Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Four

[CasketWeaver]

@MikeE3 yeah but when you look at that photo - there's a hint of what the future was holding. Although not very portable, at least not to me, it was a gateway to the mobile computing age. So even the older generation knew what was going to happen. The newer generation just took it, added an integrated keyboard (to include ACTUAL keyboards AND DIGITAL), a touch sensitive screen, faster computing power, a lot more storage space, and a hell of a lot larger battery capacity and out came the laptop and tablet.

So... for those who have to carry around their computers or tablets for work (I used to - both in the military while we were stateside and when working for Dell) we can either curse you for that... or thank you for it. I'll say thanks because I couldn't imagine carrying around something that could do math slower than me all day.

 

[clnire]

We recently put up an antenna to get local shows and news. We are planning on dropping Dish and just going antenna and Internet. We do have to have DSL reinstated (no cable out here) but we are tired of raising rates, nothing worth watching, and storms taking the show we were watching in the last 5 minutes.. We are really liking the local/Gainesville news better than the shock and awe violence of the Orlando stations! Plus we get local advertisements and info.

 

[Janet H]

That will be done tomorrow at our house - I have a friend that leaves hers up until February - she takes it down after her birthday party...

My mother had a crazy friend who would leave hers up till Easter. The priest thought she was kidding until he stopped over one day at Easter - yep, the tree was still up sans needles. What a character she was!

 

[MikeE3]

Oh my ... the deck really was stacked against us to 'not smoke'.

 

[Semiretired]

So... for those who have to carry around their computers or tablets for work

He He - remember the early laptops - I think they weighed about 20 or 30lbs...

 

[Debadoo]

Hey, you just got here - you cant' go runnin off already...

I was on here for a few hours, and......apparently I can.......cuz I did!

referring to the GPU's

I don't even know what a GPU is......anything like a CPU?

crap. i multi-posted as if i was Deb

Good Job!!

This was my 1st Portable, a Comodore 64.

I think my SIL had one of those one time when she moved in with me. she could do some stuff on it, but I had no clue. First computer I got had win 3.1 I think. It was before 95 whatever it was and was around 1995

Time to take the tree down. Christmas has got to go.

jup, son is off on Monday, but dil goes back to work that day and gd goes back to school, so looks like he and I have that on our to do list for Monday. I think I quit turning the lights on the day after Christmas.

It's still there...I can't get rid of it!!!

Good!!! I like being able to see if you're online or not! Quit tryin to hide.

 

[Fuzzy Thunderbear]

Paid more for that basic computer than I have for my last 3 laptops combined... Almost had to take out a second mortgage to afford them..

Remember when the CEO of IBM stated, emphatically, that no one would ever have a computer in their home? At that time, a "computer" was multiple banks of relays that took up a whole warehouse and today, we all have greater computer power in our wristwatches. Where'd we get all this microscopic technology? Aliens, I tell ya...

 

[Fuzzy Thunderbear]

we had to do a basic program as part of math class

I remember doing a cutesy electronics project for the Trig class during my senior year to show them how easy it was to get rid of their slide rules (remember those?). I built a SAMDIAC (Subtracting Adding Multiplying Dividing Integrated Analog Computer - basically three potentiometers, hand-drawn 0-10 scales around them, a leveling meter, a 9V battery, a switch, and a handful of resistors). I got extra credit in the math class and the electronics class. Darn thing actually worked too. Yeah, folks, no one had a calculator. The cheapest one available back then was $350 (HP, I think) and even the school couldn't afford that.

 

[CasketWeaver]

@Debadoo Yes... the GPU is like the CPU. They function almost identically - the take input, convert it, then deliver the output for you. However, their uses are totally different. The CPU (central processing unit) is what it says it is. Basically from a simple perspective, it's silicon based mathematical calculator that receives information from various components of the computer and fires the instructions back at those components to perform their needed task. The GPU (graphics processing unit) works the same way - but with a twist - it send instructions to the CPU, the CPU responds, the information is then converted, and sent to the monitor in the form of visuals. Everything you see on screen is the product of the GPU. It's a very DELICATE device as well. Built around the same ideals of the CPU - it just draws things for you at break neck speeds.

