Podcast Hiatus

Well I know I said I'd have a Podcast up for this week, but Real Life 2.1 has kicked my butt. My work hours just haven't let me get the time I need to coordinate with my guests for the show and I really didn't want to just toss something together solo.

In addition to all this, I'm moving at the end of this week so that's going to kill any chance of getting a show out for next week as well since my machine may not even be setup in time.

So I'm declaring a short Podcast Hiatus and hope to be back with the first guest show two week from now. By then, I should have the new digs all setup and ready to get down to some serious podcasting and get back on a regular schedule.

Sorry for those expecting a podcast this week but that darn Real Life 2.1 with the expansion pack is a killer. Take care all and see ya in a couple of weeks.

No PodCast this Week

I've decided to take a week off from the podcasts for a couple of reasons. One is that I just started a new job and started out with a six day stretch which left me with very little time to work on the cast. Second is that the format is going to expand on the next cast to include guest(s) which is going to take some addition technical demands - which will take some additional time to configure.

So due to these factors, I felt taking a week off would be better the trying to jam something together at the last minute and compromise the quality of the show. So no cast this week - hope to be back this Saturday with a fresh new cast for your listening enjoyment.

See ya then!

Episode 3 - The Road: Final Part

Welcome to Episode 3 and the final part of "The Road", a personal look at the "Road of Computer Technology" as I've seen it over the last 30 years. In this episode, I look at the last days of the 8-bit personal computers, my very first IBM XT PC, Telephone BBS's, Early Internet, "Packet Racket" - Digital Communications over Amateur Radio and more.

Dungeons of Daggorath PC Port Web Site:
http://mspencer.net/daggorath/dodpcp.html
Game Intro Movie (IE required):
http://www.members.dragonwolves.com/marsman/nsv/

Software we used for R.A.C.U.G.
(Rockland Area Computer Users Group) BBS









Amateur Radio "Packet" Terminal Node Controller (TNC)







A "stack" of TNC's like you would see at a repeater site.

















Maine Packet Radio Map ('96): http://marsman.members.dragonwolves.com/96MAP.TXT

Next Week: Subject TBD, but will most likely will be the first show with guest(s).

See ya then!

Podcast: Episode 3 - The Road: Final Part

http://marsman.members.dragonwolves.com/Mars_Mumbles_Episode_3.mp3

Running Time: 34:04

Episode 2 - The Road: Part 2

We're back with Part 2 of The Road - a personal look at the road of technology as I've seen it over the last 30 years of being around computers.

This week takes a look at my experience in the military and my very first personal computer.

While today's military is far more current technology wise, back when I was in, the computer explosion hadn't quite begun and the military was a little behind.

Here is an IBM 360/30 (NASA used these to put man on the moon). You can see a couple of disk drives on the right with some tape units behind them. The main computer is the large box to the left with a teletype sitting in front.

Below is another picture of the main computer.





I couldn't find any pictures of the Honeywell H16 that I used in the Air National Guard, but it was a single box that looks similar to the IBM pictured here.

Below are pictures of a collator, sorter and a keypunch machine that initially makes the punch cards.

Take my word for it: Be glad we are done with the punch card days!

Here's what got everything started: The Tandy Radio Shack Model I (and II, III, and IV).

And the star of the show: The TRS-80 Color Computer Model I

Here a Floppy Drive and the Controller Pack along with an RS-232 Serial Interface Pack.

Here are some other pictures of Color Computer and some of the accessories available including the original CoCo 1 package with game packs, 1200 baud modem, the multi-pack expansion, a CoCo Mouse, a speech pack, and a CoCo 3 system which had a number of improvements such as 128k expandable to 512k, composite monitor out - 80 char capability and more.

You can see more at http://parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/coco/index.htm

Next Week: The first PC, Phone BBS's, Ham Radio and "Packet Racket" (Early Wireless), Internet, and Multi-Player Gaming.

See ya then!

Podcast: Episode 2 - The Road: Part 2

http://marsman.members.dragonwolves.com/Mars_Mumbles_Episode_2.mp3

Running Time: 37:21

PodCast! Episode 1 - The Road

Well here we are. The very first podcast. "The Road" is about my experiences growing up in an age when computers, as we know them, were born. In this show, I recall my first experience with a computer and what it was like back in the late seventies.

To the left here is a picture of an ASR-33 Teletype which is where I spend a fair amount of my high school years sitting behind. Running at a blistering 110 baud, it's a far cry from computing today but at the time it was quite advanced considering the state of computers at that peroid.

Missing from the picture is the acoustic coupler used to connect the phone that we used to dial up the Digital PDP-10 mainframe down at Bowdin College in Brunswick, Maine.



Here is picture of a stand-alone one. Ours was was attached to the right side of the teletype.




Here is another picture of an ASR-33 Teletype.

Quite the Beast eh?

Pictured below is a couple of pictures of what this thing was connected to...

A Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-10 MainFrame.

Sure glad they aren't this big today!

Next Week: Part Two of "The Road" where I'll talk a little about life after high school, my experiences in the Military and my very first personal computer.

See ya then!

PodCast: Epidode 1 - The Road

http://marsman.members.dragonwolves.com/Mars_Mumbles_Episode_1.mp3

Running Time: 25:29