| Though I'm in a remote part of Iraq now, I've been | | | | called environmental Chambers and it could get pretty |
| around computers since 1968. It doesn't seem that long | | | | cold in there. The computers needed to function the |
| ago to me. At that time, I was right out of tech school | | | | same way under different conditions. |
| and then hired by Honeywell, Inc. to work as an | | | | The computer programmers in those days had to put |
| engineering assistant. I was employed primarily at their | | | | all the data on those cards and it was time consuming. |
| Brighton, MA plant. Honeywell was constructing large | | | | Programs could take weeks to produce using this |
| mainframe computers in Framingham and Newton and | | | | process. Every company had to have several |
| some other sites too. The new systems such as the | | | | programmers, key punch operators, decollators' |
| 4200 and 8200 series, which were destined to be the | | | | operators and a host of other staff to complete basic |
| next big thing, were being built for the business market. | | | | operations. It required a whole computer dept. After |
| Home computers were not even thought about at that | | | | two years at Honeywell, I was drafted into the army |
| time. The average person could never afford the high | | | | during the Vietnam era. My overseas duty was spent |
| price tag in those days anyway. | | | | in Okinawa so I was one of the lucky ones. Upon my |
| The computers then were actually 3rd generation | | | | return to Honeywell, I went back to working on |
| computers that filled a large room along with all its | | | | computers. Two more years there and then I worked |
| peripheral equipment. Peripherals consisted of all the | | | | nine years in downtown Boston for an insurance |
| accessories needed such as the many floor tape | | | | company. I had worked as a computer operator on |
| decks, card readers, myler and paper tape punchers | | | | IBM systems and was later promoted to operations |
| etc. As technicians, we were using some older 2nd | | | | manager upon my graduation from college. Later I was |
| generation computers to help with debugging and | | | | an operations manager in CT on IBM and HP |
| testing of the memory drawers on the new larger | | | | mainframes. We used several workstations at |
| systems. We also used large oscilloscopes and | | | | locations that could communicate with the computer |
| multi-meters in testing our systems being constructed | | | | there via phone lines. |
| at the manufacturing plant. The high tech printers, at | | | | It wasn't until the early eighties that personal computers |
| that time, used Kleinsmith printers. These were one line | | | | started to appear on the market. First, they appeared |
| at a time, typewriter style printers. They were very | | | | in businesses and then to a number of homes. My first |
| slow, as you can imagine. | | | | home computer was a Gateway 486 with a very |
| Programs run on these older computing systems took | | | | slow processor - 33mhz. To get online, I used dial up |
| time to process the information that we had inputted. | | | | service using a slow modem and signed up with AOL |
| Some input was via card reader, other input by binary | | | | or CompuServe for service. Email was big as was |
| coding entered on a control panel. Some times, the | | | | computer game playing in the early days. The graphics |
| computing time took hours to run and then the output | | | | on line were almost non- existent with most every site |
| was no good and we'd have to start all over. Testing | | | | at that time only text base. Computers broke down |
| with an oscilloscope was to observe frequency | | | | regularly and it was important to understand DOS. |
| waves and determine if they were correct for the | | | | Other computer systems around then were the IBM |
| device and the amount of energy produced or applied. | | | | PC, the Packard Bell and a few old Commodores. Do |
| Voltages and resistance measurements were | | | | you remember the Wang computer? We truly have |
| determined by use of multimeters and other | | | | evolved now with our fast computers thanks to DSL |
| instruments. Still other testing was by operating under | | | | and cable services and good graphics. |
| excess heat and cooling temperatures. These were | | | | |