Sure, there was no SO/Google, and you had to rely on manuals and books. But the signal-to-noise was much lower. If you found a solution to a problem, it was nea

Sure, there was no SO/Google, and you had to rely on manuals and books. But the signal-to-noise was much lower. If you found a solution to a problem, it was nearly always The Right Solution. Today you look for something and you find 10 solutions, of which 9 are complete shit. This is more of a factor of how tech moves fast today, but still. It wasn't impossible to write programs.