According to Funk Podcast & Blog

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transcript
00:00 - 0:00:02 Music
0:00:02 – 0:00:31 [Music]
0:00:31 – 0:00:39 Hello and welcome to a new edition of the digression, where I occasionally,
0:00:39 – 0:00:47 Almost never, deviate from the topic. I'm Sascha Markmann and I say hello.
0:00:47 – 0:00:57 Today's theme is inspired by a video, I think the good man is called Brain?
0:00:57 – 0:01:08 No, it's called Zero Brain, but on its second channel Braindump. He posted a video
0:01:08 – 0:01:18 It's about why computer technology used to be exciting. This is the title of the video
0:01:18 – 0:01:25 And that's where he talks about how his development was. I put the video in my
0:01:25 – 0:01:36 Show Notes in, you can have a look. Is really a sympathetic gentleman who makes good videos with
0:01:36 – 0:01:45 interesting topics. So long speech, in a nutshell. I'll tell my story now.
0:01:45 – 0:01:57 That must have been 91, 92, maybe 90.
0:01:57 – 0:02:03 And yes, it was just before Christmas.
0:02:03 – 0:02:09 My parents then went to the media market and got advice and then had
0:02:09 – 0:02:22 for 1400 Mark a 386 SX25 with 2 MB RAM and a 512 KB graphics card
0:02:22 – 0:02:39 Get it. In addition, there was the DR-DOS 6 operating system. Since my parents, or my father and
0:02:39 – 0:02:45 My aunt, who was familiar with computers or PCs, who already wanted to get ready,
0:02:45 – 0:02:52 that you can get started right away, they tried to install the operating system
0:02:52 – 0:03:03 on the incredibly large hard drive of 107 megabytes and that didn't work. And how
0:03:03 – 0:03:09 I used to come out of school and my mother reacted in a panic because I did.
0:03:09 – 0:03:20 I saw what was in the living room, yes, I had seen that somehow from the outside
0:03:20 – 0:03:26 the controller card, where the hard disk and the floppy disk drive were connected,
0:03:26 – 0:03:37 somehow this rail was crooked, this slot plate. And then my aunt and
0:03:37 – 0:03:42 my father screwed up the computer and saw that the card was either through the
0:03:42 – 0:03:46 Transport or was not properly plugged in from the outset. After they are correct
0:03:46 – 0:03:54 It was in the 16-bit slot. Did that thing work? Yes, then you could use the operating system
0:03:54 – 0:04:00 install. Later, however, I switched to MS-DOS, whereby the DOS is a decisive
0:04:00 – 0:04:06 had an advantage. It had already installed network support and that was
0:04:06 – 0:04:13 for later, if you wanted to play together, so games in the network important.
0:04:13 – 0:04:22 But this is a completely different topic. Yes, that's how I got mine just before Christmas
0:04:22 – 0:04:28 The first PC. I didn't get anything else for Christmas and I'm on my birthday,
0:04:28 – 0:04:34 Which I had in March, got nothing else but this one PC.
0:04:34 – 0:04:44 My parents then almost took the money from all my relatives and so on,
0:04:44 – 0:04:50 what they put in the back of a gift and then have the difference amount
0:04:50 – 0:05:00 balanced. Yes, but that was still a great gift. I've had it before, I think.
0:05:00 – 0:05:15 That was so 87 I started with basic programming on a Schneider CPC 464
0:05:15 – 0:05:23 to deal with it. Later I got through a skilful exchange with a calculator
0:05:23 – 0:05:36 My aunt's F64 with a bunch of floppy disks. And strangely enough, the tailor's calculator
0:05:36 – 0:05:41 I never touched. The Commodore, I picked it completely apart. Da
0:05:41 – 0:05:47 floppy disk accelerators were then installed, as additional data buses were soldered in,
0:05:47 – 0:05:54 I was able to load 11 times faster and save 7 times faster.
0:05:54 – 0:06:02 A second floppy disk drive was used, bought, then already the modern, which is essential
0:06:02 – 0:06:08 It was smaller than the original. A printer that was so loud.
0:06:08 – 0:06:20 Yes, but I especially remembered the personal computer. The others
0:06:20 – 0:06:27 Things had been for gaming, for programming, and now I have to say that the tailor,
