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All valid points. I do suspect, though, that "the ones who came before" noticed this years ago. Things are worse (re: patents and app stores), but the idea of

All valid points. I do suspect, though, that "the ones who came before" noticed this years ago. Things are worse (re: patents and app stores), but the idea of the industry slowly taking a turn for the worst while nobody notices are not new concerns. I'd love to hear someone who's been programming for 40 years comment on this. I don't even know who to ask...

DanBC 14y ago
I'd love to hear from someone who's been programming for 40 years too. Until then, here's a jpg (http://i53.tinypic.com/2janfrd.jpg http://i53.tinypic.com/2janfrd.jpg) > "This is the computer industry as it used to be: people sharing ideas and solutions without the greed and grit with associated with today's corporate driven, litigation-laced, industry" (Second column, near the bottom) That was written over 20 years ago.
- ceejayoz 14y ago
  I love that Compuserve is $11.75 an HOUR, and the description of online chatting as a "CB Simulator".
  - endlessvoid94 14y ago
    I would pay for a way to use my iphone as a CB while on the road. I had a CB in college and it was really great to have while on road trips. I'd love to be able to open an app on my phone and ask the nearest semi driver what the traffic deal is, or where the "bears in the caves taking pictures" are ;-)
  - DanBC 14y ago
    Yes! Those are mid 1980s dollars too, so it's about $23 per hour today. (According to the first inflation adjusted dollars website I found). According to this Atari magazine (http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v11n2/30_Telecommunications_talk_.php http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v11n2/30_Telecommunic...) modem speeds were just about 2400 BPS in 1985, but that 300 BPS modems were still widely used. (I had a sudden flashback reading that about the easy use of either baud or bps for modem speed.) And it's funny that it ends with the "wristwatch" computer - obviously now we know the screen is too tiny and we haven't made enough progress in battery technology. I do wonder what the 1985 people would have made of smart phones.
- CodeMage 14y ago
  I really liked how Jacques Mattheij described this cyclic nature of our industry: http://www.jacquesmattheij.com/the-pendulum-swings-again http://www.jacquesmattheij.com/the-pendulum-swings-again

DanBC 14y ago

I'd love to hear from someone who's been programming for 40 years too. Until then, here's a jpg (http://i53.tinypic.com/2janfrd.jpg http://i53.tinypic.com/2janfrd.jpg) > "This is the computer industry as it used to be: people sharing ideas and solutions without the greed and grit with associated with today's corporate driven, litigation-laced, industry" (Second column, near the bottom) That was written over 20 years ago.

ceejayoz 14y ago
I love that Compuserve is $11.75 an HOUR, and the description of online chatting as a "CB Simulator".
- endlessvoid94 14y ago
  I would pay for a way to use my iphone as a CB while on the road. I had a CB in college and it was really great to have while on road trips. I'd love to be able to open an app on my phone and ask the nearest semi driver what the traffic deal is, or where the "bears in the caves taking pictures" are ;-)
- DanBC 14y ago
  Yes! Those are mid 1980s dollars too, so it's about $23 per hour today. (According to the first inflation adjusted dollars website I found). According to this Atari magazine (http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v11n2/30_Telecommunications_talk_.php http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v11n2/30_Telecommunic...) modem speeds were just about 2400 BPS in 1985, but that 300 BPS modems were still widely used. (I had a sudden flashback reading that about the easy use of either baud or bps for modem speed.) And it's funny that it ends with the "wristwatch" computer - obviously now we know the screen is too tiny and we haven't made enough progress in battery technology. I do wonder what the 1985 people would have made of smart phones.
CodeMage 14y ago
I really liked how Jacques Mattheij described this cyclic nature of our industry: http://www.jacquesmattheij.com/the-pendulum-swings-again http://www.jacquesmattheij.com/the-pendulum-swings-again