11 Feb
2023
11 Feb
'23
1:05 a.m.
When I started at Fortune Systems in 1981, they had just rented a large empty warehouse
space in San Carlos that was just perfect for playing music loudly! We worked crazy hours
so I took in my stereo system and some records. Once the 9 to 5 people went home we
cranked up the volume and listened to local college radio stations or records. Soon people
started bringing in their own favorite records. Employee ages ranged from 18 to 50+ &
from variety of backgrounds so we had quite an eclectic collection of music. I also recall
listening to hours of various versions of "Pipeline" and later "Louie
Louie" specials on KFJC! Once we moved into a new facility the dynamics and the
acoustics changed so I brought the stereo system home, along with a few records that no
one claimed!
Somewhat related: there was enough RF leakage when the Fortune motherboard was not in the
case. I could "tune into it" near a Jazz FM station. That was quite useful
because the noise pattern changed depending on what the system was doing. I could be doing
something else and I could hear if the system crashed or the pattern changed to something
unusual! I'd probably recognize those noise patterns even now - just as most of us
oldtimers recognize dialup sounds!
On Feb 9, 2023, at 5:10 PM, Mike Markowski
<mike.ab3ap(a)gmail.com> wrote:
This is far afield even for COFF, so apologies up front. Machines and OSes we fondly
remember get older day by day. But many labs I worked in during undergrad & grad
years and then in the workforce always had a radio going, and music never seems to age.
When I hear Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" or Doobie Brothers'
"What a Fool Believes," it's RSTS/E on a PDP11/70 as a teen, my first
exposure to computers. Kraftwerk and Big Audio Dynamite mean Unix with Mike Muuss at
Ballistic Research Lab in the early 90s. I had PX (military Post Exchange) privileges
which Mike used to the fullest to buy fantastic lab speakers. The old ENIAC room, our
work space, had thick walls. :-)
I wonder if particular music transports any others back to computing days of old. The
current lab I'm in receives exactly 1 radio station from a local high school and
streaming is blocked. Not sure that any new musical memories will be formed for my ever
nearer days of retirement!
Musically yours,
Mike Markowski