Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: rbowman Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: AI-Based Coding Taking Over Date: 27 Oct 2025 20:41:51 GMT Lines: 40 Message-ID: References: <10ctrdc$16st9$1@dont-email.me> <10d24n9$2bb83$2@dont-email.me> <10d2dos$2dnk0$3@dont-email.me> <0g8hslxmvj.ln2@Telcontar.valinor> <10detk2$2b3jr$1@dont-email.me> <10dhm2v$33b7e$1@dont-email.me> <10dkuvq$3uqs3$4@dont-email.me> <10dnvo8$sb29$1@dont-email.me> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net 3ajueEBV22t+kjJkfImvtwaGBZ/fkUpAI5O61Fy1hbA24xCeid Cancel-Lock: sha1:I85wDygqmv1UBWsG7FTx+ZSXOdg= sha256:jnJcsMEUqU1chSp2OUKpo3yKASX2NuQM5WaJDy1QqHs= User-Agent: Pan/0.162 (Pokrosvk) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:76754 On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:31:36 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote: > On 27/10/2025 14:26, rbowman wrote: >> On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 03:07:24 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote: >> >> >>> I found the 5150 to be a massive yawn. It wasn't until the Amiga came >>> along that I got excited enough to buy a new machine. >> >> In that era people would ask me 'You work with computers.' What kind >> should I buy?' I didn't have a good answer. I made my living with >> computers but I wasn't sure what Joe Sixpack would do with one. >> >> Some nerds did find uses but there were many TRS-80s, PETs, PC Jrs, TI >> 99s, and so forth gathering dust because people were buying them in >> sort of a madness of crowds. >> > Well that era answered the question of 'what did people want computers > for'? > On 8 bit machines...arcade games. Free arcade games. > Once the internet took off? Porn. I'm thinking of a different demographic, what would be comparable to a boomer today. 'Greatest generation'? According to Wiki, the TI-99/4 was $1150 or the equivalent of $4980 in 2024. The PET would be $4100 in 2024. Apple II? $6740. The 5150 PC, $5410. Even the TRS-80 would be $3110 or the Amiga at $3786 . The Osborne 1 I bought in '81 was $1795 in '81, or $6210 today. The VIC-20 at $1040 2024 dollars was getting into an affordable area. The people I'm thinking off that could drop $4 or 5K on a computer probably weren't into arcade games. That's a hell of a lot of quarters. Maybe mom bought a computer and junior figured out something to do with it.