From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Emanuel Berg Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: From: Sharon Kimble, Subject: Re: editor and word processor history Date: Sat, 31 May 2014 14:44:21 +0200 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Message-ID: <87mwdyyv6i.fsf_-_@debian.uxu> References: <87ha4d64r2.fsf@robertthorpeconsulting.com> <87bnuho13m.fsf@debian.uxu> <874n09nz3c.fsf_-_@debian.uxu> <87d2ewmbtf.fsf@debian.uxu> <87bnuf1rjj.fsf@debian.uxu> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1401540326 1980 80.91.229.3 (31 May 2014 12:45:26 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 31 May 2014 12:45:26 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat May 31 14:45:21 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1Wqif1-0008O4-UQ for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 31 May 2014 14:45:20 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:59664 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1Wqif1-0004qq-2q for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 31 May 2014 08:45:19 -0400 Original-Path: usenet.stanford.edu!news.kjsl.com!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!news.stack.nl!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 62 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: SIvZRMPqRkkTHAHL6NkRuw.user.speranza.aioe.org Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.3 (gnu/linux) X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:H1CyotYgiYXE5D1li+KBis7zkaI= Mail-Copies-To: never Original-Xref: usenet.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:205710 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:97980 Archived-At: I got this as a mail, but I suspect it was intended for the list, so I send it without asking. By the way, this has started to happening a lot lately - it was actually one of the first thing I asked on this list, I often get CC of posts (as mails) that are intended as posts - that doesn't bother me as I've instructed Gnus to put those in a cc group, and those posts go to the group as well, so no harm - however, what I can see, this was just a pure mail and didn't reach the group (correct me if I'm wrong). So, there must be something with my posts that tells other clients "this guy isn't on the list, include a CC" *or* (worse) "this isn't even a post, reply as mail". Anyway, here is the lost (?) and found post from Sharon: Back in 1980 I joined a commercial office suppliers in Norwich as I didn't want to work with computers, and the following week ........ they got a computer to do the accounts on! I've got a feeling that it was an "Olivetti" something, with data being stored on magnetic tape in a cartridge about the same size as the average novel! And for some reason it always got jammed into its holder every Friday afternoon at 1630, which required the company secretary to sort it out with two big screwdrivers! After about 7 weeks of this happening the company secretary worked out that we started the close down procedure at 1630 and we were hurrying to start the weekend. From then on, we started at 1600, and didn't have to hurry so no more data cartridge jams! All the customers accounts were kept on cardboard sheets with a paper sheet in front of it, we kept the cardboard sheets and sent the paper sheet to the customer as their statement, and they had to be inserted by hand into the machine and then held in place whilst the data was hammered onto the sheets. After a couple of years we were upgraded with another Olivetti machine, this time with what I think was called a "Winchester cartridge" a big disc in a big plastic holder that was backed up to twice a day. This was a big improvement on the old machine, which had had to be dismantled to get it out of the building, when they found that some previous operand had used it as an ashtray, complete with dead matches and tab ends! I managed to kill two keyboards on the new machine over the years, by eating crisps with my left hand whilst key-pounding, data entering with the right hand, and somehow salt getting into the keyboard. This was compounded by the company secretary "cleaning the salt out" with some cleaning fluid which had the effect of seizing everything up! Somehow I managed to "programme" the new computer to flash "Happy Birthday" when the company secretary used it on his birthday, and he went ape-s**t and made me promise not to try anything like that again, on pain of being sacked! Oh, happy days! -- underground experts united: http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573