The internet, Physics Forums, and Dr. Neutrino

[OmCheeto]

How many people remember the days of the birth of the www?
I cut my teeth on Dr. Neutrino back in '96.
It's only been 12 years, but seems like a lifetime.

 

[Evo]

The WWW was born in 1993 thanks to Tim Berners-Lee. Actually, it goes back to 1990, I didn't realize that, 1993 sticks in my head for some reason, I think that's when I gave a presentation on the internet at work and everyone's eyes were glazed over wondering what the hell I was talking about.

I've had the same personal internet account and e-mail address since 1994.

 

[OmCheeto]

The WWW was born in 1993 thanks to Tim Berners-Lee. Actually, it goes back to 1990.

I've had the same internet account and e-mail address since 1994.

But have you ever corresponded with TBL? I told him one day that if he had a penny for every minute I had been on the internet, he'd be a billionaire. He declined my box of chocolates. And I was dead serious.

 

[Evo]

But have you ever corresponded with TBL? I told him one day that if he had a penny for every minute I had been on the internet, he'd be a billionaire. He declined my box of chocolates. And I was dead serious.

Nope, never thanked him personally for what he gave away for the sake of preventing competing web addressing. He is quite a remarkable man in that respect.

 

[OmCheeto]

Nope, never thanked him personally for what he gave away for the sake of preventing competing web addressing. He is quite a remarkable man in that respect.

Send him an email. Infamous people are just people. They love attention. Just like me. I love you Evo. :!)

 

[Evo]

Send him an email. Infamous people are just people. They love attention. Just like me. I love you Evo. :!)

Is there any money in this for me?

 

[OmCheeto]

Is there any money in this for me?

nope. just chocolate.
I still owe you some for my soup, turned to brick, turned to spaghetti...

It was good by the way.

Ooops. Thread hijack!

Argh... Does anyone besides me remember Dr. Neutrino?

 

[Evo]

I just Googled Dr Neutrino. I am impressed OmCheeto.

I still want money. Just place tens and twenties in the chocolate box. Lots of tens and twenties.

 

[OmCheeto]

I just Googled Dr Neutrino. I am impressed OmCheeto.

I still want money. Just place tens and twenties in the chocolate box. Lots of tens and twenties.

I offered a lot of money (10 quid) to a university of Bristol professor that said Dr. Neutrino swam with the fishes. Dr. Neutrino ruled!

Ok. how many 10's and 20's?

OCD... I must know the exact amount.

 

[sas3]

1993 wow has it been that long? I have also had the same e-mail account since the beginning.
I remember running a BBS on a “Tandy COCO 80” and a 300 baud modem in Madison Wisconsin and often getting help from Bob Mahoney (sic) from EXECPC BBS.
I and a friend would transmit data over the CB radio. That was probably one of the first wireless PC’s. Dam, I should have patented the idea.

 

[binzing]

Yeah yeah, the public internet that is. The basis for it has been around since, I think, about the 60s, but was government only.

 

[OmCheeto]

1993 wow has it been that long? I have also had the same e-mail account since the beginning.
I remember running a BBS on a “Tandy COCO 80” and a 300 baud modem in Madison Wisconsin and often getting help from Bob Mahoney (sic) from EXECPC BBS.
I and a friend would transmit data over the CB radio. That was probably one of the first wireless PC’s. Dam, I should have patented the idea.

All right. You kids have found me out. Yes. I have 4 different models of coco's under my desk. If only my brother Nicola had taught me how to use a radio...

 

[binzing]

I want to pick up a CB somewhere, just to screw with.

 

[OmCheeto]

I want to pick up a CB somewhere, just to screw with.

I never had one. But I suppose it's just like you-tube. yada-yada-yada. Look at me! I can talk! And be annoying!

I want a short wave, so I can annoy people around the world.

umm... wait a minute.

Sho macha tori! Nimi du nam!
Kaku si?!
Ohio!
Wie geht es dir?!

I guess the world is out there, if you know how to say hello.

Thanks once again, TBL.

 

[Astronuc]

Yeah yeah, the public internet that is. The basis for it has been around since, I think, about the 60s, but was government only.

