PHOTO: Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen using a Model 33 Teletype machine that used mechanical levers and electric solenoids to strike a mechanical type cylinder against an inked ribbon onto a roll of paper. Teletypes predate computers and were used for long distance communication by newspaper wire services before being adapted for computer use in the 1950's. The teletype machine used by Bill Gates was connected via a 110 bit per second telephone modem to a central timesharing computer system running a BASIC language interpreter. I guess the photo was taken in the late 1960s or early 1970s based on the age of the boys. I guess every computer geek of the 1960s and 1970s had to use a Teletype at some point in their education or job. See previous posts Teletype microprocessor interface 1977 (9/26/06)), My first blog posting (4/15/06) and Herbert Kraemer wins computer 1971 (10/17/09)
PHOTO: Thomas Kraemer in 1977 using a torn apart Model 33 Teletype hooked up via a 110 bits per second serial current loop to a National Semiconductor SC/MP 1 MHz microprocessor with 256 bytes (yes, bytes, not kilobytes or megabytes) of RAM on two separate IC chips. (See previous posts Herbert Kraemer wins computer 1971 (10/17/09), ASCII art Jeep and nude man (7/11/009) and Teletype microprocessor interface 1977 (9/26/06).)
Official support for the Microsoft Windows XP operating system ended on April 8, 2014 and it made me recall the photos above. Fortunately, despite my worsening low-vision blindness, I was able to transition to Windows 7 Professional. See previous posts Still alive after 'upgrade' to Windows 7 HP Workstation and Dream Color Monitor (1/26/14) and Computer monitor arm for my low vision accessibility (5/5/14).
