From: egotrip@lesol1.dseg.ti.com (Mike Neus) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: Re: PET sightings Date: 30 Jul 1996 18:25:00 GMT In article , doug.cotton@the-spa.com says... > >In article , Dave >Tickle wrote: > >> Whilst flipping channels a few minutes ago, I chanced to see a PET/CBM >> machine sitting in the background in a music video for a song called >> "Homosapien" by Peter Shelley(?) on Much Music's "80's weekend". This >> would be only the third or fourth PET/CBM I've ever seen on television, >> the most memorable of which was the one they had as a prize on the >> American gameshow "The Price is Right". I remember the "actual retail >> price" was $999! How things change. That same machine could probably be >> had for about a hundredth of that now. > >Be sure to check out old re-runs of Buck Rodgers for a glimpse of one of >the 'chicklet' keyboard PETs with the built-in cassette drive. I couldn't >believe they were still using casstte drives for data in the 25th >century... Also check out Star Trek II when McCoy comes over to Kirks apartment with the Romulan Ale. Amongst his antique collection is a PET in front of the window. Furthermore, it is turned on, its little cursor blinking in the background with the startup screen displayed. They never show a good enough view of it though to identify the model (it is out of focus and somthing nearly always is blocking it partially). There must have been a big wintel revolt, probably in the 22nd century. The government finally goes forth with its anti trust suit against the Microsoft monopoly, people realize that Microsoft hype is just hype, discover that Microsoft Windoze 2195 "revolution" is still running on DOS and things have not changed since windows 3.0 (except that Windoze 2122 will take 16 Terrabytes of RAM and require the just announced Googleplexium(tm) CPU to run), and their "new" features are all rebaged versions of what others have had for years. What triggers the revolt though, is when Bill Gates IX announces Windoze 2200, the people decide 'enough is enough'. They gather around his castle in Washington like pesants around a king. "Mr. Gates!", they'll scream, "We stomp on thy new window and breaketh it! It will not runneth on our machines! We have not money to upgrade! You have taketh all our money in the form of contiuous upgrades! We will buy your window no longer! Today onward, we shall returneth to a simpler time, when a computer was a computer, and an OS required far less RAM, and tooketh less than one second to boot. It shall do what we tell it to do by commandeth, rather than those silly icons which nobody knows where they go when they get hit by the 40 Watt Plasma Rifle icon in the bottom left corner of the screen even though the file remains." Mr. Gates, smiles, "Fee thee not! For I promise thee a greater window, a greater OS, and an easier to use computer!" The people exclaim "But when the window breaketh the computer cannot function, just like all the windows before it despite your promise. We can no longer useth our computers because either the window breaketh or because we upgradeth them." Mr. Gates, laughing histerically, "Hahaha! What then will thee use? You have no other choice! You will obey my icons, or thow will goeth without!" The people reach behind their backs, pull out piles of computers, saved from the land fills thanks to a 20th century EPA ruling banning computers from land fills because the continual upgrades were filling them up. The people lay them in front of Bill Gates IX. A switch is flipped, and a soft hum fills the air. Green and blue screens of text shine upon Bill Gates IX. Mr. Gates, rasing his hand to block his vision of non-windows content, squints through the glare to read the name. Commodore. He sees a challenge has been brought before him, and calls all his lawyers around in a show of strength. "I shall find this Commodore, crusheth them like a grape, and then buy them out! I will then maketh my window work for Commodore." But the people exclaim "You jest! You can't buyeth Commodore! There is nothing to buyeth!" Another person screams out "Your window would not open on these machines! They have but only a small RAM!" and there was much laughter amongst the people. They move in closer, carrying their computer screens of non windows content. Sudenly, screams of terror errupt from Bill Gates IX. "Help! I'm melting! I'm melting! I'm meeelllltttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!". Soon, there was nothing left but the pile of wrinkled clothes that he wore, with a prompt: "Abort, Retry, Ignore?", and nothing more. And there was much rejoycing!