Burning the Midnight Oil
 

I had forgotten what it felt like revamping sites & basically starting a lot of projects over with new technology and all the changes in adult. It makes me think of my BBS days when I built my system and had to learn the Major BBS software. Back then you had to do EVERYTHING the long way. I remember having the server in my bedroom and working on it until I eventually fell into bed. Chinese delivery boxes everywhere with dirty clothes all over. There just never seemed to be enough hours in the day.



I have a feeling that many of you here know what I’m talking about and although it may be the distant past you recall spending way too many hours online barely leaving your house. Right?



Tell me your stories. I’d love to hear how you started out and the sacrifices you made to get where you are.

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Galacticomm!

Knew it well....

Also knew TBBS, Wildcat and PCBoard...

PCBoard at the house....basement full of a LANtastic network with boxes humming along, all of 'em dialing out periodically to fetch news, email, networked conferences, files, etc.

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Renegade

The dungeon bbs Kansas City :okthumb:

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

BBS's..Amigas..shitty 300 baud modems..
Those were fun times.

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Cott Lang still is a little fag.

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Yeah, but he did some nice software :rolleyes:

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

I wasn't around in the BBS days, but I do remember working until it was time to take the kid to school in the morning. My office faced the street and had two windows and my desk faced the windows (I've never been able to work where I can't face outside). I'd usually leave my blinds open and I'm sure my neighbors wondered what I was doing all night on the computer and never "going to work" :)

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

you're reminding us how old we are. stop it

Actually I was into computers back in the IBM AT 286 days, maybe before because I had an apple 2c remember those?

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Never owned an apple, but I did have an IBM AT 286/16 w 4 meg of ram. DOS only - no windoze.

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

The first computer I used was a terminal (tty style) hooked to Hofstra University's mainframe in 72. From 74 through 82 worked with all sorts of mainframe and mini systems in the Navy.

First Personal computer I used (Inventory system when closing down Navfac Cape Hatteras)

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/trs80-i.jpg


First computer I owned: (around 82)

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/ti-994a.jpg

http://oldcomputers.net/ti994a.html

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Didn't windows use another name before 3.1? Was it First Choice or what that something different?



anyhow, I actually had my story appear in Galticomms magazine once. I was a pioneer of sorts because I would work only online. I used my bbs as a tool to help me do this. Damn I wish I could find that article.



I use to get all these bbs geeks to do shit for me. I had them all going crazy. No doubt I was the talk of the town.



The FBI showed up at my door one day wanting to know why I ordered and installed so many phone lines into my home. Why rent an office when I had a nice 4 bedroom house?

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

wow, you all talk about some old time hardware & stuff.

This is my first experience with the internet:

http://www.stpaulvc.com/images/company/WebTV.gif

Ya, Ya, Ya, I know...laugh it up everyone. :blush:

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

Actually I missed the internet jump off point by a bit.

We were running the bbs and the net started coming on big time. Saw lots of other bbs's hooking up to the net but at that point we didn't want to do the extra phone lines and hook ups necessary to make it work right. We had fidonet for mail was about it.

Then I got into my career a bit and pretty much ignored what was going on in the internet world except as it affected me in my full time job.

First time I did anything net related applicationwise was in 99.

Re: Burning the Midnight Oil
 

When the web came about I knew my bbs was only going to be a money boat. I had already invest in a bridge allowing people to telnet into me but in 1995 I knew I would be wasting my time and money.

I always thought it was a shame that no one ever took the credit concept and used that on the web. I know they did tokens and the like but never took that bbs concept.