0:06:27 – 0:06:37 The CPC 464 was really good. There was a Z80 processor in it and so you could
0:06:37 – 0:06:47 other real computers, i.e. Linux machines that run programs on them,
0:06:47 – 0:06:57 if you have received a corresponding CPM, i.e. the operating system. Then you could go there
0:06:57 – 0:07:05 run these developer environments because it was written for this processor the code and
0:07:05 – 0:07:13 Everything else was true. You can nowadays, there are still kids, that you can save the memory up to
0:07:13 – 0:07:21 It can expand several megabytes. So there are people who are really busy with it,
0:07:21 – 0:07:30 You could do fantastic things. Unfortunately, I only had one shortcoming at the time. In the
0:07:30 – 0:07:36 Monitor was the power supply installed, so you could not without problem just another monitor
0:07:36 – 0:07:44 connect. You almost had to use this monitor to power it.
0:07:44 – 0:07:51 I only had a green monitor. Now the thing can also display fantastic colors.
0:07:51 – 0:07:58 Of course it all looked a little green. Had something like that from Matrix. But, long speech,
0:07:58 – 0:08:07 short sense. I learned to program on these boxes. More on the tailor
0:08:07 – 0:08:12 How about the Commodore? I just gambled more. I mean, I kind of had 200 back then.
0:08:12 – 0:08:18 There were x games on floppy disks and on each floppy disk. They just all fell to me like that.
0:08:18 – 0:08:27 They came in the boxes of my aunt. Yeah, you get all the shit today
0:08:27 – 0:08:35 as on the Internet. Free of charge. For most games. A few games, you still have licensing problems,
0:08:35 – 0:08:42 But most things get that way. Yeah, maybe I should go back
0:08:42 – 0:08:52 Buy a Retro C64 if I only had the money for it. Or, yes, love money.
0:08:52 – 0:09:00 My first real PC. What great things did I do? What have I got with
0:09:00 – 0:09:06 Do you do great things? Of course, I immediately got into the Quick Basic, which was there,
0:09:06 – 0:09:14 or I had brought GW Basic from school and then I
0:09:14 – 0:09:24 Basic programming then learned on an IBM-compatible computer, then later
0:09:24 – 0:09:33 QuickBasic, then I started Pascal a little later, I think Pascal 6 or 7,
0:09:33 – 0:09:39 I actually made the first applications that were interesting to me.
0:09:39 – 0:09:53 was. Like orbit, so a tracking for a radio antenna for satellites, so I had to
0:09:53 – 0:10:04 First get the Kepler data, that's rail data from the Americans. At that time there were
0:10:04 – 0:10:11 the Internet, that was less of a problem and then I wrote the program,
0:10:11 – 0:10:19 then the motor control, which was quite simple and could then stop with simple antennas,
0:10:19 – 0:10:24 with helix antennas and a radio receiver, because I already had my amateur radio license at that time,
0:10:24 – 0:10:29 the smallest, because I was just interested in the high frequencies and
0:10:29 – 0:10:36 Not all the long frequencies to just spark around the planet.
0:10:36 – 0:10:41 What interested me was that I wanted short, short, short, ultra short and mega, mega, ultra,
0:10:41 – 0:10:50 Make ultra short wave so I can stop communicating with satellites or something.
0:10:50 – 0:11:00 Yes, I programmed that back then and it was fun, just like this higher mathematics,
0:11:00 – 0:11:07 which one needed for the web calculation with the Kepler elements, where then also delays
0:11:07 – 0:11:16 are inside. I then, one or two years later, I had upgraded to a DX40,
0:11:16 – 0:11:23 That was then just a full-fledged 32-bit processor, because the SX was always such a slimmer.
0:11:23 – 0:11:31 This was a 32-bit instruction set, but communication with the meme board was everything.
0:11:31 – 0:11:40 16-bit and then had a full-fledged 32-bit computer, i.e. 32-bit memory communication
0:11:40 – 0:11:44 and the other peripherals outside the plug-in cards, because that was all only on 16-bit.
0:11:44 – 0:11:54 And then I realized that even the processor, which is already so good twice as fast
