Buckle up, Buttercup! It’s hour 2 of the Big Tech Show — time for listener questions!
“What is the first computer you remember using as a kid? What is the first computer you took apart/fixed? What is the first computer you wrote code for?” - YarsRevenge78
“Why are older systems just more pleasing to use? There’s a certain joy in the exploration and navigation of old systems and certain little noises and tactile feels. Was all of that intentional by the creators of those systems or is it all just my own nostalgia?” - Bradford
“Are there any books on computer history that you can recommend?” - Dan
“Which sci-fi movie weapon would you like to have a real working copy of? Light saber, pulse rifle, phaser, that pistol with the homing bullets from Runaway, Death Star, something else?” - Scott
“I've heard some people talk about software bloat slowing computers down, and other people say that software bloat is a myth. Where do you stand?” - Edward
“Clippy or no Clippy? If not Clippy, which other Office Assistant was your favorite?” - John
“Has any programming or scripting language ever truly died? COBOL, Fortran, C, Forth, Lisp, Pascal... all are alive and well! Today, in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-three, people are still learning them. Even me. C and Forth are my jam. I kinda want to learn COBOL, just for the geek cred if not to actually use it in real projects. I bet you an 8-bit taco that you can't find a single, dead-as-a-doorknob language. I dare ya - nay, I challenge thee, my friend - to find a single one.” - GeekOnSkates
“Analog audio cassettes or digital audio cassettes (DATs)?” - MrTSolar
“What's your favorite pc game abandonware?” - David
“Of all the tech that failed to take off and left all of us, what do you wish had stuck? For me, I wish Zip or floptical or any other crazy media had stuck. Connectors on USB thumb drives and even on SD cards wear out, but I can still put a 360k floppy from ‘78 or ‘79 in my HeathKit and use it just fine. Also, I kind of wish Gopher and other protocols had beaten HTTP.” - Brad
The totally awesome music you heard in this show is provided courtesy of the amazing Pete Mitchell. You can find more of his music and art at daspetey.com. Visit his shop. Highly recommended.
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