by VM44 37 Replies latest jw friends
jst2laws,
That's very interesting, would love to hear more when you get round to it!
I don't know if it is true that they have dropped MEPS for commercial software, but I would not be surprised.
I also heard they dropped MEPS a few years ago. I think they now use Adobe Framemaker.
Regards,
Ken
Jst2laws,
"I have been off line for some time. Perhaps some day I will put together a more detailed account going back to 1976."
It would be nice to read this account!
Observador.
Thanks Steve and Cyberguy for the first-hand information.
Would some of the team have been previously working for IBM though? (That could explain the version I got.)
Back in the mid 80's I went to the Farm and met with the brother in charge of computing/programing there. He told me this story.
In the late 70's he purchased a Heath Kit (blast from the past) Computer and tinkered with that in all his spare time. Programming in basic etc. He was approached there by the fat cats and asked about it. They then put him in charge of setting a computer dept and moved him to the Farm and like many small companies grew with the technology.
He showed me the system they had developed setting up the mini printing presses with lasers in other countries. He said the technology was so new it was cumbersome to get the gov't to let the technology out of the US, but that they were able to go through the right channels and get it done.
It was interesting being an electronics / computer professional myself.
J2Laws:
It was the project of Reiner Holm and John Ekran who were sent to the WT farm with a minimal budget to produce a demonstration of what they thought they could do. About a year later the GB approved the project with enthusiasm and a real budget. Holm was the computer science nut. Ekran was into software.I think Ekran might be the brother I spoke to. Does the Heath Kit / Move from NY Bethal sound right?
Heathkit computer:
| NAME | H8 |
| MANUFACTURER | Heathkit |
| TYPE | Professional Computer |
| ORIGIN | U.S.A. |
| YEAR | September 1977 |
| END OF PRODUCTION | Unknown |
| BUILT IN LANGUAGE | Hexadecimal editor |
| KEYBOARD | 16--key hexadecimal |
| CPU | Intel 8080 A |
| SPEED | 2.048 MHz |
| RAM | 4 kb (upgradable with memory boards) |
| ROM | 1 KB in basic version |
| TEXT MODES | N/A - Small display on the front panel displays the registers content. |
| SIZE / WEIGHT | Unknown |
| I/O PORTS | Serial IO (H8-4) and Cassette Interface (H8-5) |
| BUILT IN MEDIA | Optional ECP-3801 Cassette Recorder / Player |
| OS | HDOS, CP/M with extended system |
| POWER SUPPLY | Built-in power supply unit |
| PRICE | From $499 |
I remember my Grandmother was quite disturbed by the whole thing.
She felt that the Society getting involved with computers (machines that think) was tountamount to getting involved in the Occult and that Satan would influence & posses the Machines.
Then again her grasp of technology was limited. When she used to use the Gramaphone records with diatribes from 'Da Judge' the story goes that she set the thing up at a householders door and placed the stylus in the middle of the record and stood there patiently waiting in silence.
she set the thing up at a householders door and placed the stylus in the middle of the record and stood there patiently waiting in silence.
Useless fact #423: Some radio broadcasts that were put onto LPs that played at 16rpm on 16" LPs. Many times, the first side's groove ran from the outside in, however the second side ran from inside out. The reason for this was there would be no sudden notice in the change of sound quality (the faster the needle passes over the grooves, the better the sound quality. Quality degrades as the needle moves toward the center of the record as the needle passes over the grooves much slower.)
IT and Observador
jst2laws,
That's very interesting, would love to hear more when you get round to it!
and
Jst2laws,
"I have been off line for some time. Perhaps some day I will put together a more detailed account going back to 1976."
It would be nice to read this account!
Observador.
Couldn't sleep tonight. Its about 4:00 am and I just put up the following account.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/79508/1290937/post.ashx#1290937
Jst2laws
