Non-motoring > Childhood tech Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Crankcase Replies: 16
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 08:25 
 Childhood tech - Crankcase
If you are of a certain age, which might exclude many I guess, then you will enjoy this article.

I had the Atari 2600 from the list, but none of the others.

The comments are also worth a read if you are into tech nostalgia.

forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2013/12/12/ten_tech_treats_of_christmas_past/
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 10:12 
 Childhood tech - DP
My mate had a Big Trak. I remember two things about it:

1) Trying to recreate the TV ad where the Big Trak takes an apple on its trailer, stops at a given point, and tips the apple onto the floor, we discovered the tipper motor in the trailer didn't have the guts to lift a moderate sized Granny Smiths.

2) A set of contemporary zinc chloride batteries lasted all of 10 minutes.

Despite all this, it impressed me as a wide eyed 6 year old.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 10:38 
 Childhood tech - ....
I had a Casio fx-411 for my A-Levels which replaced a Sharp ELSIMATE EL-505.

Still got them both in my writing desk and they both still work.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 10:44 
 Childhood tech - Runfer D'Hills
I had ( still have somewhere ) a slide rule. Can't see why it wouldn't still work if I could remember how to use it.

I left school in 1976 and I'm pretty sure I've never since had the slightest need to use algebra. I shall attempt to continue that state of affairs indefinitely.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 11:42 
 Childhood tech - BiggerBadderDave
"Can't see why it wouldn't still work"

Needs charging Humph.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 12:04 
 Childhood tech - DP
>> I had ( still have somewhere ) a slide rule. Can't see why it wouldn't
>> still work if I could remember how to use it.

I found one in a drawer when clearing out the garage. A fairly substantial plastic one in a two piece case. No idea whose it was, or where it came from, but it went in the "dump" pile along with all the other stuff I had no current, or reasonable prospect of future use for.

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New Sat 14 Dec 13 12:24 
 Childhood tech - Roger.
Even though I passed GCE "O" level in maths, I found a slide rule difficult to fathom out.
I recall seeing a senior executive of the finance company for which I worked, had one of those round ones with a rotating action.
Electronic calculators came in shortly afterwards and I remember the puzzlement of trying to work out how the company issued machine in our branch was used!
In a previous job, I well remember an office full of comptometer operators clacking away. (On their machines!)
Last edited by: Roger on Sat 14 Dec 13 at 12:25
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 12:41 
 Childhood tech - Runfer D'Hills
I reckon there is an age ( somewhere about the mid-40s at present ) most of those people currently above which can do simple arithmetic like adding up a column of figures or working out one number as a percentage of another quicker in their heads than those under that age bracket can do it on a calculator. Ask anyone under 40 ish to do it and they generally can't without concentrating really hard.

Conversely, don't ask me to do anything constructive with a play station handset. All I seem to be able to achieve with that is to make a little guy on the screen crouch or jump which seems to get him killed.

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New Sat 14 Dec 13 12:58 
 Childhood tech - DP
We used electronic calculators from teenage onwards (including for exams), but before I got to that, I had been taught times tables by rote and can still recall everything up to 12 x 12 instantly from memory, as well as do fairly simple arithmetic in my head.

My kids (8 and 6) are still learning their times tables by rote, which is somehow reassuring.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 13:46 
 Childhood tech - bathtub tom
Had to convert denary to hex and vice versa in a previous job. To reduce mistakes, two of us would it separately.

My pencil and paper was on a par with calculator for speed and accuracy.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 14:19 
 Childhood tech - Slidingpillar
I actually taught someone to use a slide rule. He's maybe 10 years younger than me and never used one.

Basic principle is simple and because you put the correct power of ten in when you've finished, I still have a good feeling of where the answer should come out.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 14:50 
 Childhood tech - No FM2R
I never liked slide rules. Log tables on the other hand...
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 15:30 
 Childhood tech - Runfer D'Hills
s √ cabin = log cabin
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 16:06 
 Childhood tech - madf
I still posses my log tables and slide rule and my first digital calculator (TI)- which no longer works.

Bring back comptometer operators I say..
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 16:09 
 Childhood tech - Robin O'Reliant
I had a Ready Reckoner.
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 17:25 
 Childhood tech - Dog
I had a Sinclair Microvision - more waste of money!
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New Sat 14 Dec 13 18:44 
 Childhood tech - Fursty Ferret
>> s √ cabin = log cabin
>>

Integral of 1/cabin = log cabin + c, surely? Which is technically a houseboat.

3/10. See me.
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