You mean it forgets some things, and remembers others?
July 1, 2010 6:38 PM Subscribe
TVOntario's Bits and Bytes: the world of personal computers explained in 1983 by Billy Van and Luba Goy.
Among the topics covered: Loading programs into memory, ROM vs RAM, the difference between Apple II and TRS-80, home accounting and the computer's speed.
Among the topics covered: Loading programs into memory, ROM vs RAM, the difference between Apple II and TRS-80, home accounting and the computer's speed.
Geez, Luba Goy. So she was into computers before Air Farce? Huh.
posted by weezy at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by weezy at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2010
And I still can't get TVO's /Cellular Respiration/ these days... grah.
posted by oonh at 7:06 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by oonh at 7:06 PM on July 1, 2010
My mom used to make me watch this with her when it was on, because she thought computers were going to be important.
I still remember the one about the modem, how they stuck the whole receiver of the phone onto that big thing.
posted by chococat at 7:20 PM on July 1, 2010
I still remember the one about the modem, how they stuck the whole receiver of the phone onto that big thing.
posted by chococat at 7:20 PM on July 1, 2010
[ smile ] reminds me of the innocent happiness I felt, back then, about technology and all of its potential
posted by seawallrunner at 7:53 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by seawallrunner at 7:53 PM on July 1, 2010
Oh wow, this is unintentionally hilarious:
(Home accounting program starts, splash screen with copyright comes up.)
"What's all this?"
"It is not really meant to be read, it is just copyright information."
I can't believe how cumbersome the home accounting program is. I'm convinced that people were so fascinated by these early computers, they didn't quite get why, and used important sounding things like Accounting to justify their purchases.
posted by geoff. at 7:59 PM on July 1, 2010
(Home accounting program starts, splash screen with copyright comes up.)
"What's all this?"
"It is not really meant to be read, it is just copyright information."
I can't believe how cumbersome the home accounting program is. I'm convinced that people were so fascinated by these early computers, they didn't quite get why, and used important sounding things like Accounting to justify their purchases.
posted by geoff. at 7:59 PM on July 1, 2010
Aww, Luba! Such a lovely and warmhearted woman.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:20 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:20 PM on July 1, 2010
"You cannot transfer programs between microcomputers. It might be possible one day, but it hasn't happened yet."
Awwwww.
posted by not_the_water at 9:38 PM on July 1, 2010
Awwwww.
posted by not_the_water at 9:38 PM on July 1, 2010
I remember watching this show at a friend's house back in high school. His father had apparently taped several of the episodes back when they aired on the local PBS station and never re-used the tapes. We just laughed and laughed at how outdated those computers were. My 25-MHz 386 running Windows 3.0 was just so much more powerful. Totally cutting-edge. *sigh*
posted by Guernsey Halleck at 9:39 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by Guernsey Halleck at 9:39 PM on July 1, 2010
Now you know all about my profile picture. Billy Vann was also great as Count Frightenstein.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 10:11 PM on July 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 10:11 PM on July 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
I watched this as a kid when it came out. I made my Father laugh quite a lot by saying that when you had to use the TI-99 Modem the first command to input was "CALL COLLECT".
As a kid that time was all quite magical. These days, not even close.
posted by juiceCake at 10:16 PM on July 1, 2010
As a kid that time was all quite magical. These days, not even close.
posted by juiceCake at 10:16 PM on July 1, 2010
Oh wow, this is unintentionally hilarious:
The funniest thing is, the mortgage amount ($40,000) and interest rate (16%) are just as dated as the technology.
posted by Chuckles at 10:28 PM on July 1, 2010
The funniest thing is, the mortgage amount ($40,000) and interest rate (16%) are just as dated as the technology.
posted by Chuckles at 10:28 PM on July 1, 2010
I primarily remember this show for being almost completely irrelevant to me because I had a Vic20/C64. And Billy Van reminded me of my dad. And Luba Goy was obviously reading her know-it-all lines.
posted by Pseudonumb at 10:30 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by Pseudonumb at 10:30 PM on July 1, 2010
I remember my parents thinking that was a good interest rate, since they were at 20.75% and they wondered what kind of rich people could afford $40k.
