Punch Cards.

[max]

Tim wrote:
> On Thu, 2008-04-03 at 23:44 +0100, Nicholas Robinson wrote:
>> The typical session started with bootstrapping RIM into the PDP 8e and then 
>> loading the BIN loader off paper tape. Assuming you didn't make a mistake 
>> hand-loading the 30odd 12 bit instructions in the RIM loader and the paper 
>> tape didn't jam/fall out of the reader/stop for no apparent reason, you were 
>> in business and could then load another paper tape with something more 
>> interesting on it, like BASIC or Algol or an assembler (subject to the 
>> jams/falls/stops noted before). If the optical paper tape reader (300 or so 
>> cps) failed then we had to resort to the old teletype reader which was rated 
>> at 10 cps, but always seemed slower. Even with only 8k core memory, it still 
>> took a long time to load a big programme.
>>
>> Ah, how the younger ones on the list must be enjoying reading about the lives 
>> of the when-we's. 
> 
> Who've never had the displeasure of trying to load programs from audio
> cassette tape on a personal computer from the 1980s...  On a friend's
> C64, it was almost guaranteed that anything that took longer than two
> minutes to load would foul up and require multiple attempts.  Even
> without screw-ups, it was awfully slow.
> 
> Now, with these kids and their Windows box, they still get to experience
> something like that (even if applications are quick to start), with
> prolonged boot-ups, and all those reboots...  :-p
> 
Load"*" ,8,1

I mainly used it for games.

Raid Over Moscow
Racing Destruction Set
Zaxxon
Mission Impossible
Bard's Tale
Zork

I had hundreds of games. I wish EA would bring back Racing Destruction Set.

Max