0:11:54 – 0:12:04 was like the processor I had before, not quite enough, because it could do something
0:12:04 – 0:12:10 Not quite decisive. He can only do the four basic arithmetic types really well. Now comes
0:12:10 – 0:12:16 A small excursion. A normal processor can only add. Now there are a few tricks,
0:12:16 – 0:12:24 For example, with those with the smallest possible number, if you add that, you can make one,
0:12:24 – 0:12:29 What's the point of doing a subtration? This is because with the one
0:12:29 – 0:12:38 Complement and I my multiplication is just that I count plus plus plus plus plus,
0:12:38 – 0:12:44 So an addition and a division is just that you look at how often something fits into a number.
0:12:44 – 0:12:49 So it is ultimately a more complex subtration.
0:12:49 – 0:12:59 And because he can almost only add, well, and stop over the trick with the one complement the subtration
0:12:59 – 0:13:02 And then the others, it's a little slower.
0:13:02 – 0:13:07 And all the higher functions must always be tricked around.
0:13:07 – 0:13:14 You don't get any of that, because he can just do it. That's in the code and there's
0:13:14 – 0:13:20 the instructions, the algorithms, but there is a remedy. There is this mathematical
0:13:20 – 0:13:28 Coprocessor. This is not a 386, but a 387 and I got it.
0:13:28 – 0:13:34 It was then from some cheap provider, I think from Zyrex or something,
0:13:34 – 0:13:40 Or how you wrote it back then. And then I put it in, and behold,
0:13:40 – 0:13:45 In mathematical applications, the thing was suddenly a rocket. Because,
0:13:45 – 0:13:52 when I left earlier and I made almond bread, what 300 times,
0:13:52 – 0:14:01 It was 320 by 240 pixels, so I liked to count on it for a day. After that it was
0:14:01 – 0:14:07 About ten minutes through. You can imagine what this mathematical
0:14:07 – 0:14:17 Coprocessor for a fantastic performance. In the 486's there were no maths.
0:14:17 – 0:14:26 Coprocessor, because it was already integrated into the processor. Except for the few 486 SX,
0:14:26 – 0:14:36 There was a very short time. That was not the case. Yeah, so you see, I was full then
0:14:36 – 0:14:44 in the matter. I think that's when I got my first CD-ROM drive.
0:14:44 – 0:14:54 fetched. That was a single speed, a single speed, so at 150 KB/s.
0:14:54 – 0:15:02 even double speed with 300 kilobytes per second, but they were, that was about three times
0:15:02 – 0:15:06 As expensive as the simple. Then I got the thing and was so happy that I
0:15:06 – 0:15:17 I can finally read CD-ROMs. Oh, yeah! Heureka! That was great! I don't know how many times I've been in the
0:15:17 – 0:15:24 meanwhile my Windows, my DOS, my Windows had to install because I broke something
0:15:24 – 0:15:35 had made or the hard disk was suddenly so full, the so 107 megabytes and at some point
0:15:35 – 0:15:41 She smoked me too. Then I had to get a new one and then I went for 400
0:15:41 – 0:15:50 I bought a 400 megabyte hard drive. So for a student at the tender age a damn
0:15:50 – 0:15:56 Expensive investment. I made a lot of coal at the time. I have very
0:15:56 – 0:16:06 A lot of firewood chopped at my grandparents. I don't have my fireworks money for New Year's Eve in
0:16:06 – 0:16:12 invested in black powder, but always put aside nicely, so that I can make such gimmicks
0:16:12 – 0:16:13 Then they could afford.
0:16:13 – 0:16:23 Shortly thereafter they had had an offer at the media market for a fence plastic 16-bit
0:16:23 – 0:16:24 Fence map.
0:16:24 – 0:16:25 That was the very first one.
0:16:25 – 0:16:31 And then I paid for it and got it two months later.
0:16:31 – 0:16:33 Deposit so that the price does not expire.
0:16:33 – 0:16:34 I understand.
0:16:34 – 0:16:43 I bought it for $200 later. I don't know how expensive it was, but that was the biggest upgrade of this card.
0:16:43 – 0:16:55 It had controllers, already for several CD-ROM drives, then had a special encryption chip on it,
0:16:55 – 0:17:04 on it so you can use special codecs to just make the sound file size much smaller
