Computer Museum on the Web
I believe everyone feels the same about the rapid development of electronic products. A mobile phone or a computer, regardless of how advanced it is when you buy it, will be on the verge of being eliminated after two or three years. So in 2020, do you want to personally operate electronic equipment from 40 years ago? This is called “Computer Museum on the Web”, I believe it can bring you this surprise!
Entering the pavilion-starting from various “old photos”. Unlike most websites, which will arrange a guide label on the homepage, when you walk into this online museum, you will be met with a variety of very time-sensitive photos. How old is it? Take Xiaobian, an “old IT” who relied on being in touch with computers not too late, for example, many photos are very strange to themselves, and some have not been seen at all.
Every photo here actually hides a “virtual machine” behind it, which can be operated by clicking it, just like manipulating the machine of the year. To relieve everyone’s doubts, the curator also added a year mark next to each photo very carefully. But don’t be too happy, do you see the identification number next to it? Many are 198x years, not even in 199x years. In other words, even if these devices can be turned on, they are just watching the excitement, and many of the operations inside are completely different from the current operating system.
Apple II – (1977)
Apple II is the originator of home computers. Although computers have appeared before, they are mostly used in scientific research and business. The Apple II is the first personal computer sold specifically for home users. Unlike commercial computers, Apple II has added a lot of small games, such as the famous gold thief, Carmen the thief, etc., all made by Apple II. Of course, what makes these games famous all over the world is due to the credit of FC game consoles (referring to Nintendo’s red and white machines), but these are all things to do.
Acorn Archimedes (1987)
Acorn Archimedes is the first computing device using an ARM processor. In that era, the command line was still the mainstream of the operating system (the well-known DOS is a command-line operating system), but this black and white interface is not for individuals. Friendly often requires users to pay high learning costs. Acorn Archimedes took the lead in launching a graphical operation interface, through the cooperation of the mouse and icons, to replace the original obscure command characters. Although it has been 33 years ago, many of its operation logics are still available.
PC/GEOS (1990)
With the success of Acorn Archimedes, more and more manufacturers began to spend their time on the graphical interface. Various graphical interfaces flourished, and gradually formed a unified system and style. Among them, PC/GEOS is the representative work inside, and the classic 3D effect is the first to appear from it. Since then, the 3D effect of this yin and yang pattern has gradually become the standard choice for subsequent graphics systems and has continued to this day.
Windows debut (1994)
Finally, the famous Windows began to debut. Compared with previous rivals, computers at that time were not only faster but also cheaper. All these have given Windows a “green light”, you can make the interface more gorgeous, and you can also make it more functional!
At the same time, there is another important change in this era, that is, starting from Windows 3.2, the Microsoft operating system officially supports Chinese!
UCDOS+WPS (1994)
With the advent of the information age, there has also been a computer fever in China. The establishment of a high-tech street represented by Beijing Zhongguancun quickly attracted the attention of Chinese people. At that time, domestic computers were still mainly in the 286 and 386 stages, and most of them were purchased by units. Such configurations could only run DOS. To solve the problem of Chinese input and output, a Chinese DOS operating system called UCDOS came into being!
Regardless of the soil, this guy was served by a special air conditioner back then!
UCDOS is a Chinese character library loaded based on the original DOS. You can simply understand it as a DOS that can display Chinese. Although the original UCDOS can display Chinese, it still cannot avoid obscure commands. To solve this problem, since version 6.0, Hope Company (the UCDOS developer) has developed a set of graphical interfaces similar to Microsoft Win3.x, and even equipped it with WPS, UCTAB (watchmaking software), and large print Daily use tools such as printing and virus detection. However, things backfired. With the launch of the Win95 system in 1995, Microsoft finally unified the desktop market with this trump card. It is from this time that UCDOS has slowly become less popular!
Game learning machine (1987)
With the words of Comrade Xiaoping, “The popularization of computers, we must start with a baby”, and there has been a rapid rise in computer learning in China. However, home computers that cost tens of thousands of yuan at every turn were undoubtedly a sky-high price for the Chinese with a monthly income of only 200-300 yuan. So some manufacturers spotted this business opportunity and launched a Dongdong called “learning machine”.
The “learning machine” of the year, of course, many people use learning as a guide, let’s play games!
The “learning machine” is a bit like the computer keyboard we use now, but slightly larger than the ordinary keyboard. The main components such as the motherboard, CPU, and memory are placed at the top of the “keyboard”, while the display is connected to the home TV. At that time, there was a card slot on the top of each learning machine, and the user could replace the program (game) by inserting a program card (similar to a floppy disk, but only reading but not writing). Even though it has been “simplified” to such a degree, the learning machine at that time still cost ordinary people a few months’ salaries, which shows how precious it is!
A paradise for 8-bit and 16-bit games
In addition to various computers and learning machines, game consoles are also a distinctive feature of that era. In that era, Sega machines and red and white machines (FC machines) were naturally the first choices, but more domestically-made compatible machines were cheaper.
Judging from the current point of view, these games are indeed not very popular, the graphics are rough and the rules are too simple. But at that time, such a picture was enough for a group of friends to sit in front of the TV for a few hours, and of course, they were beaten because of it! In short, this is the brand of this era, which cannot be changed, let alone doubted!
Once a classic of the times-Ying haiwei Time and Space (1996)
Mentioning “Ying Haiwei”, it is estimated that few people can name it. This is China’s earliest ISP (Internet service provider, similar to China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Railcom). At that time, if people had a computer and equipped with a Modem (a kind of hardware for dial-up Internet access in early home computers), they could register as a user of Yinghaiwei and purchase “credit points” (similar to point cards) to log in to Yinghaiwei. All Chinese network media system, browse news, send and receive emails.
Of course, as one of the earliest Internet service providers in China, Yinghaiwei has long since disappeared. The museum has reproduced some of its functions in a simulated way. Only this has allowed us 30 years later to still be able to see its true face!
Shuimu Community BBS (1995)
The full name of Shuimu BBS is “Shuimu Tsinghua BBS”. The reason why it is named Shuimu Qinghua is mainly derived from a famous scenic spot in Tsinghua Park. The community was established in 1995. As the first domestic BBS (online bulletin board, the predecessor of the modern forum), Shuimu Tsinghua was once the most popular BBS platform in China. After the socialized operation in the later period, it became the current “Shuimu Community”. Like Yinghaiwei, this time the museum also reproduced this classic website in a simulated way, to get a glimpse of the face of this internet pioneer!
The world of Flash games (2000)
2000 was the era of Flash. With the “conscience” of major computer manufacturers and ISPs, it was discovered that the number of Internet users in China quickly exceeded 100 million. At that time, a kind of stuff called Flash was wildly popular on the Internet, with beautiful pictures and small size. These Flash, or games, or videos, or funny, or plots, because of their close-to-people characteristics, quickly captured the hearts of many netizens. In this era, many classic Flash works and authors have emerged, such as the small series that we are familiar with, the Three Kingdoms series, and the Back Dog series, which are all classics of this era.
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus’s Introduction and various test video
Suggested Reading.
However, due to the high cost of Flash production (the original Flash masters were mostly out of interest), coupled with the unsmooth monetization channels, Flash is now very rare. Instead, there are various short video platforms!
Write at the end
Every photo is history, and every time I see such a website, there is always a warm current in my heart. Just a few decades before the development of computers, how many stories were waiting for us to dig? Okay, this is the “Computer Museum on the Web” from DNBWG that I want to share with you in this issue. Interested friends may wish to click and take a stroll. Finally, I also pay tribute to the diligent owner! It is his persistence that allows these classic stories to be seen again!
Source: DNBWG, ithome
