Sometimes we forget how much things have changed

[WDWHound]

The follow Quotes were taken from PC World Magazine NZ over the last 15 years. It's hilarious to look back and see how we saw things then and a bit startling to realize how much the world has changed in such a short time. (My comments are in Parenthesis)

July 1989
“The past 10 years have seen a dramatic increase in clock rates, from just under 5MHz for the original IBM PC to 33MHz for the latest 386 systems. This more than six-fold increase will not be repeated.” (the next 10 years saw a 15 fold increase)

Dec 1989/Jan 1990
“Processing speeds are now fast enough to satisfy all but the most exacting user.” (Remeber, were talking 33Mhz here)

Dec 1990/Jan 1991
“IBM’s new power offerings not only fill out its 486/PS2 range, but also set a new standard in monitor displays. Both models, the 25MHz, $26,270, and the 33MHz, $29,586, feature XGA with 16 colours standard, upgradeable to 256.” (Wow, 256 colors! I paid 1000 for my 2.6 GHz PC last year. Thats 100 times faster for 4% of the price of the 25Mhz PC quoted here)

July 1992
“Plug a 2.4kbit/s modem into your PC, jack into a telephone line and you’ve got access to Compuserve, the world’s largest online information service ... Compuserve’s $49 an hour is, after all, merely the cost of two large pizzas or a taxi ride to the airport. A free hour is provided with the $80 membership fee.” ($49 and Hour?! I now pay $40 for unlimited cable modem access to the net)

March 1993
“DOS is far from dead. In fact, it looks like it’s here to stay.”

May 1993
“Prices have fallen dramatically ... the HP PaintJet offers 300dpi colour for just $7395.” (the same level printer is now $79 at Best Buy)


April 1994
“What consists of 100,000 hosts and has an estimated 25 million users worldwide? The internet – it’s suddenly got big!” (They had no idea what "big" meant yet)

Dec 1994/Jan 1995
“Subtract the number of girlfriends/boyfriends/wives/husbands you’ve had from the number of computers you have owned. If the number is positive, you are a nerd.” (Yup, I'm a nerd. Ok this last one had nothing to do with how things have changed, but it was in the same article)

here is a link to the full atricle where I found these quotes if you're interested.
http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.ns...69a4007e4ab9/b28f47e0ac75bfddcc256eba0080fe2f!OpenDocument

 

[Deb in IA]

Wow!!

Interesting. Thanks, WDW Hound!!

 

[tandrjohn]

Good read. Thanks. I remember the good old days in high school programming BASIC on my Commadore Vic-20. Today my youngest daughters chew toy has more processing capability!

 

[binny]

wow! that was a fun read thanks!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>I remember when we all got Macs at work in 1990. I wouldn't touch mine for about a year, until it was mandated that we utilize them. And we had screens about 1/3 of the size I use now.

Now I'm on for several hours a day.

 

[Patch'sD]

At work I had the first IBM PC. Two 360 KB 5 1/4 Floppies, and I think 64 Kb Memory, and a monochrome display. Visicalc was the only application. Then upgraded to an XT with a 5 Mb Hard drive and RGB display. Bought an AT with XGA monitor, 10 Mb harddrive, 3 1/2 External drive and a top of the line 1200 Baud Modem. Used the Modem to hook up to Bullentin Boards for 2 Hour Downloads. Used Prodigy for Airline Reservations and News Service. I still have DOS 2.O on a 5 1/4 Floppy with no where to even put the disk in.

 

[barbeml]

This reminds me of the old anecdote about a member of Congress wanting to close down the US Patent Office in the early 1900s because "Everything has already been invented."

 

[Galahad]

Don't have a quote.....but I love all of the repeated predictions that last 20 years that the mainframe computer is dead. Sales of mainframes continue to go up every year and most large companies are still quite dependent upon them. Of course those coding for those mainframes are not located anywhere near them.....but that's another story.

 

[Cindy B]

I read that article previously. Its an interesting read.

I think about my old PC, and its processing capabilities. My calculator would put it to shame.