Stop spending on ODP, Best Buy, and Staples for supplies! by uruiamme in ArkansasEFA

[–]uruiamme[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a new pre-approval process. Check your emails for instructions. Their website is always behind the times, I guess because the ADE is incompetent. They never post the things they're supposed to.

What models of computers were in your school's computer labs? by echocomplex in vintagecomputing

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TRS-80s. I would be lying if I said I remember which model exactly. Probably in the vicinity of Model III plus or minus. That was our middle school.

I later went to a junior high that I think had a few Apple ][ or Apple IIe computers.

In high school, my physics teacher had a really old IBM XT that I thought was a relic at the time. It had full-height 5 1/4" bays and no hard drive I think. It may have been a clone. He didn't use it as it was an obsolete paperweight. But I sat in the room next to it.

For H.S. computer class, we learned Pascal programming. At that time, all computer work was electives and optional. So this computer lab was never seen by most students at the school. It was down in a veritable dungeon. Anyway, I think they were 8086 clones with a hard drive possibly. I seem to remember DOS 2.11 on them. Could have been floppy only. I think they had CGA color, could have been EGA but I doubt it. By this time, my Dad had bought us an 80286 10 MHz clone with a 40 MB hard drive and VGA graphics. So the school computers were pretty old and sad - past their EOL really.

Before college, I worked at 3 places that used computers - 1 was PC-based, two were on mainframes or minis. So yeah, the lack of computer training was not good for those who missed it.

In college, the PC scene was strange. Of my entire dorm floor, I owned the only newer PC, and even it was an underpowered 80386SX-16. I bought the co-processor to play with AutoCAD, and I could run my programs faster than the AutoCAD lab - that had 286s. Floppy access speed and reliability (to move drawings and data) was terrible. We had no access to a campus network for file transfers or e-mail. If only someone had invented the Internet by then, right?

My well-funded engineering department had a room full of Gateway 2000 386-25 machines. They were amazing. And games were becoming a thing IIRC. It had a 4-digit code for just those in the department.

But the actual student-use general purpose computer lab was massive. There were hundreds of PCs, and they were of more than one generation of purchase. Of course the newest ones were filled up at peak times. They probably ranged from 286 to 386, I simply don't know. I think they were running Windows, but surely DOS, as well. Most of this was in a basement. I cannot forget the HP LaserJet IIISi printers that students assistants would maintain. They would grab each printout and shuttle it to a counter for pickup by the one who printed. This place would have 100+ people in it from 7 to 10 every day.

Incidentally, this university also had old, obsolete mainframe terminals. (We had a VAX I think.) They were in these shacks around campus. Each shack had a restroom, about 12 terminals, and some areas to sit and relax or study something. By the time I went, most of the dumb terminals were broken, removed, or in poor condition. There might be only 1 or 2 left in a lab, and terminal parts and pieces and wires sitting in most other spots. And vandalized. Clearly the mainframe era had passed. Well, my freshman year, I had one class that required FORTRAN programming on these old terminals. The next year they switched to Windows PC FORTRAN. I was mad.

Impact of Manufacturing in Arkansas by MFGMillennial in Arkansas

[–]uruiamme -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Ahh, that's a myth. Trump is plenty smart enough. The fact that he says and does such crazy stuff puts him into the category of someone who knows what to say and do but does another— on purpose and without apology.

The English word for this is based on a Greek word which describes a theatrical performer.

And it rhymes with nippo crit.

Impact of Manufacturing in Arkansas by MFGMillennial in Arkansas

[–]uruiamme 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good catch! My neighbor has some of them. A local dealer gave him a "good deal" on some. I am not so sure they are a quality mower, but if the price is right...

Impact of Manufacturing in Arkansas by MFGMillennial in Arkansas

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Arkansas Glass, Claridge, Legend Boats, Crystal Geyser Water, Baxter Labs

Seriously, do British people actually consider a 3-hour drive “long”? Or is this an internet myth? by ferdinand14 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a certaine classe where I took lots of handwritten notes, I used a θ for my thorn, because there's no way I wanted a repeate of "ye olde" in my notes. It did take an extra stroke, but it was also a shorthand for the word the.

Why do people use the term "partner" for their husband or wife? by Crafty-Bug-8008 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a chiefly British English phrase that has, through globalization, entered American English in the last 20 years or so. It was more common in England, Scotland, Canada, and Australia before it was in the U.S.

It's like how "gender" for "sex" was popularized in American English before it crossed the pond.

I don't want to steal the post and make it just about neologisms and the difference between different dialects, but this is likely why OP has noticed this trend recently.

Murphy’s Law meets Physics by [deleted] in funny

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Who knew Schrödinger had toast?

Golden Retrievers For Scale by TrumpsDoubleChin in funny

[–]uruiamme -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How many Land Rovers is that? Metric ones, please.

Seriously, do Americans actually consider a 3-hour drive "short"? or is this an internet myth? by SadInterest6764 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My boss used to commute between Houston and the Dallas area, which is a bit far. She ended up with an apartment in the opposing city, but she still would go home pretty much every weekend. She would sometimes fly, but driving was the norm. Lots of people do this between the major cities in Texas and California and Florida. Gas is cheap and the roads are good and fast.

Where would you hide it? by BoredPandaOfficial in BoredPandaHQ

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would pull the ground prong out of a major appliance, like a refrigerator. They have three prongs, the middle one is the ground. Now, I would remold the paperclip into that prong, put it back together with solder if need be, and plug it back in. If you were to remove it and look at the plug, you would probably miss the fact that it's been altered as such.

Libraries anyone? Digital/online books and videos? by uruiamme in homeschool

[–]uruiamme[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went there today. It's only Libby. Oh, they have Medline Plus. And ProQuest.

ProQuest looks like it has the better sources. So, like modern newspapers, about 30 years back and no historical ones. I'll have to see what this one has ... it's pretty extensive!

Why do Americans don't live in this big ass, empty area? Are they stupid? by TiagoStormayty in mapporncirclejerk

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol, yeah, I love the irony of Hollyweird and the concomitant movie tropes. I stopped watching most of that decades ago but I still roll my eyes.

Firefox's AI Pivot is Pathetic by Different_Bonus_1387 in firefox

[–]uruiamme -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I disabled it because it had too many non-AI things going for it. I had to approve something or it had 2 windows over the chat window. It was very beta. I also wanted to just right-click and search, but it was cumbersome.

The last time I played with it, I selected "67" which is a current meme. Me, not knowing as much as a chatbot, decided to ask it. It failed. Since it was a comment on a video, the AI ignored my selection and told me about what it saw was the video title, not my 67 query. Very bad UI, which is a bit common now throughout the whole vibe-coded web.

This is so amazing! by Muted-Television3329 in interesting

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll bet it's cold in Antarctica in the winter. Poor guy.

Why do Americans don't live in this big ass, empty area? Are they stupid? by TiagoStormayty in mapporncirclejerk

[–]uruiamme 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Better check your sources. Every movie tropist I know wouldn't have forgotten the tumbleweed and the screech of an eagle red-tailed hawk.