0:17:04 – 0:17:10 make. So you recorded the 16-bit and the thing somehow got in six or so
0:17:10 – 0:17:19 Bits stored with these mathematical blah blah blah, I don't know anymore. Yes, I think they
0:17:19 – 0:17:28 It cost us more than 300 marks. Suddenly I had an almost
0:17:28 – 0:17:35 Multimedia PC, because at that time also a Multimedia PC according to definition a Double Speed CD-ROM-Log-Werk
0:17:35 – 0:17:47 had. And that was absolutely wow. There was also an encyclopedia on the sound card.
0:17:47 – 0:17:52 English, but it doesn't matter. And that had been so horny that once you put little movies in postcards,
0:17:52 – 0:17:59 Postcards, stamp format, so mouse cinema could watch and also a great
0:17:59 – 0:18:05 He had tone. And the games, wow! I also had a few games at the time. I have so
0:18:05 – 0:18:13 Building strategy games, such as "settlers". I loved it on PC. What else was
0:18:13 – 0:18:21 have been. Yes, then it was relatively fast. Then I have my first quadruple speed
0:18:21 – 0:18:37 CD-ROM drive. Then came the first 486. That was, I think, a DX480 or 100. 100. The
0:18:37 – 0:18:44 The fastest 486 there was. At that time, however, there was already the Pensium and this
0:18:44 – 0:18:53 Strange scandal we had at the time with the Pensium. Because the Pensium was wrong.
0:18:53 – 0:19:10 That was one thing. That must have been 1994/95. Yeah, and then it went so fast.
0:19:10 – 0:19:24 I didn't change the hardware so often, but over and over again. At some point came
0:19:24 – 0:19:29 Let's have a good laser printer, not small laser printers, inkjet printers,
0:19:29 – 0:19:36 Like everyone else had at the time, from HP. Then Mostec came up with a flatbed scanner, but not so
0:19:36 – 0:19:41 modern shit like today, which just scans once and then has the color. No,
0:19:41 – 0:19:47 He had to go through it three times to get a color picture. It all lasted then
0:19:47 – 0:19:56 Three times as long as if you were just scanning a black and white. Then you had to also
0:19:56 – 0:20:05 dealing with SCSI, i.e. SCSI, something you only knew about large computers and something completely different.
0:20:05 – 0:20:11 It was magical, because there were up to seven devices and in later
0:20:11 – 0:20:18 Connect versions up to 14 devices and that was wow.
0:20:18 – 0:20:23 So I had a SCSI card in my computer. I couldn't do anything, but
0:20:23 – 0:20:30 great. Then I saw a better SCSI card later on at Conrad,
0:20:30 – 0:20:38 1505 or what it was or 15010 from Adaptec and it was very cheap. There I have
0:20:38 – 0:20:44 which brought me and with it the thing went even better and then I could finally some other
0:20:44 – 0:20:48 Connecting devices. Now it was just like that, all the SCSI clothes were all
0:20:48 – 0:20:56 It sucks expensive. So I never really got anything. But I had the opportunity,
0:20:56 – 0:21:05 to connect it. It's great. Then at some point a modem tumbled in, so 2400 Kb,
0:21:05 – 0:21:16 Baud was said at the time. It was so slow, you could almost watch the picture line by line,
0:21:16 – 0:21:21 If it was built up like that. Or if you had connected to a mailbox, you could
0:21:21 – 0:21:32 It's like watching a movie when the lines build up like this. It's funny. Then I had
0:21:32 – 0:21:40 It was twice as fast, it was faster. And then I had a short
0:21:40 – 0:21:49 This is my first internal 14,400 KB. It was about as if you were
0:21:49 – 0:21:57 could work. Then I had a 28-eighth, which was of course even faster. And
0:21:57 – 0:22:12 Then came my first 56K modem. I think 56800 or so. That was really quick. Anyone who stops
0:22:12 – 0:22:15 had a modem back then, this fantastic tone, if you dial in,
0:22:15 – 0:22:28 Everyone knows who did something with the hand in remote transmission at that time. At that time I had
0:22:28 – 0:22:40 There is also access to the Internet via BTX from Deutsche Telekom. Because my parents will someday
0:22:40 – 0:22:45 once went to the station, which was constantly occupied at the weekend in the evening,
0:22:45 – 0:22:52 Someday I'll get my second phone line, where I'll get one.
