The end of an internet era

My dad was in the computer biz since the early days. Way before the internet, we had one of these in our family room, connected to an IBM 360 site on the other side of the country via telephone modem. I would come home from school and play 'computer games' such as Battleship on it. This was roughly 1970.

I had this computer once where I could play a game called "Global Thermonuclear War" with some twit somewhere on the internet.

http://www.text2speech.org/temp/0904240644380.mp3

Grtechguy wrote: huh.... I forgot about them remember Compuserve? and collecting AOhell fdds?

I had a Delphi account before I had a Compuserve account. I also had a GeoCities page.

I remember using AOL CDs as drink coasters at one point. They sent those things everywhere.

I had a crapload of the AOL floppies back in the day. I'm not sure I ever paid for floppies, actually.

I had CompuServe, then Prodigy, back in the early 90s. AOL discs, LOL, I remember those - they must have spent a fortune mailing all those floppies and CDs.

Snowdoggie wrote: I remember using AOL CDs as drink coasters at one point. They sent those things everywhere.

In college we tried them out in a manually operated clay pidgeon launcher thingie. I don't recall the results...we didn't have a gun around and we were drunk, to be sure.

Clem

There was some guy siding his house in AOL CDs somewhere, can't remember where but pics are bound to be out there....

David S. Wallens wrote: Can anyone (besides JG) recall our old Compuserve address?

72123,2625

What do I win?

ClemSparks wrote: In college we tried them out in a manually operated clay pidgeon launcher thingie. I don't recall the results...we didn't have a gun around and we were drunk, to be sure. Clem

doesn't work to bad... 4 or 5 glued together works best

I am honestly supprised they ahve lasted this long.

spriteracer wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote: Can anyone (besides JG) recall our old Compuserve address?

72123,2625 What do I win?

Fine, fine work, sir.

jg

i built a site back on my college's server in 94.
I accessed the internet off my "laptop" that had a built in 2400 modem and I paid $20 for the unit. It had dual floppy drives, a full size keyboard and a flip up grayscale monitor.
I miss that machine, it even had a carry handle!

Man.. We used to throw those AOL CD's at people. One day we were in Sol Dorms, back when they had balconies that opened, and we were chucking them at people. Nailed some dude right on the head. ohh.. good times...

Then there was the time we beaned this girls mom in the head with a signed LP of "MA$E" or some crap..

I dunno just found a stack of signed records and we broke them.

ignorant wrote: Man.. We used to throw those AOL CD's at people. One day we were in Sol Dorms, back when they had balconies that opened, and we were chucking them at people. Nailed some dude right on the head. ohh.. good times... Then there was the time we beaned this girls mom in the head with a signed LP of "MA$E" or some crap.. I dunno just found a stack of signed records and we broke them.

it's a little creepy that I have essentially the exact same memory except from gleason..

even before your post this thread made me remember how at least one dorm room door on every floor was tiled from top to bottom with aol cds. usually there were a bunch that had been nuked in the micros as well.

I still have a couple of those metal AOHell CD mailers around the hose.

Speaking of old computer stuff: A dealership I worked for had some of the old computer equipment stored in the warehouse over the parts department. I was up there rooting around for something and found the old modem. It was one of those things where you dialed the number on the phone then put the handset on a cradle. The computers then talked to each other with tones. I think the baud rate was something like 800. It looked a lot like this one:

At least it wasn't as old as THIS one:

ignorant wrote: Man.. We used to throw those AOL CD's at people. One day we were in Sol Dorms, back when they had balconies that opened, and we were chucking them at people. Nailed some dude right on the head. ohh.. good times... Then there was the time we beaned this girls mom in the head with a signed LP of "MA$E" or some crap.. I dunno just found a stack of signed records and we broke them.

We had a stack of AOL CDs in my Colony Apartment (284-6, first building on the south end, so our balcony overlooked the south entrance road.) We randomly frisee'd them across the road into the bushes. When the snow melted in the spring of our senior year, the whole area glistened in the sun.

As for balconies, I lived in Gleason the last year before they remodeled. We had a kid jump off of 3 duct-taped between two mattresses. At one point G6 threw every last piece of lounge furniture out the front balcony. And G5 used to like to swing a blow-up doll off their north balcony.

NYG95GA wrote: What's with all the AOL hate? I still use it, and don't have many problems. What should I be using?

Gotta give AOL some props for getting just about everyone online back in the day. I remember looking up new dial-up numbers from every hotel I was staying in.