Arpanet it was/is.

I used to go back and forth on some network (possibly Arpanet) between a mainframe at my university and one at NASA during the 80's. But it was relatively crude compared to WWW now. I had to type in the equivalent of a url each time, and we didn't have browsers.

The first time I used the internet was around 1995 when I got a decent PC (P5-133, Win95).

 

[Moonbear]

I don't remember exactly which year, but 93 might stick in your mind because somewhere around there is when Netscape was marketed to the general public, and we all started to get access to websites with pretty pictures instead of just using the internet for text only communication (good old Pine email).

 

[GeorginaS]

I just Googled "Dr. Neutrino" and the second entry on the results page was this thread.

 

[Astronuc]

I remember when 300 baud modems were the hot thing, and 2 MB HD's were amazing. Off course that was in the day of 8086/8088 processors and 8087 math coprocessors, and the MC68000. I remember MS-DOS 1.0.

Well I also remember slide rules and punchcards, and waiting 24 to 48 hrs for job (very low priority), so as to save money.

When I was an undergrad, the physics department was looking high and low for anyone who could program a microprocessor, i.e. write a basic OS for computation and I/O. IIRC, basically one would have received the equivalent of a 4-yr scholarship.

 

[vanesch]

I don't remember exactly which year, but 93 might stick in your mind because somewhere around there is when Netscape was marketed to the general public, and we all started to get access to websites with pretty pictures instead of just using the internet for text only communication (good old Pine email).

Before Netscape, there was... Mosaic ! It was, as far as I know, the first useful web browser around. I used the internet beginning of the 90ies, just before mosaic came out (when I was doing my PhD), simply using telnet to log into a remote UNIX cluster (silicon graphics) from my local DEC station, at a pace of, I estimate, 0.5 baud or something. You typed a command (or two or three in a row), and some 10 seconds later, you saw the echo of your typing appear on the screen We all cursed the internet at that time, because before, we had dedicated tty telephone links, but the internet was going to be cheaper (and way way way slower !). And a year later, someone showed me mosaic. We all found it a ridiculous waste to send PICTURES over such slow links! But then, those things quickly quickly improved.

 

[OmCheeto]

I just Googled "Dr. Neutrino" and the second entry on the results page was this thread.

I noticed that about a month ago. After posting something to the forum, I would do a google conventional wisdom spell check, and find that after only 5 minutes my post was at the top of their list. I think there was a bot information collection war going on between yahoo and google. Apparently it is still going on. At first I thought it was kind of creepy. Like they were watching me.

Anyways, I have a copy of one of the threads from the Neutrino web site. A much simpler forum with no buttons, smiley faces, or instant messaging: http://home.europa.com/~garry/drneutquestion2805.htm"

The question still looks familiar though. Someone should count up all the times it's been asked at this forum.

 

[George Jones]

How many people remember the days of the birth of the www?
I cut my teeth on Dr. Neutrino back in '96.
It's only been 12 years, but seems like a lifetime.

I was a relative late-comer to internet physics. I started in 2000, when I was the only physicist on a tropical island. Once started I was hooked. I have been involved in internet physics ever since, even when other physicists have been readily accessible.

I could have gotten in almost on the ground floor of Physics Forums, but I ignored Greg's 2001 email, and I didn't make it here until the summer of 2005.

 

[Moonbear]

Anyways, I have a copy of one of the threads from the Neutrino web site. A much simpler forum with no buttons, smiley faces, or instant messaging: http://home.europa.com/~garry/drneutquestion2805.htm"

OMG! I remember some of those user names! Laughing that someone used the nickname "crackpot" though. I didn't find that site until it was starting to die, though. The flame wars in those days were spectacular! You could start a bonfire with some threads, and ultimately, the conflagration would spread to the entire site and *poof* a forum would disappear.

 

[OmCheeto]

I remember when 300 baud modems were the hot thing, and 2 MB HD's were amazing. Off course that was in the day of 8086/8088 processors and 8087 math coprocessors, and the MC68000. I remember MS-DOS 1.0.

