Linux is KING - Couldn't be hacked - Mac, Vista went down in flames

George Yanos george at yanos.com
Fri Apr 4 14:54:02 UTC 2008


* Nicholas Robinson <npr at bottlehall.co.uk> [2008-04-03 23:25:19 +0100]:
...
> 
> I'm sorry if I'm intruding on your privacy, but why on earth do you what to 
> print on punch cards in 2008? Are these punch cards already punched? Is it 
> for some sort of pre-Microsoft theme park merchandise? God, I hope you reply 
> before I go to bed or I may lie awake the rest of the night wondering...
...

Don't remember when the key punch room closed, but there were half a
pallet of punch cards left in a storage room for years.  Just before
they were tossed, I took them home.

At some point I got a Palm Pilot.  Had to keep it in a pocket or it
would have been left someplace.  Front pocket -- scratched by keys and
coins and cracked perhaps by sitting.  Rear pocket -- cracked by sitting
on.  Shirt pocket the only remaining choice.  It fell and broke the
screen.  $100.  Fell again. $100 again.  (seems to me the Euro was about
.80 dollars then, pre W.)

Anyway, it turns out you can forget to write on punch card backs as
easily as on a palm pilot, and they don't break.  You keep a file on
your computer, update it from the cards now and then, and print a new
deck.  Besides, they are a great conversation starter.  

PS: They are not punched.  The punched ones are valuable antiques.  

PPS: one floppy holds about as much data as two cases of punch cards,
20000 cards, 70 pounds or so.


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* George Yanos     *                                                *
* UTC at UIC       *                                                *
* 312-413-0059(w)  *                                                *
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* gyanos at uic.edu   *                                                *
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