0:22:52 – 0:23:04 a certain number of hours a month was allowed on the Internet or on mailboxes and then finally came the big
0:23:04 – 0:23:16 DSL. It's fantastic. One megabit per second in download and I kind of believe 100 around 119
0:23:16 – 0:23:26 120 in the upload. And also a real flat rate. That was great. No more on it
0:23:26 – 0:23:35 Pay attention to how expensive everything is. And we're almost there in the 2000s. So you can see,
0:23:35 – 0:23:43 that I really did a steep development at that time and I have so many exciting
0:23:43 – 0:23:54 Things discovered. Today it is so, it has lost all its fascination. For me there is a
0:23:54 – 0:24:02 Computers and tools. This discussion of whether this is now a Mac or a Windows or a
0:24:02 – 0:24:07 Linux machine, it doesn't matter. For me, a computer is a tool. It must work and
0:24:07 – 0:24:15 Halfway modern. I need to be able to access the Internet and I need to be able to install programs,
0:24:15 – 0:24:20 from the Internet. Then I can set up my work environment and then I can
0:24:20 – 0:24:28 program with it, write my texts, cut videos, edit the podcast and so on.
0:24:28 – 0:24:37 I don't care about architecture. It's just that I'm doing this
0:24:37 – 0:24:45 I have tools. And that's one of the things I've learned over the last few years. It
0:24:45 – 0:24:52 Everything has become a lot more boring, unless you have RGB. We all know a computer with RGB
0:24:52 – 0:25:00 More and more images per second, FPS. That's always 10 to 20 more. No, seriously,
0:25:00 – 0:25:11 It's all so compact and so little flawed today. You used to be in the
0:25:11 – 0:25:18 Computer inside an interface card. Ideally, the controller was there for the
0:25:18 – 0:25:23 Floppy disk drive, i.e. for the two possible floppy disk drives. Then there was a controller.
0:25:23 – 0:25:31 on it for the hard drive, for two. Later there were some where you could find four hard disks
0:25:31 – 0:25:39 could connect. Always a master and always a slave. And you had to do that with the hard disks, too.
0:25:39 – 0:25:49 Set it up. Then there was a controller card, if not everything together was on one,
0:25:49 – 0:25:59 for the serial port, for one and two and for the parallel port. That was sometimes
0:25:59 – 0:26:07 All individually or combined or large combined. Then it was called multi-IO cards, where then stops
0:26:07 – 0:26:14 All the important entrances and exits were on it. On the meme bot was mostly only the plug
0:26:14 – 0:26:22 for the keyboard. A mouse had to be attached to the serial port and that was
0:26:22 – 0:26:29 Mostly the 9-pin pin, so that the 25-pin pin remained free for Molem or for another
0:26:29 – 0:26:46 Yeah, it was just exciting. I skipped the jump from the 56k modem to DSL. There was
0:26:46 – 0:26:57 A few more years ISDN, where you had 128 Kbit/s with channel bundling. You had to have a card too.
0:26:57 – 0:27:06 For plugging in, you had to configure it until it worked. And you had to have one
0:27:06 – 0:27:12 Insert the network card so that you could use DSL. No one can do that anymore today.
0:27:12 – 0:27:20 introduce. It's all on the back of the aperture these days, on the I/O shield. There you have them
0:27:20 – 0:27:27 Inputs for a keyboard or just USB. So sometimes there are also PS/2 connectors,
0:27:27 – 0:27:33 But it is already obsolete. But you just have the USB ports, then you have the ports for
0:27:33 – 0:27:38 Audio, then ports for at least one network device to have better motherboards,
0:27:38 – 0:27:45 We have two network devices, then, if necessary, a monitor connection, if the processor is
0:27:45 – 0:27:53 still has a graphics unit, so that you actually ideally no longer have any expansion cards in the
0:27:53 – 0:27:58 You have the computer in it, but you have the memory in it and you have just
0:27:58 – 0:28:13 Yours is a hard drive in the form of an MVE SSD. When you think about what we used to do
0:28:13 – 0:28:19 IACUs had to be distributed, there were no conflicts in the