Most people believe the CPU is the brains and the GPU(s) are the eyes... I think the CPU is more like the interpreter between different components - the brains of the computer is the CHIPSET. As it receives instructions from the CPU, Memory, Disk drives, and the CMOS (the computers OWN software section that basically CONTROLLS everything attached to the mainboard) and then receives the information from the CPU and delivers it back to it's original sender. But that's my take on it.

 

[Debadoo]

Thanks CW

 

[Fuzzy Thunderbear]

Yep, way back when Beaverton was a ways out from Portland! I did some assembly, then into QC & inspections.

I got into Tektronix through the back door - started in Beaverton as a night shift CNC drill operator in the circuit boards building, then stepped up to draftsman/illustrator, learned computers and became the company CAD instructor (Tek 4081 stand-alone - it was the size of a desk - which had me going to all their various locations), then technical writer for the computer sciences center, then transferred to the experimental division in Redmond as Technical Publications Manager, then Engineering Services Manager, then Government Contracts Programs Manager, then I ran away to Montana and Grand Canyon for a year and came back to help with a military manual and found myself running the software design efforts, then... well, after 20 years I moved on down the road and ran engineering at a dental equipment manufacturer. I sure miss the mental challenges of all those jobs.

 

[Semiretired]

Thanks CW

Did you get all that? There will be a test on it later...

 

[CasketWeaver]

Did you get all that? There will be a test on it later...

LOL! I don't quiz people. I got done with that stuff too getting out of the military. Quizzes... pshhh... testing is for suckahs!

 

[Semiretired]

LOL! I don't quiz people. I got done with that stuff too getting out of the military. Quizzes... pshhh... testing is for suckahs!

He He - I was trying to get a rise out of Deb - another frying pan incident coming in the near future...

 

[Robert Cromwell]

GPU's, DSP's....

 

[Kenna]

@Debadoo Yes... the GPU is like the CPU. They function almost identically - the take input, convert it, then deliver the output for you. However, their uses are totally different. The CPU (central processing unit) is what it says it is. Basically from a simple perspective, it's silicon based mathematical calculator that receives information from various components of the computer and fires the instructions back at those components to perform their needed task. The GPU (graphics processing unit) works the same way - but with a twist - it send instructions to the CPU, the CPU responds, the information is then converted, and sent to the monitor in the form of visuals. Everything you see on screen is the product of the GPU. It's a very DELICATE device as well. Built around the same ideals of the CPU - it just draws things for you at break neck speeds.

Most people believe the CPU is the brains and the GPU(s) are the eyes... I think the CPU is more like the interpreter between different components - the brains of the computer is the CHIPSET. As it receives instructions from the CPU, Memory, Disk drives, and the CMOS (the computers OWN software section that basically CONTROLLS everything attached to the mainboard) and then receives the information from the CPU and delivers it back to it's original sender. But that's my take on it.

Thanks, CW! I always think of a computer as a filing cabinet/desk. What you've described is the guy at the desk doing the work. We are just the button pushers.

 

[Sterno]

afternoon Kenna

 

[CasketWeaver]

Thanks, CW! I always think of a computer as a filing cabinet/desk. What you've described is the guy at the desk doing the work. We are just the button pushers.

Well if you look at it... technically... we are.

 

[CasketWeaver]

If I had to compare various (preferably the larger / most important) components it's be like this:

CPU - Albert Einsten (or whoever you idolize as a math wizard)
GPU - Bob Ross / Walt Disney (really... whatever artist, painter, sculptor, etc. you want it to be)
RAM - My great great grandmother - couldn't remember what she did .05 seconds ago - love you gramma! (please don't send the fist from heaven to punch me in the eye!)
HDD / SSD - The guy who remembers what you wore during your bachelor(ette) party 30+ years ago.
LAN / Modem - The mailman.
Chipset - My father (was the "jack-of-all-trades" kinda guy... and smarter than... well... me, I guess)
Power Supply - You first cup of coffee in the morning - you know... the one that punches you right in the soul and gets you motivated to move around.
Mainboard - The human body - missing any key organ or component will generally shut it down.
The various circuits, capacitors, and cooky electronics that reside on the board - any human body system that sends / receives information or fluid. (Circulatory system, central nervous system, etc.)

Too complex? Don't worry about it! That's what certified technicians are for! And people love us to death when we can fix it! They just don't like the bill.

 

[Kenna]

afternoon Kenna

Hi, Sterno! Happy New Year!