Topic: Fun Poll: Who here remembers loading software with a cassette tape?

[Sirgod]

In another thread, we had started discussing various PC's after talking about the Windows 7 Launch parties.

Scipio came up with this question, and I thought it would be great for a poll, just to see once again, how broad and varied our users here are.

OK, show of hands:  Is there anyone on this board that NEVER saved or loaded a program from a cassette tape?  (I did, for years.)

It's definitely an era marker.

-S'Cipio 

So there we go, what was the earliest Medium you used to load software?

Stephen

[GDA-S'Cipio]

You're a good man, Stephen!

And, judging from the results so far, we're all a bunch of geezers.   

-S'Cipio

[marstone]

First loading of software as the keyboard for me.  Old TRS-80 in the Radio Shack store.  The Apple II.  Moved up quickly from there.  An Amiga 1000, replaced with an Amiga 2000HD then MS boxes.

When I miss the old days, just have to look over in the corner and my Apple II is right there yet.

[Lepton]

My first comp was a TI-99/4A seen below


Saved my little Basic programs on an attached tape deck.
I remember loading a B1 bomber game (text-based of course) from that tape deck if memory serves.

I also remember using some all-in-one Tandy/Radio Shack computers in Junior High.

[Sirgod]

Oh man Lepton, That takes me way back. My old friend Jeff Smith had a TI-99, that he used for about a month. He got tired of it , and every week he would torture me by saying, Who knows Steve, I might let you have it some day.

Stephen

[Lieutenant_Q]

My first computer was a RGB display with two 5 1/4 in floppy drives.  The computer HAD a hard drive, but it was removed before we bought it.  We used that computer exclusively for six years before we upgraded to an IBM PS/1 that had a GUI (not windows) a 500 MB hard drive and a 3.5 in floppy.  It was unfortunate that we never had a computer that had both the 3.5  and the 5.25 drives, because we had some awesome games for the 5.25.  Which is why my father still had that computer up to three years ago.  Finally got a computer with Windows 95 three years after we got the PS/1 because the PS/1 gave up the ghost.

[Dash Jones]

Uhhhhh....

I answered the poll, and when I saw the results I was stupified.  It appears I am the lone and only one who first used CD/DVDs?

[Sirgod]

Well to be fair Dash you are grandfathered in. Wasn't it your uncle who found some of the original Console commands for NWN that you shared with us a long time ago?

IF anything, your not the young man who would Gripe at 30 second Playstation loading times either.

Stephen

[FPF-Tobin Dax]

I had an atari 400 for my first computer. I still have it and the cassette player in the basement. I had Frogger and Zaxxon on cassete. Star Raiders cartridge for the atari 400 is still fun. 

[Just plain old Punisher]

There isn't an option for 10 inch floppies.

[Sirgod]

There isn't an option for 10 inch floppies.

But there is a pill for that now.

Stephen

[Sarek]

I feel inadequate, I never used a 10 inch floppy (10 inch floppy????), my biggest was 8 inches.  Which is why I answered "Other", I used 8" floppies at work before I got an Atari 800 w/cassette drive for my home.

Edit:  Egads, I just remember that before floppy drives and cassette drives I loaded software from punch cards.

[Bonk]

Had to go with "other" myself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_IBM_disk_storage#IBM_1311
pretty sure it was one of those, the description of the 1316 disk pack sounds exactly like what I remember.

Partly because of the question posed:

So there we go, what was the earliest Medium you used to load software?

Though I recall waiting for vic20 or c64 cassette tape to load.

Cool poll! 

[knightstorm]

The first media I used were the 5 1/4 inch floppy's on the computers at school when I was in 3rd grade.

[Corbomite]

This was my first "medium" 

[Dracho]

I had an atari 400 for my first computer. I still have it and the cassette player in the basement. I had Frogger and Zaxxon on cassete. Star Raiders cartridge for the atari 400 is still fun. 

And Basic was a cartridge. 

[GDA-S'Cipio]

Though I recall waiting for vic20 or c64 cassette tape to load.

Cool poll! 

I remember (a thin!) William Shatner doing overdramatic TV commercials advertising the "Power!" of the Vic20.   

The first storage media that I used to load software was a cassette tape.  I had a program on punch cards, but never got to load it on anything.  A company I was visiting as a school trip had just retired their card reading machine, and was giving out the cards as souvenirs.  I never saw another card reader to try it out and see if it worked.

-S'Cipio

[GDA-S'Cipio]

Star Raiders cartridge for the atari 400 is still fun. 

I absolutely *loved* that game!

-S'Cipio

[Dash Jones]

Well to be fair Dash you are grandfathered in. Wasn't it your uncle who found some of the original Console commands for NWN that you shared with us a long time ago?

IF anything, your not the young man who would Gripe at 30 second Playstation loading times either.

Stephen

Yes, Now he's one guy who's big into computers.  He backs everything up it seems via tape, and still has an old box that you can put on the side of a TV to play Pong with some paddles.

PS: interestingly enough, someone mentioned punchcards, His father in law who I've met used punchcards and even older stuff which used  something like ping pong balls which they'd put into the computer which would calculate things out like a calculator does now.

[Andromeda]

A friend of mine's dad still has his Commodore 64 and uses it... He's a major engineering geek.  That was my first experience with a computer.

Later I encountered punch cards, which was my second experience with a computer.  After those stopped being useful, we used the cards for D&D magic items.  You could tell how high level a character was by how many punch cards were next to her character sheet.

5.25" floppies were after that.  We used to get in trouble for pulling the disk out of the computer so it wouldn't save the Star Trek game we just lost.