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Funny story from '83

Took one of the very 1st PC based classes - Microcomputer Application in Civil Engineering. Rojiani taught it in a double-wide behind the wind tunnel. Had the original IBM PCs - 2 floppies and no hard drive. My final project was converting KY Pipe code from Fortran to Basic. Worked on it all night and finished it at dawn - it was due at noon. It was drilled into our head to always make a backup, so the DOS command was "copy a:/project.bas b:/project.bas". In making the backup copy I got the a and b drive mixed up and overwrote the final with a very early version. When I realized what I'd done I just about lost it. Had to go outside for a breath. As it turned out rewriting it was much easier and quicker the second time around and I made the deadline. Code was cleaner too. But that left a scar and to this day I always rename backups.

(In response to this post by HokieForever)

Posted: 04/23/2019 at 11:28AM

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You 90s engineers -- HokieForever 04/23/2019 08:05AM

1986: That 45-pound IBM portable computer with a 9-inch monochrome screen. ** -- SDHokie 04/23/2019 4:55PM

In 1987, I had to buy a IBM PS/2 with dual 3.5 drives. It cost me $1800. ** -- Jackie VT 04/23/2019 12:11PM

Same here. I still tell that to young engineers that work for me -- MAHokie69 04/23/2019 1:25PM

'88 Freshman here. I remember getting the spec sheet for the computer we -- Tafkam Hokie 04/23/2019 6:56PM

Macked out computers have pretty consistely been 1500-2500 over a long -- Nelsonia Hokie 04/23/2019 4:10PM

Same-------------> ** -- bourbonstreet 04/23/2019 1:44PM

Funny story from '83 -- LaneRat 04/23/2019 11:28AM

IBM PC jr -- HOKIE 04/23/2019 10:44AM

Class of 88 was the first class that had to buy a PC -- MrBayAreaHokie 04/23/2019 10:35AM

That's me as well. VT was the first public University, and I think the 2nd -- Late 80s Hokie 04/23/2019 1:31PM

Yes, that was me, no HD, such a relic these days -- fordham 04/23/2019 11:06AM

For CS majors it was the Amiga which they replaced for cheaper 2 yr later! ** -- DaChang98 04/23/2019 10:33AM

'81... Mainframe or TI 30. Required PC started in 82 I think ** -- 81_Hokie 04/23/2019 10:09AM

1998 - I bought something online from -- VTENGR 04/23/2019 10:00AM

Gateway? ** -- MP4VT2004 04/23/2019 10:02AM

Maybe Gateway - did they have black white logo - almost cow like? ** -- VTENGR 04/23/2019 10:03AM

Cow was Gateway ** -- 81_Hokie 04/23/2019 10:06AM

Was that because they were made in South Dakota? ** -- Hokie360 04/23/2019 3:21PM

Yep, that's the one, haha. Almost mentioned that in my post. -- MP4VT2004 04/23/2019 10:04AM

Beat me by seconds ** -- 81_Hokie 04/23/2019 10:08AM

Yep - that's it! ** -- VTENGR 04/23/2019 10:07AM

Fall 95 was an IBM ** -- HokieDevil 04/23/2019 09:56AM

This...... ** -- vt_mughal 04/23/2019 10:31AM

I’m fairly certain mine was a Dell in ‘94. ** -- vthokieq 04/23/2019 09:21AM

It was probably along these lines -- HokieAl 04/23/2019 09:12AM

$5-10 slide rule REQUIRED for EF in 1974. Yet.... -- 48zip 04/23/2019 08:37AM

RPN - reverse Polish notation -- TomTurkey 04/23/2019 08:51AM

Always thought that was supposed to be an ethnic joke, but it's real. -- Hokie360 04/23/2019 09:32AM

Ditto. First time I heard it called that, I figured it was a Polish joke. -- Late 80s Hokie 04/23/2019 1:32PM

I figured it was an ethnic joke too -- Tafkam Hokie 04/23/2019 9:20PM

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Professor Hammer got one of the first 35s on campus -- TomTurkey 04/23/2019 09:01AM

Funny story from '83

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