Rob O'Hara

ATE1S7=255S11=35V1X4S0=0 or in the days when modems ruled the Earth: “Commodork: Sordid Tales from a BBS Junkie” by Rob O'Hara Published July 5th 2011.
 
Sometimes I’m a in-my-time-we-didn’t-have-this guy.
 
For example: in my time there were no cellular phones. In my time there were no CD’s, DVD’s, only 4 TV channels.  In my time there wasn’t Internet (gasp!).
 
My first computer was a ZX Spectrum. I still remember that for a long time I almost didn’t leave home…When I was 15 I was already a seasoned software programmer. I had computer binges of 2, 3 days connected to the machine. A download took around 2, 3 hours, and sometimes all night. I usually slept 2 hours, set the alarm, and the cycle would start all over again (sleep-> at the computer -> sleep -> at the computer>… I forgot to eat…).
 
The youngsters must think life in those days was empty, devoid of excitement, bland, lacking in entertainment and cultural diffusion. Nothing could be more misleading. Even in those ancient days there was a remarkable device. Being portable we could take it anywhere; we didn’t have to connect it to anything, no batteries needed, and despite that it contained a huge, unsurmountable, varied and bottomless source of diversion, culture, information and knowledge. Nowadays we can still find a few them, but the younger generations let them fall into disuse. Look for them at home. You’ll probably be able to find one them: dusty, moldy, in the back of a shelf up in the loft. It’s called a book. Try it out. I can assure you that after an initial period of adaptation with a kind of weird and obsolete interface requiting human intervention to turn pages, you’ll be won over by its charm and grace.
 
NB: Can anyone guess what the string “ATE1S7=255S11=35V1X4S0=0“, meant back then…?
 
The rest of this review can be found elsewhere.… (mais)

As a Commodore 64 owner, this book told me that I am not alone. I think I rated it so high as it was a story about my youth. I used to go to friends' houses and bring along my 1541 drive so that we could copy games all night. I eventually bought a 300 baud modem and spent much time hitting local bulletin boards. There was just so much of my life in this book, it was a pleasure to read.

I am not sure how this book translates to people who are not from this cultural realm. I would hope it is entertaining as an insight into an area of life that you may not have participated. For those out there young enough to only know an internet world, this is a good guide to how your geeky parents lived out their 'online' lives.… (mais)