Osborne 1 computer - anyone with the old 8
inch floppy Panasonic lying around in a back bedroom?<BR><BR clear=all>Steve
Peacocke<BR><BR><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 10:47 AM, Phil Scadden <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A
href="mailto:p.scadden@gns.cri.nz">p.scadden@gns.cri.nz</A>></SPAN>
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid"><BR>>
ok, here we go then....... who had a a ZX81 then eh?? better
stil<BR>> who had a ZX81 with a 16kb expansion pack ?? (apart from
me)<BR>><BR>Nah, my tape-drive only TRS-80 was way cooler.
:-)<BR><BR><BR>--<BR>Phil Scadden, Senior Scientist GNS Science Ltd 764
Cumberland St,<BR>Private Bag 1930, Dunedin, New Zealand Ph +64 3 4799663,
fax +64 3 477 5232<BR><BR>Notice: This email and any attachments are
confidential. If received in error please destroy and immediately notify us.
Do not copy or disclose the
contents.<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>NZ
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