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1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

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Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#21

Post by InclinedPlane »

tmountain wrote: post #15
hypermatt wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The linux box was in his lab most likely in a private network, which he dialed into. He didn't dial into an isp.

Good point, but one could also take note of the number he dialed on the telephone in the video.

Indeed. It's pretty likely that voice number still has a 300 baud modem hooked up to it. Or... not.

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#23

Post by blhack »

cvg wrote: post #14
mgrouchy wrote: post #4

This is the most awesome thing I have seen in a long time.

Agreed. I love the craftsmanship. Who makes hardware that can last more than 45 years?

My current model M is going to turn 23 in April...I suspect that it will live to see 45.

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#24

Post by joshu »

TeHCrAzY wrote: post #9
jodrellblank wrote: post #3

I wish the idea of acoustic couplers still existed and was nicely integrated with things. Imagine the ease of technical support: Customer: Hello? I can't open this Excel file Me: OK, wave your phone near your computer for me {remote control established} No IE slowness, no reading URLs and passwords back and forth, no "did you notice the information bar" or plugin prompts or download prompts or email invitations stuck…

At 300 baud, you might be better off driving over.

why does it have to be 300 baud? it could just be a pairing code. the rest would occur over a faster connection.

you probably could do this with speaker and microphone...

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#25

Post by rimantas »

cvg wrote: post #14
mgrouchy wrote: post #4

This is the most awesome thing I have seen in a long time.

Agreed. I love the craftsmanship. Who makes hardware that can last more than 45 years?

Totally off-topic, but this reminded me Voyager-1… 32+ years on the road, still sending signals with its 23 watts radio from the distance more than 14 light-hours.

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#26

Post by nitrogen »

blhack wrote: post #23
cvg wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I love the craftsmanship. Who makes hardware that can last more than 45 years?

My current model M is going to turn 23 in April...I suspect that it will live to see 45.

The M is a nice keyboard. I'm typing on one right now. I think every programmer should own a model M. I expect to have this keyboard for the rest of my life, unless I decide to splurge on a Unicomp replacement some day.

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#27

Post by yardie »

blhack wrote: post #23
cvg wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I love the craftsmanship. Who makes hardware that can last more than 45 years?

My current model M is going to turn 23 in April...I suspect that it will live to see 45.

I love my Model M but I think this is the last go for it. It already has a DIN-PS2 adapter and now manufacturers are starting to drop the PS2 port (Dell). I feel like I get less enjoyment out of it each passing day. I have to switch to a quieter keyboard at night because of the tapping noise. And with more stuff showing up on my desk, more and larger displays, I'm running out of space.

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#28

Post by wanderr »

eru wrote: post #13
TeHCrAzY wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At 300 baud, you might be better off driving over.

With a station wagon full of tapes?

We actually got to put that in practice when we moved our servers to a new data center, although we used a uhaul. ~60tb in 1.5 hrs.

Re: 1964 Modem Reaches Out And Touches The Internet

#30

Post by jff »

jordanb wrote: post #18
jacquesm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's especially impressive is that the electrolytic capacitors in it haven't failed after all these years.

I wish he had opened it up and shown the insides. I bet it's some fantastic assemblage of point-to-point circuitry. They may have avoided having to use electrolytic capacitors. Or they might have used especially high-quality ones given that it was a specialized (and probably very expensive) piece of equipment. I would have expected such a device from 1964 to have at least a few tubs in it, but the fact that it didn't…

Transistor devices had been around for years at that point; we were already making transistor computers.

Also, electrolytic caps are pretty easy to replace--they're big, clearly labelled, and it's not like the functionality has changed (a 100 uF capacitor is still a 100 uF capacitor).

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