Re: Redefining eternity

On 12/16/2024 4:34 PM, dsi1 wrote:

On Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:41:25 +0000, clams casino wrote:

>
Buried right here:
>
https://denvergazette.com/life/in-boulders-underground-media-archaeology-lab-a-search-for-tech-reckoning/article_72d92d3d-c7c9-5038-8579-b2f3c542d9ba.html
>
The lab is overseen by a young, tattooed, dyed-haired scholar who does
not like capital letters. It was libi rose striegl who made me aware of
the terms “techno-pessimist and “techno-optimist.”
>
“The computer will save us or we’re totally doomed,” striegl said. “And
somewhere in the middle is the reality.”
>
The manager of the Media Archaeology Lab (the MAL) lives in the middle.
She calls herself “agnostic” when it comes to technology, while also
confessing to screen time amounting to adoration.
>
Instagram shows the clunky array of extinct machines that are kept in
working order here. Yes, to step into the MAL is to step into a time
capsule.
>
The PDP-8 among other computers, including the Apple lineage. The TRS-80
Model 100 among “laptops” of the day. The Walkman among portable music
players and the 1913 phonograph among larger ones.
>
The brick-sized IBM Simon among early cellphones. Among radios is the
Panosonic that flips up a TV screen. The handheld Blip is among
forgotten video games.
>
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/1e/11eb35ec-2917-579e-adf5-b46688615c26/6750c1c5ab424.image.jpg?resize=744%2C500

 Relics of a past age are interesting. My father-in-law had many. Most of
them, we just hauled to the dump when he died. I kept some of his
keyboards and drives. He had an awesome board which was about 18 inches
long and had 1MB of memory. It had a letter from the company that was
also his receipt. Back then, it cost $1000.00. I have no idea how you'd
get something that long to fit in a computer.

That was some serious coin back in the day.
I am wishing I'd held on to Audrey, oh well...
https://www.amazon.com/3Com-3C8300AUWHT-01-Audrey-Web-Appliance/dp/B000051JUL
The Audrey's innovative twist dial allows you to flip from Web site to Web site for easy surfing, and the 12 preset sites (or channels) offer everything from weather to news to stocks. The Audrey can be programmed to grab e-mail and Web channel content at specified times.
Use the included wireless keyboard to write e-mail messages and the clear, acrylic stylus to navigate around the color touch screen (6.25 by 4.75 inches). An LED within the stylus cradle lights up the stylus when you have unread e-mail. With the snapshot function, you can capture images from the screen to attach to e-mail messages. You can also attach scribbled notes or drawings (saved as GIFs) and voice messages that can be recorded through the internal microphone (and played back via the Audrey's stereo speakers).
Keep your family in touch with the scheduling functions, which allow you to color-code a daily schedule for each family member. Use the serial port or two USB ports to synch with up to two handhelds so every family member can link up. The Audrey works with Palm OS devices including Palm handhelds, Handspring Visors, and the Sony Clié.
The Audrey features a built-in 56 Kbps modem with two standard RJ-11 telephone jacks, a serial port, 2 USB ports, and an audio output for external speakers. It is broadband capable if using the 3Com USB Ethernet adapter.