I loved that show. Luba Goy always cracked me up. But I didn't realize Billy Van was a minor Canadian celebrity.
posted by acoutu at 10:56 PM on July 1, 2010
I loved that show. Luba Goy always cracked me up. But I didn't realize Billy Van was a minor Canadian celebrity.
posted by acoutu at 10:56 PM on July 1, 2010
This show was TVO's second-rate introduction to the world of computer science. Their flagship offering was much better.
posted by bicyclefish at 12:15 AM on July 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bicyclefish at 12:15 AM on July 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Hell, that Bits and Bytes thing wasn't even their second string offering.
posted by Chuckles at 12:32 AM on July 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Chuckles at 12:32 AM on July 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oooh, youtube also has lots of clips from PBS's analog to it, "Computer Chronicles."
There was just a guy from 1985 talking about how RAM problems will go away with 32-bit computing because the 32-bit address space is unlimited.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:59 AM on July 2, 2010
There was just a guy from 1985 talking about how RAM problems will go away with 32-bit computing because the 32-bit address space is unlimited.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:59 AM on July 2, 2010
I remember watching this show with my mother when it first aired.
Soon afterward, I was in computer science class at school when the teacher showed a clunky-looking box and asked if anyone knew what it was. I was the only one who knew it was a modem, and that was thanks to Bits and Bytes. At the time I was quite proud of myself.
posted by sueinnyc at 6:04 AM on July 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Soon afterward, I was in computer science class at school when the teacher showed a clunky-looking box and asked if anyone knew what it was. I was the only one who knew it was a modem, and that was thanks to Bits and Bytes. At the time I was quite proud of myself.
posted by sueinnyc at 6:04 AM on July 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I remember watching this when it first aired. Memories, like the corner of my [closet where all my A+ Magazines are still stored...]
posted by ericbop at 7:52 AM on July 2, 2010
posted by ericbop at 7:52 AM on July 2, 2010
We were the first on our block with a Vic20 and my Dad and I watched this when it came out. I remember hearing about cobold and thinking that was funny (I played D&D). Also that I didn't like Luba Goy very much.
This was around the time magazines would have code for you to copy, and once you actually typed all that into your computer you might get to see a large block go from the top of your screen to the bottom or something like that. Good times!
posted by stinkycheese at 9:38 AM on July 2, 2010
This was around the time magazines would have code for you to copy, and once you actually typed all that into your computer you might get to see a large block go from the top of your screen to the bottom or something like that. Good times!
posted by stinkycheese at 9:38 AM on July 2, 2010
Our Canadian Friends Over the Border were no computer slouches. No sirree, that "The Transactor" Commodore magazine was the clear sh the best computer magazine ever-. When I got my hands on a copy of that, I disappeared for -days-. (It's even been called 'immortal'.[42]) ***WARNING*** for High GEeks only!
posted by Twang at 6:37 PM on July 2, 2010
posted by Twang at 6:37 PM on July 2, 2010
This was around the time magazines would have code for you to copy, and once you actually typed all that into your computer you might get to see a large block go from the top of your screen to the bottom or something like that.
I remember those days... copying code from Byte magazine, hoping it would do what it promised to do. The simple joy of seeing it happen.
/geek
posted by seawallrunner at 11:25 PM on July 2, 2010
I remember those days... copying code from Byte magazine, hoping it would do what it promised to do. The simple joy of seeing it happen.
/geek
posted by seawallrunner at 11:25 PM on July 2, 2010
watched every episode from the day it started. that show was almost solely responsible for my interest in computers. thanks for posting this! now, does anyone have the episodes? i tried to get them years ago but a TVO representative told me that the masters were likely destroyed!
posted by spish at 6:39 PM on July 4, 2010
posted by spish at 6:39 PM on July 4, 2010
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posted by l2p at 7:00 PM on July 1, 2010