0:28:19 – 0:28:31 Address range. Sound cards always ran on 220 by default. Then IAQ 7. But that had
0:28:31 – 0:28:37 had a problem because by default the IAQ 7 was also used for the printer port. Then you have
0:28:37 – 0:28:45 you packed the printer port on IAQ 5 because most programs that hold the sound card used
0:28:45 – 0:28:53 I used the IRQ7 as a standard. And so you always had to change your configuration in
0:28:53 – 0:28:58 Keep your eye on it. I also forgot to mention this memory extension back then
0:28:58 – 0:29:07 with the SIM modules. Then a plant in Taiwan burned down, suddenly memory modules were gold
0:29:07 – 0:29:17 Worth it, prices have exploded. You have for a 4 megabyte module at once 400-500 euros on
0:29:17 – 0:29:23 Pay the D-Mark and what you might have paid a hundred for before. Thus, such
0:29:23 – 0:29:31 storage quantities incredibly expensive and I had then on the second-hand market more times 4 megabytes
0:29:31 – 0:29:38 I bought it and put it in my computer. But I had planned,
0:29:38 – 0:29:53 As I said, 2x4 memory modules a 256 KB, i.e. 2x1 MB. So I have 5 MB of RAM
0:29:53 – 0:29:59 had and then had the advantage that I could pack all drivers and so on in 1 MB
0:29:59 – 0:30:06 and then still had 4 MB free for application, which was an incredible speed advantage
0:30:06 – 0:30:15 compared to those who only had 4 MB, because in the end they only had 3 MB available.
0:30:15 – 0:30:22 And it was always a configuration, you had to deal with it a lot.
0:30:22 – 0:30:27 And today that's actually the case, I have this computer that I use now,
0:30:27 – 0:30:40 When did Intel's 13,900 come out? So shortly afterwards I bought it with a motherboard,
0:30:40 – 0:30:47 Memory and SSD and a graphics card and has almost never been
0:30:47 – 0:30:55 Again, except that I checked the thermal paste. I have to go there
0:30:55 – 0:31:07 Don't set anything, it's all so automated and that's crass, that's so Mac-like, so Mac-user-like.
0:31:07 – 0:31:13 Yeah, I don't have to deal with that, it's my operating system, my Mac OS.
0:31:13 – 0:31:20 And as I said, that used to be so much fun to deal with and stuff
0:31:20 – 0:31:29 Try it out. Today you can also retrofit a parallel port that you can stop eight
0:31:29 – 0:31:36 has digital inputs and outputs, either via USB or stop as a plug-in card. And when I think about it,
0:31:36 – 0:31:44 that I built my first computer-controlled traffic light system in such a way that I
0:31:44 – 0:31:49 Plugged in where there was a long cable. This went on a board and from there
0:31:49 – 0:31:58 Off to the reconstructed road with traffic lights. I then ran the program, which then visually
0:31:58 – 0:32:03 then had also indicated which lights are now going and what the circuit is like, the clock is
0:32:03 – 0:32:13 It is a circuit and so you could see the traffic lights. And because there is also a
0:32:13 – 0:32:22 two directional communication, you could also go that you now stop as a pedestrian
0:32:22 – 0:32:31 Button presses that then the foot turns red, that you can just walk across the street. And that can
0:32:31 – 0:32:38 No more kits today. There are completely different options for this with all the microcontrollers.
0:32:38 – 0:32:44 I still remember where in the Computer Club, then on the WDR, the first
0:32:44 – 0:32:54 Microcontroller was offered as a kit. With Conrad it was, I don't remember,
0:32:54 – 0:33:00 What was the name of the thing. The thing really had very few inputs and outputs and could do very little.
0:33:00 – 0:33:15 In the end, however, it was to be programmed in Basic and in a block-based, i.e. an optical programming language.
0:33:15 – 0:33:20 And I had gotten that and had experimented with it and that was great.
0:33:20 – 0:33:29 But when I think about what you can do with a Raspberry Pi or with an Androido or other microcontrollers,
0:33:29 – 0:33:36 that you can carry out such small craft projects and program them quickly,
0:33:36 – 0:33:44 you have unlimited knowledge on the Internet or can also be helped with Chat-GBT,
