3 ms·
In the 1980s I worked for a Cobol programmer (Tom wrote accounting software for Wang VS systems, I wrote the user manuals). (Just writing that sentence makes me
by Finnucane 5y ago
In the 1980s I worked for a Cobol programmer (Tom wrote accounting software for Wang VS systems, I wrote the user manuals). (Just writing that sentence makes me feel old.) I recall that one of our clients was migrating from an even older system that used wire plug cards. Literally no one knew how they worked; if one wire came out of a card, good luck getting it back in the right place. At least Cobol is more comprehensible than that.
- porknubbins 5y agoAs someone who often cannot repair my own breadboard projects if they come unplugged I understand this all too well. It might have been unfixable as soon as it was out of the builder’s short term memory.
- tdeck 5y agoApparently a company in Texas was still using the IBM 402 in 2012, which works just as you describe. Swappable trays of wired patch panels for programming: https://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-ancient-computers-in-use-today.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if-it-aint-broke-dont...