Well I also remember slide rules and punchcards, and waiting 24 to 48 hrs for job (very low priority), so as to save money.

When I was an undergrad, the physics department was looking high and low for anyone who could program a microprocessor, i.e. write a basic OS for computation and I/O. IIRC, basically one would have received the equivalent of a 4-yr scholarship.

Gads. You've just reminded me that my first computer program was saved on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_tape" ... Curse you!

 

[Astronuc]

Gads. You've just reminded me that my first computer program was saved on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_tape" ... Curse you!

I did punch tape back in the 60's. I think it was 6th grade and we had access to a computer over a teletype. We used basic programming to do some basic computational programming.

Some of the first programs for the lunar landing were saved on punched tape. I saw a demonstration of that when I visited Rice U during the Apollo program.

 

[OmCheeto]

OMG! I remember some of those user names! Laughing that someone used the nickname "crackpot" though. I didn't find that site until it was starting to die, though. The flame wars in those days were spectacular! You could start a bonfire with some threads, and ultimately, the conflagration would spread to the entire site and *poof* a forum would disappear.

Crackpot was a genius. Although prone to excessive humorous posts. I don't remember the flame wars. I just remember the forum being gone one day. It was like having your parents throw your diary in the fireplace. Though I never kept a diary.

Some of the first programs for the lunar landing were saved on punched tape. I saw a demonstration of that when I visited Rice U during the Apollo program.

Makes you think about how different chiseling in stone, holes punched in paper, and, um how do they get 300 gigs onto a hard-drive nowaday? Quantum effects?

 

[binzing]

300 Gb? I picked up a 300 gig for $100. Try multiple terabytes! Check out the HP Blackbird, friggin' insane comp!

 

[OmCheeto]

300 Gb? I picked up a 300 gig for $100. Try multiple terabytes! Check out the HP Blackbird, friggin' insane comp!

Are those 32 or 64 bit bytes?
My January '75 Popular Electronics magazine said that 256 bits of memory were worth about $1.75. A one terabyte drive at 32 bits per byte would have been worth over $200 billion back then. wow.

 

[Astronuc]

Our workstations are Duo/Quad/8-core using at least 3 500 GB drives, and we can fill one HD up in a few weeks, because we're limited by the number of CPU's available and processor speed. We also use removable 500 GB HDs.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The farthest back I go was the internet client portal of Prodigy. Anyone use that? I barely remember, but I'm sure that was my first use of the Internet on my dad 28.8k modem!

 

[Astronuc]

The farthest back I go was the internet client portal of Prodigy. Anyone use that? I barely remember, but I'm sure that was my first use of the Internet on my dad 28.8k modem!

We started with a 14.4 k modem and quickly upgraded to a 28.8k, then 56k. We did dialup through AOL until the local cable company introduced their service.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The farthest back I go was the internet client portal of Prodigy. Anyone use that? I barely remember, but I'm sure that was my first use of the Internet on my dad 28.8k modem!

I started with Prodigy at 9600. In fact... I think that my very first connection was at 2400. It was a long distance call.

I remember that it took over two or three hours to download my first pic: A well known shot of Jupiter taken by the Hubble scope.

 

[OmCheeto]

I started with Prodigy at 9600. In fact... I think that my very first connection was at 2400. It was a long distance call.

I remember that it took over two or three hours to download my first pic: A well known shot of Jupiter taken by the Hubble scope.

Does dial-up to bulletin boards at 300 baud count?
My sister actually was the first person in the family to hook up to the internet.
She prompted me to sign up for Prodigy.
It was all up/downhill from there.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yeah, I think my 2400 baud connection was to a local bulletin board.

Okay, I can beat that: I once used a pre-internet system, using ASCI. I was probably running at about 1 bit per second...maybe as high as 4 baud.

Translation?

 

[OmCheeto]

Yeah, I think my 2400 baud connection was to a local bulletin board.

Okay, I can beat that: I once used a pre-internet system, using ASCI. I was probably running at about 1 bit per second...maybe as high as 4 baud.

Translation?

Morse code?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yep.

Even though ASCII is the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, it has often been referred to in jest as American Standard Code II, with morse code being ASCI.