Now I understand

[John Camp]

Additional note before I sign off this silliness -- I first saw what could be called a piece of "computer equipment" at the All Iowa Fair in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in what must have been the early 50s -- it was an IBM punch-card sorter, set up under a tent, and the guy who owned it could sort the colored cards into all kinds of weird and fancy patterns, and do other strange sorting-related tricks. I thought it was fascinating.

And in regard to the first post of this thread, I've been on the 'net long enough to see any number of forums start, blossom, and then fade away; a kind of natural life-cycle, with the decline usually begun and accelerated by the arrival of little @&**#! internet vandals who troll, insult other members, b.s., whine, etc. They're like noisy twelve-year-olds taking over a pizza joint -- the adults simply get tired of it and leave. Good moderators are essential, not to censor the conversation or even the disagreements, but to control the pointless and ignorant aggression.

 

[Marc-A.]

I do want to clarify one important point: I never said, meant, etc. that new members spoiled anything. I haven't read anything here that says so. I have read, however, things to indicate that obviously many of us can't read and that's where misunderstandings start.

There is some misunderstanding: I am not comfortable with what has been said in the thread you were refering to: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/for...ead.php?t=22415
Do not worry, you havn't said anything offensive 😉
Bests,
Marc

 

[rover]

We are all growing up together Marc. I can understand any concerns that you may have, but stick around, this is a nice place to be.

 

[VinceC]

I miss CompuServe forums. They were soooo polite AND informative.

 

[JeffGreene]

Gabriel:

You certainly didn't offend me. It's important that all opinions be expressed as long as they are not personally hurtful. Like many newer members, I spent the early part of my time on the forum lurking and benefiting from the immense expertise present here. Thanks to it, I am two GSN's, a 14E richer(or poorer from my bride's perspective) to go with my B&J Press, Canon IIB and other antiques. I gained a new perspective that I'd never considered as an SLR user.

I think the reason many of us enjoy the forum as much as we do is because of the acceptance of all levels of ability and interest. I'm here because I grew tired of the one-upsmanship so characteristic of some of the other forums out there. So no, Gabriel, I've always enjoyed your posts, and will continue to do so! It's too bad that some of that old "look and feel" is gone from the forum, but personally, I enjoy it as much or more so than I used to.

 

[bmattock]

I like toast!

 

[darkkavenger]

"Ha! I *sold* TRS-80 Model I computers at Radio Shack in 1978! I was doing programming in BASIC on a TTY-33 over a 300 baud acoustic modem to a mainframe, using paper tape for storage, in 1977! I also bought a ZX80 in 1982, but never did much with it. Bought, and still have, a Kaypro I (running the CP/M OS) in 1986."

You young guys had it **so** easy with all your fancy advanced Radio Shack equipment. I can remember standing in the "computer room" of the Miami Herald's Fort Lauderdale Bureau in the mid-70s, up to my ankles in the paper tape needed to reboot the box that shipped our daily output to Miami so it could be set **in hot type,** with twenty minutes before the absolute final deadline and everybody, including me, losing our heads...

I got a TRS-80 Model 100 in France! whee! Lucid ROM spreadsheet and lines and lines of typing BASIC programs 😀 That's the way it should be nowadays!

 

[Gid]

Pah! Thats nothing, in 1977 I had (and still have) a Binatone games machine with football, tennis, squash and a shooting game. It was basically two controllers with a dial each which moved a 'bat' up and down the screen. It made beeping sounds. Powered by four D cell batteries.

Me too until very recently.

 

[Gid]

Ha! I *sold* TRS-80 Model I computers at Radio Shack in 1978! I was doing programming in BASIC on a TTY-33 over a 300 baud acoustic modem to a mainframe, using paper tape for storage, in 1977!

I also bought a ZX80 in 1982, but never did much with it. Bought, and still have, a Kaypro I (running the CP/M OS) in 1986.

I never learned how to use a sliderule, though.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

You young uns dont know anything. When I first started in computers, it was before Babbage was out of nursery school. Disks were made of stone and the cpu was a cave full of dwarves - the disk high ho rate was good though 😀

 

[Gid]

Well this is my first message here, having got round to registering this afternoon.

Ash,

In all this excitement about who has the biggest lens, we've forgotten our manners. A very warm welcome to RFF. I'm sure you will like it here.

best regards

 

[back alley]

how did this thread become about computers?

it's been hijacked.

perhaps it needs to be deleted or closed?
joe

 

[BrianShaw]

how did this thread become about computers?

it's been hijacked.

perhaps it needs to be deleted or closed?
joe

Sure, a little bit of hijacking has happened. But think about it this way... it's a demonstration of the camaraderie that happens here at RFF. (There, I mentioned something photographic so this post isn't 100% OT!) Isn't that related to the original topic?

