old magazine

From: Ward Donald Griffiths III <gram_at_cnct.com>
Date: Mon Aug 31 15:06:13 1998

Max Eskin wrote:
>
> Well, all of the college guys down here are moving and that means
> lots of trash. I picked up an old magazine, Popular Computnig, from
> 1983. This issue deals with programming languages, all sorts of
> comparisons and advice about them. I've never before seen a computer
> magazine of this age, and I found it quite fascinating. There was an
> article about 'Why you should learn to program', the depth of which
> was immense compared to modern magazines. But the letters to the
> magazine show that people were'nt any smarter back then, just more
> curious and thoughtful. I laughed when I saw this letter:
> "I opened up my computer, and found the 6502 processor. Could I get
> speed gains by replacing it with an 8088 or 8086?" At least they
> know the numbers. Good thing they went to the trouble of checking.
> Too bad intel decided to drop numbers and use meaningless names.
> When did the downward trend in magazines occur, or was it a steady
> process? Another question: I found a VGA monitor in the trash. It hasn't
> been dropped and works fine, but the glass is scratched from being
> dragged on the sidewalk. Is prone to implosion?

1983? By then the magazines had been going downhill for about a year
but there were still quite a few good ones. Not like now when the
only magazines I don't throw away (almost before reading) are Linux
Journal and SysAdmin. Sad to say, but except for the adverts in the
magazines, the best computer information available these days is
on-line. And there's still a lot of garbage to sift before you find
the treasure.
-- 
Ward Griffiths <mailto://gram_at_cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/>
When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked me if I had any
firearms with me.  I said "Well, what do you need?"  --  Steven Wright
Received on Mon Aug 31 1998 - 15:06:13 BST

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