A Trip down "Memory" Lane

[Snowhog]

Ah, nostalgia! True, I wasn't around for the early stuff, but it's still fun to see just how far we've come!

Memory & Storage | Timeline of Computer History | Computer History Museum

[MoonRise]

Amazing it is!!

[Schwarzer Kater]

Nice.
Reminds me that I have to make some space and fetch stuff from the cellar one day…

[jlittle]

I found it weird that there's no mention of 9-track, half-inch tape, which Wikipedia says "For over 30 years the format dominated offline storage and data transfer". Vast amounts of it were used, and I imagine there's still huge piles of it.

On the theme of memory lane, here's a true story, set in London in the 1980s:

Andy

Andy's father was our chairman's best man, so when he left school he was given a job in our smallish firm in the City. I didn't mind him that much, but to most he was lazy, unkempt, boorish and too fond of blowing his own trumpet. He should have fit right in, we had plenty of characters for which that description would be understatement, but somehow weedy immaturity and general uselessness didn't add to the mix well.

He got shunted around from department to department until he ended up with us in computers, which he thought was a great fit because he was a whiz on his BBC micro. Of course, he went about upsetting the operators by pointing out he would be their boss soon, but his aversion to work, slackness (f.ex. starting work at 11 am when the local youth hostel kicked him out), and unpleasant manner soon had him totally disliked. One weekend he spent several hours smoking and drinking at my desk playing computer games, covering everything with ash and stinking the cubicle out.

One day, I mentioned to an "engineer" on a regular maintenance visit that the take up reel on one of our half-inch tape drives was cracked. He said that was okay, it was just a standard reel and if it broke just undo that screw and replace it. We had to send out tapes with our day's business and there were strict deadlines for them, so I located a dud tape, and proceeded to unwind it. This was non-trivial, unwinding 3600 feet took a quarter of an hour. Seeing this huge pile of tape, about eighteen inches high on the floor, I had an idea.

I gathered up this pile, no mean task, and carried it upstairs to Andy's desk. It was impressive, covering the desk completely. I wrote a note to Andy, please could he rewind it, urgent. Just in case he was fool enough not to get the joke, I made sure that a group of people nearby knew about it. And then I disappeared for a boozy lunch with a computer salesman.

I hadn't allowed for just how much Andy was disliked, so when Andy came to his desk they solemnly swore that yes, he had to do it. He rushed out to the pub (in the City, we had 7 pubs within 100 yards) where our manager was having lunch and without missing a beat told Andy if I had asked for it, it must really be necessary. Frantic, he darted around the firm, trying to get out of it, but the response was unanimous. What should have given the game away, though, was the chief operator (who hated Andy the most, mostly because she was a hateful old battleaxe) who said, "Andy, it has to be done, I'll help you".

Well, he couldn't find an end of the tape. So he cut it, and when he reached one of the ends, he stapled it on. He didn't notice the twists and tangles he reeled up, until about a third of the way through the pile the hysterical fits of everyone on the floor finally got through to him.

When I returned at 3 pm, I was met by one of the operators, tears streaming down her face, and was presented with the tape!

[Snowhog]

Now that’s an epic office prank!

[Qqmike]

Interesting graphical history, quick read. Thanks.