Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (
More info?)
In message <azz8e.179$J11.113@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>, DocScorpio
<DocScorpio@stupra-spammeros.com> writes
>
>"Lynley James" <lynley.james@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news
😛6q461l54e4ff7625rinmll8u0bio3ma1l@4ax.com...
>> On 17 Apr 2005 01:21:58 GMT, Knight37 <knight37m@email.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Lynley James <lynley.james@gmail.com> once tried to test me with:
>>>
>>>> That's the thing. Most people out there, even those with the
>>>> knowledge to use cracks, have little to no idea how to use something
>>>> more advanced than simply double clicking on an .exe. SInce Windows
>>>> made it easier to use PCs the need to learn to tweak and fiddle, and
>>>> thus learn about programs and programming, has gone.
>>>
>>>/sigh, some times I wish we were back in the good old days of 1984.
😉
>>
>> AS much as I comlained about DOS back in the day, I do actually miss
>> it. Having to config sound drivers was just so much fun.
>>
>> Lynley :O)
>
>As a non-pc guru type, I used to derive a great sense of accomplishment
>managing memory, changing interrupts, and the like so that I could get DOS
>games to run. That was all part of the fun. I remember the days when
>people used to brag about how much mem they could squeeze out of their rig.
>Amongst my non-pc literate friends and work associates, I was considered a
>"computer genius" because I knew a few DOS commands and could make things
>happens on that black screen with the error msg. that had them completely
>befuddled. Those days are long gone; now I know far less about pc's than I
>knew then.....because I don't have to know anything to get most programs to
>run. Back then, I actually was forced to participate in the technology to
>some degree.....now I'm just a largely clueless end-user. Most non-tech
>people just use technology (cars, electronics, pc's, etc.), but don't know
>any more about than some neolithic tribesman. For a while, at least, I
>actually was forced to learn some tech background in order to run my pc.
>This was a good thing.
>
>
Oh yes, I remember those days. When you could expect to spend the first
day after purchasing a game just in getting it to run. When you had a
stock of boot disks, one for each game (of course there weren't so many
games in those days). Mind you my first machine was a C64 - that's 64k
of RAM, and nothing else. The entire program had to load and run in that
64k.
This is like the history of motoring, I think, though compressed in
time. Early drivers carried a toolkit and fully expected to use it on
most journeys - they had to be mechanics as well as drivers. Even 25
years ago I was doing my own maintenance, setting the timing and the
spark gaps. Now I check the oil and fill the washer bottle - anything
more sophisticated has to be done in the garage.
--
John Secker
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