This is something I could go an at dangerous length about. We DID have it better back then because the constraints of hardware kept software in check. We had to keep it simple because we had no choice.

The reason these ancient customers suddenly crawl out of the woodwork is that WE NEVER HEAR FROM THEM. The software was that bullet-proof. This was the first time the guy called in over 20 years. He just sent his monthly payment in (We lease the software) and kept running his business.

Now, we build software on top of frameworks built atop other frameworks. Any link in the chain can be automagically updated from the Internet with the user completely unaware. Then things start flaking out.

Yes, I could take that approach with the new stuff and do everything in house. It would mean nothing because the operating system ITSELF has the problem.

We've gone backwards in many ways.

//

2016-09-25T12:23:55Z

"I back up on floppies", is what I was told.
Borrowed time doesn't even begin to describe it.

//

2016-09-25T12:10:38Z

This is the kind of thing that gets thrown into my lap constantly. I'm assuming he has kept it going so long by using an old copy of Spinrite or some such because if he hasn't, the data would be a garbled mess by now. Stepper motor actuator + Florida heat and humidity.

He is running a business off that system.

That particular drive was notorious for tossing cookies. It doesn't even have autopark heads going for it. (The 251-1 revision did).

And it's is so depressing that I remember so much useless information. I need to curate a museum or something. :D

The first hard drive I was exposed to and got to use was a Corvus tabletop drive. 5MB. If you programmed it to do a lot of end to end seeks, the desk would wobble. It had a data transfer rate that wasn't much better than a floppy drive.

I'm getting all nostalgic now :D

//

2016-09-25T12:01:08Z

It's also why, "Just put the drive in a USB caddy", is not an option.
Welcome to my world. :)

2016-09-25T11:49:59Z

It's this drive right here…Behold the sound of my youth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch

2016-09-25T11:48:37Z

He can just toss the laptop in the trash and I'll have to fly down there to get the data off the DOS machine myself.

Your scenario is why the DOS machine is, under no circumstances, allowed near a UPS van. It is still running a MFM drive (Seagate ST-251 42MB). How a stepper motor actuated hard drive is still functioning after all of these years is a mystery. One good jolt and it's game over.

2016-09-25T11:45:38Z

This stuff used to be so complicated. Connect Bridgeport milling machine with second party computer control (What I used to install for people) to a DOS or Windows PC via serial link and send drawings through it…

Now, you can grab an iPad and a 3D printer and do it in your living room.

2016-09-25T11:37:37Z

Today, my mission is simple.

  • Fetch ancient Gateway laptop from the garage.
  • Somehow make ancient Gateway laptop function.
  • Put Windows 98 on ancient Gateway laptop.
  • Make networking function under Windows 98.
  • Put DOS version of Laplink on Gateway laptop.
  • Find 3.5" floppy that still works.
  • Put DOS version of Laplink on floppy.
  • Find my serial and parallel Laplink cables.
  • Put everything in a box and ship it to Florida.

When it arrives in Florida..

  • Instruct customer to install Laplink on his DOS computer.
  • Connect laptop to computer via cables.
  • Dump all of the data to the laptop.
  • Get laptop on the internet.
  • ZIP the data up.
  • Send me the data via FTP.
  • Send me my laptop and cables back.

Trust me. This is the easiest way.

2016-09-25T11:28:52Z

For someone who hasn't fooled with the stuff since the DOS versions of AutoCAD, seeing Shapr3D is kind of a shock.

2016-09-25T11:22:55Z

Sunrise in 12 minutes. Final day of the weekend. I need longer weekends.

2016-09-25T11:20:33Z