That's how I started, except I was doing O level computer studies and the punch room was in the local Poly computing centre. They may have been able to read tape by eye but we very quickly learned how important it was to distinguish O and 0, etc., as there was weeks turn around submitting the coding sheet in onbe weeks leson ang getting the results the following week. Thankfully we soon graduated from CESIL on paper tape to BASIC and punched cards that we could punch ourselves.
MBQ
My first job in 1974 was in Chancery Lane. First week there they sent me off on an errand to somewhere around Smithfield to collect a new calculator. I remember the Anita name, and how expensive, big and primitive it it soon seemed a few years later.
I had an IME86 with a row of Nixies for the display - heavy bastard it was!
cheers
Jules
Ah happy days. Large machines had an enormous 16 k of store, disks, when they arrived were 8mb. Programmers were employed with maths degrees solely to reduce the amount of store the programs needed. Microsoft could use that discipline. Paper tape and cards were the main input, though tape arrive a bit later.
Darren
Made one of those ~1970. 7490, 7492 & 74141? from bi-pak or was it bi-pre-pak, remember them? Prob is, I think Nixies are ~£10 each if you can find 'em, usually NOS.
In 1970 I surprised a roomful of people by doing exactly that on a visit to an office where there was a paper tape machine. That was the first time I'd encountered one - about half an hour previously. I just took it for granted that people could do that.
Not quite that much have a look on eBay. Depends on what size you want. =
Quite a few in the UK and as expected the ex USSR...
I like old display tech. I always wanted 81 of them to do a wall-mounted sudoku game, with a bunch of visible circuitry for control, but it's really one of those things where I'd do it if a box of 'em fell into my lap, but it'd be too expensive to buy them outright otherwise.
I do have a small handful which I salvaged from some old grain counters, so I'll make the customary Nixie clock at some point when I eventually ship them state-side.
cheers
Jules
Choose whichever model on Amazon reviews has unit price of 60p/GB or less and a 5* review. There are fakes and a handful of complete lemons so fragile that they fall apart when you breathe on them but these days they are consumer items and will last accordingly. I have yet to wear one out. Lost one from a pocket - yes. Beware of fake ones on eBay.
If you want one for ReadyBoost then you might need to pay a slight premium or wait for a special offer to come along. Patriot XTreme are fast and seem to resist wear and tear in a robust environment better than most. Best price performance is in the 8-16GB sizes at present.
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