0:33:44 – 0:33:47 If you have trouble adjusting the code.
0:33:47 – 0:33:53 That was all I had to learn with my buddy.
0:33:53 – 0:33:59 by typing out any listings from books and newspapers for days
0:33:59 – 0:34:02 To understand how this code works.
0:34:02 – 0:34:07 It was a completely different, wild time.
0:34:07 – 0:34:14 And I am so grateful that in this intergeneration,
0:34:14 – 0:34:16 I've already made a digression about this,
0:34:16 – 0:34:21 who is 77 to 81, 82,
0:34:21 – 0:34:25 She had an analog childhood.
0:34:25 – 0:34:27 and a digital youth.
0:34:27 – 0:34:35 And that was the case with me, I was born in 1977, my father had stopped relatively quickly
0:34:35 – 0:34:42 At that time the tailor computer was created in the hand family and I was so fascinated by the
0:34:42 – 0:34:48 Device and as I did in the manual – at that time there were still manuals explaining the circuits
0:34:48 – 0:34:56 and where it could be deduced how this works – that I then just started
0:34:56 – 0:35:01 I wanted to deal with programming and understand and later
0:35:01 – 0:35:08 I have also understood how this works and how I can do something that I can still do today.
0:35:08 – 0:35:14 I'm still totally fascinated. Today this is on a completely different level and the youth
0:35:14 – 0:35:21 I've never had so many chances to get in there fantastically. And what do I see?
0:35:21 – 0:35:30 They all sit in front of their mobile phones, tablets or laptops and consume for the most part fixed
0:35:30 – 0:35:34 and finished programs and do something with them. Of course, some people do it totally.
0:35:34 – 0:35:41 Horny shit. They're super creative. I mean, we were back then, too. But when I think about it,
0:35:41 – 0:35:49 If I had had that opportunity in the early 90's,
0:35:49 – 0:35:55 That would have been such a brainfuck. I remember not having a computer with me,
0:35:55 – 0:36:02 but half the adult section to me on the holidays we took in the North Sea,
0:36:02 – 0:36:08 I always took it with me. So programming, electronics and that I'm doing all this theoretically
0:36:08 – 0:36:15 I went through it, took notes, then stopped when I was back home,
0:36:15 – 0:36:22 I borrowed the next book and went on and almost everything theoretically for the first time.
0:36:22 – 0:36:30 I worked out. Yes, that was horny and I think that led to me being the man,
0:36:30 – 0:36:36 Which I am today because I had to work so hard at that time. But I still envy them.
0:36:36 – 0:36:41 young people today and I say that sometimes in 48 years for these fantastic opportunities,
0:36:41 – 0:36:47 which they have. Some people do it, use it and do great things. Others live,
0:36:47 – 0:36:56 Work out great creative things with the possibilities they have. And that I
0:36:56 – 0:37:01 Sometimes I'm a little jealous of the young people today, but
0:37:01 – 0:37:11 horny time with these aha moments and the deep understanding of how a computer works,
0:37:11 – 0:37:17 How does a processor communicate with its memory and peripherals?
0:37:17 – 0:37:27 They don't even have to know that today, because the microcontroller, there's everything in there and
0:37:27 – 0:37:35 There they have it. But now I'm done with my digression, that's 37 again.
0:37:35 – 0:37:42 minutes. Thank you for your patience and listening. Maybe you can understand,
0:37:42 – 0:37:49 Why am I so passionate about this topic? And even if I study humanities later
0:37:49 – 0:37:58 I'm still, these days, a nerd in the depths of my heart and I'm super happy
0:37:58 – 0:38:10 deal with very extreme technical topics, just as I like to talk about a beautiful
0:38:10 – 0:38:18 Sunrise or a perfectly cooked breakfast rope can philosophize. Goodbye, Sasha.
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In this digression,’s becomes nostalgic: Sascha takes you into his digital childhood and youth – from the Schneider CPC 464 to the C64 to the 386 with 387 coprocessor. It's about broken slot plates, network cards, fractals that took a day to render, and the magic of the first line of BASIC code.