 

[BrianShaw]

You young uns dont know anything. When I first started in computers, it was before Babbage was out of nursery school. Disks were made of stone and the cpu was a cave full of dwarves - the disk high ho rate was good though 😀

You win, can't compete with that... Peace, Out!

p.s. I took three frames, color negative film, with my Retina IIIc this morning. More of my "neighborhood documentation program". The more I shoot, the more I'm noticing the demise of the older homes and the encroachment of "fill-in development". Another empty lot is now fenced off and it looks like developemnt is imminent.

 

[nico]

Hello,
I'm a newbie here on the forum and on rangefinder cameras (I just bought a Bessa R + nokton 50 from a UE member) and this is the first forum I become a member. That's because, after lurking here for awhile, I really appreciated - and still I do - not only the photos attached but the way you discuss in the threads. I'm really thankful to others members who share their photo and knowledge on this site. I really learned a lot.
I don't know if and how much RFF has changed but as others already wrote change happens, every group changes (I play in a band since 1988 we changed a lot of musicians along the years but we're still there playin' Stones, CCR etc. every tuesday night).
I think RFF is a very nice place to spend some time for leisure and I hope to spend some more time on it (it's also very useful to improve my poor english...🙂 ).
Bye.
nico

 

[Trius]

I was on a party line, my phone number only had 4 digits and I wrote my papers on an Underwood typewriter that could have doubled as part of the foundation to our house, with a ribbon that was divided between black and red portions. Ha.

Earl

 

[bmattock]

I was on a party line, my phone number only had 4 digits and I wrote my papers on an Underwood typewriter that could have doubled as part of the foundation to our house, with a ribbon that was divided between black and red portions. Ha.

Earl

You got me - my manual typewriter was a Remington. The rest was the same as you. Oh, and our black-only ribbon was reused until you could see through it.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[doubs43]

I was on a party line, my phone number only had 4 digits and I wrote my papers on an Underwood typewriter that could have doubled as part of the foundation to our house, with a ribbon that was divided between black and red portions. Ha. Earl

You had a typewriter? Darn...... you were well-off. 😉

My father had an old manual Remington with flat keys and a raised chrome ring around them. It didn't take long for them to hurt your fingers as they required considerable force to use.

Our telephone number was BUckeystown-3206 and as long as you were on the same exchange, you only dialed the last four numbers. Our line was private because it was also a business phone. The exchange later became TRemont-4-3206 when the local BELL system changed to a 7-digit number sometime in the late 1950's. When my father died in 1999, one of the original 1953 black dial phones was still in use in the house.

Walker

 

[bmattock]

I still have a black dial phone - in use. Voice mail is hell. Press one, I'll give you press one.

Remember how much it hurt when you got your fingers stuck between the keys?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[raid]

This is life, Gabriel. Things do not stay the way the used to be. I used to like reading Shutterbug magazine with its extended articles on old cameras and their internal design. The editor was changed, and the magazine took a new look, and I quit it. When I dicovered PhotoNet I thought I had found the most valuable and most enjoyable website in the Internet, but then things got ugly in the Leica Forum and temporarily left PN and rediscovered the Rangefinder Forum. I slowly got to know some people here through discussions and pm's, but I also do not want it to be addictive. If Jorge decides to run the place a certain way and he insists oni t, nobody can do anything and then you feel (realize) that you have no real place or role here but to accept what's out there. My wife will be extremely happy to learn one day that I am not frequenting the RFF as I used to. It still will be a source of useful information just as PN is. The Internet does not replace the real world around us. Having an active photography club close by would be a great thing for me, but we don't have any. This leaves me taking photos on my own and check online for interesting postings.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I'm a newbie here on the forum and on rangefinder cameras (I just bought a Bessa R + nokton 50 from a UE member) and this is the first forum I become a member.
...I think RFF is a very nice place to spend some time for leisure and I hope to spend some more time on it (it's also very useful to improve my poor english...🙂 ).

Hi Nico, it's good to see another EU person with a Voigtlander. Your English looks fine.

You may like to check out The Unofficial Cosina Voigtlander Forum which is very new and so far with only a handful of members. It's run by Brian who you may remember was here until recently.

Enjoy yourself in Tuscany with that camera.