July 31, 2009

Computing in the 1980s, Part III

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

There was no Internet back when I bought my first PC, but there were certainly computer modems.

The modem was not a popular peripheral. It was expensive and didn’t really deliver you anything; to use the modem one computer had to call another computer, often using your home’s only phone line. The communications was slow, too: 300 bps was the common speed, which is just a little bit faster than you can type and a whole lot slower than you can read.

In 1982, my mom bought me a modem, which was genius on her part even though she didn’t know squat about computers.

I couldn’t use the 300 bps modem it on my TRS-80 Model III because that computer lacked a serial (RS-232) port. So I had to buy one.

Rather than go with the Radio Shack RS-232, which cost $300 plus installation fees, I found a replacement RS-232 in the back of a TRS-80 magazine, 80-Micro. (I loved 80-Micro). The replacement was only $140. I remember voiding my Model III’s warranty to gingerly install the thing.

The modem was an auto-answer/auto-dial modem. That meant that the computer could dial the thing out. The other 300 bps modem that Radio Shack sold was the classic acoustic coupler, similar to the one Matthew Broderick used in the film War Games.

Acoustic couplers were very unpopular. They didn’t work with every phone, because back in the 1980s the federal government was in the process of breaking up the AT&T or “Ma Bell” monopoly. So you could buy any old phone you wanted to, which meant it might not fit into an acoustic coupler. Further, the noise in the room often disconnected the modem.

The world at 300 bps was rather dull. (We called it 300 Baud back then, which was incorrect but common.) I got a free CompuServe account with the modem. I remember reading “the news” online, but it was too slow to be useful.

Yes, everything was text. Computer graphics were clunky and, well, looked like computer graphics.

Eventually, bewildered with what I could do, I went back to Radio Shack (without telling them I installed an alien RS-232 in my computer) and asked for a list of things to call with my modem. They gave me a sheet of BBSs or Bulletin Board Services.

A BBS was a computer some company or more likely some individual set up allowing other computers to call in. Some operated only evening hours, but the good ones were 24-hours. Obviously they had a dedicated line.

Some BBSs only offered software, and downloading software was really popular. In fact, you could download any commercial program if you hunted for it long enough. But downloading was slow; at 300 bps, you could get a 16K program into your computer in about 16 minutes. That was a maddening time to wait.

The BBSs I frequented offered what could be considered the prototype of the modern chat room or blog, though only one person at a time could be online and post something. Still, there were some great debates online, even as today.

Back in the early 1980s, most of the BBS debate wars were of the “My computer is better than yours,” with the Commodore 64 users generally coming in last place (right behind us TRS-80 users). There were also the endless battles on gun control and other political topics. And just like today, someone eventually tossed out the word “Nazi” or “Adolph Hitler” to end an argument.

Next post I’ll talk about the dawn of the Internet, and the glory I had when I got my first 2400 bps modem.

3 Comments

  1. yesh, i could figure that BBS systems came out to be “My system is better than yours” kind of thing.

    Here is a list of waht I think each brand of computer was use for the most back in the 1980s:

    Apple ][: School computer
    IBM PC: Big corporations with big bucks
    Mac: Graphics people
    Commodore 64: Home
    Anything Else: home or someone who can’t get any of the other computers.

    and, I may have asked this before, but do you really shoot your old hard drives with a shotgun once they fall out of use?

    Comment by linuxlove — July 31, 2009 @ 11:06 am

  2. The Mac wasn’t known for Graphics at first. At first, in 1984, it was just an expensive and fun toy. Everyone wanted one. But they were pretty impractical for anything. That changed when Apple sold the LaserWriter in 1985 (or 86) and PageMaker came out. Then the Mac took off as a creative design tool. By 1988, when I bought my first Mac, it was well-established as a must-have for any graphics professional.

    And, no, I do not shoot the old drives with a shotgun. I use a .44 calibre revolver. 😉

    Comment by admin — July 31, 2009 @ 11:25 am

  3. These are very interesting articles, Dan! Thanks. 🙂

    Comment by Mel — August 1, 2009 @ 6:46 am

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