Why computer technology used to be so fascinating, how to type programs from magazines, what IRQ 7 and the sound card dispute were all about and why modern computers have become powerful, but also somehow … boring – you can hear all this here.

A tribute to a time when knowledge still had to be developed – and that is why it immersed itself so much more deeply.

Topics Outline:

1. Inspiration & Introduction

Video by Zero Brain (Braindump)
Looking back at a time when computers still had magic

2. The first PC – 386 SX at 25 MHz

Purchasing history: MediaMarkt, Christmas, 1400 DM
DR-DOS 6, 107 MB hard disk, 2 MB RAM
Hardware errors: crooked slot cover & controller card
Network functions of DR-DOS and first LAN experiences
Family funding – ‘all put on one card’

3. Early calculators and learning curve

Schneider CPC 464: green monitor, BASIC, CP/M & Z80
Commodore 64: Swap shop, floppy collections & gambler's paradise
Craft projects: Data buses, floppy accelerator, second drive
Different uses: Programming vs.

4. Programming & first own projects

GW-BASIC, QuickBasic, later Turbo Pascal
Development of a satellite antenna control with Kepler data
Amateur radio license and fascination for high frequency ranges

5. Hardware upgrades & computing power

Switch to 386 DX 40 MHz – finally real 32-bit
Limitations of the CPU in complex mathematics
Installation of the 387 coprocessor – almond bread in minutes instead of days

6. Multimedia & Peripherals

CD-ROM drives: Single speed, later double and quadruple speed
First sound card with hardware compression & Encyclopedia
Scanner with SCSI, inkjet printer, first small films on the PC

7. Internet & Networking

Modems: 2400 baud up to 56k, mailboxes & BTX
Own telephone line for online times
ISDN with channel bundling, then the breakthrough with DSL & Flatrate

8. Crafts, crafts, crafts – and the knowledge behind them

IRQ conflicts, I/O addresses, driver optimization, RAM price jumps
Memory upgrade and configuration for maximum performance
Multi-I/O cards, parallel ports, mouse to COM1, printer to LPT1
Projects such as a computer-controlled traffic light via the parallel port

9. Technology in the change of time

Comparison of previous computers with today's Plug & Play comfort zone
Motherboards without plug-in cards vs. once complex furnishing rituals
Raspberry Pi & Microcontroller today – Getting started easier, knowledge often flatter