What could computers do 20 years ago?

Question

I'm writing a speech over technology 20 years ago vs technology today and I can't find any good information over what computers could and couldn't do. Any information will help.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

As I recall, about 1992, was the 286 and 386 era. Windows wasn't out yet, but newer DOS software used mice and had a basic menu system. Mostly lots of keystroke commands. there were several "shell" products which made it easier for users to locate programs and files (like windows does today. otherwise you had to know all kinds of DOS commands to type to get anything done.



Modems were new to most, and could dial several BBS's, government agency's and places like AOL and Compuserve and prodigy. There was no real internet except at universities.

Answer 2

Computers 20 Years Ago

Answer 3

The Macintosh computers came out in 1984. They used a GUI interface which took Microsoft about a decade to copy. The Macs were great for making presentations and reports, but the GUI took up so much memory and CPU that they were worthless for applications that needed a lot of math. The PCs ran DOS and didn't have much in the way of graphics, but they were fast at running Fortran, Pascal, MatLab, and other mathematical programs used for engineering. So 20 years ago, an engineering company would have Macs for reports and presentations and IBM PC's to run programs to design things.



Personally, I hated the Macs because they were worthless for the engineering work I had to do. I only used them to make presentations to management.



There were also large mainframe computers to run CAD programs used to design and simulate everything. To be honest, there really isn't much that couldn't be done on a computer 20 years ago. It's only gotten cheaper and faster. The only real change is now computers can handle video and music, plus we have internet and networks that actually do something other than lock up your computer.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

What could computers do 20 years ago?

I'm writing a speech over technology 20 years ago vs technology today and I can't find any good information over what computers could and couldn't do. Any information will help.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 5

Here is a start..



http://www.computerhope.com/history/1993.htm



That site will give you milestones for each year in computing history.

Answer 6

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not much memory, running of 3.5 mb disk drives. processing speeds that stunk. and monitors that were not as good think apple IIe