Obsolete Technology, Yet Again

I’ve got two today. The first one is very early—I found it in one of Carl Knapp’s scrapbooks. The young lady is Louise Beraud, ’18, and she seems to be using some outmoded communication device (complete with inkwell).

Next up: a similar scene from 1986. The first image is much easier to interpret. What’s this one all about?

Centennial Bonus: Two rare birds from the Jones School prepare to process.

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11 Responses to Obsolete Technology, Yet Again

  1. Francis Eugene "Gene" PRATT, Institute Class of '56 says:

    Looks like an Apple IIe, perhaps with a separate numbers pad.
    Maybe 128 K. Or with a card bringing it up to 256 K.
    1 disc drive.
    No mouse, but the Mac was either around or almost there.
    Apple would try an Apple IIc, but Mac shot it out of the saddle.
    (From my disordered memory)

    • Keith Cooper says:

      Not to mention the cassete tape for external storage,mor the student’s wristwatch – why wear a watch when you are continually lookimg at your smartphone.

  2. The fountain pen makes me think of my Mom. I still have her old pen. I remember well my German teacher’s reaction when I told her about my mother’s experience with foutain pens in school (the boy behind her would dip her pig tails in the ink well ruining her white blouses). My German teacher’s reaction was , “Your mom’s not that old!” (My Mother was born in 1921 by the way, and grew up in England)

  3. lilypons says:

    You’re correct Gene, Apple IIe was my first computer followed by the Apple IIc. I also remember being so impressed that I had a DUO disk drive. It became obsolete so quickly, it was very difficult to find any software for it. I also remember being insulted at the time. Heh! So, so sad!

  4. Kathy says:

    I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but that computer doesn’t look much like the Apple IIe that was the first computer I used at work. Unless he just had a fancier keyboard and monitor setup. Perhaps the guy did some customizing?

  5. The exposed interior brick looks like a New Dorm (WRC, Hanszen) room, but we had glass louver windows. Did they replace the windows in those dorms at some point? We did have those Steelcase desks.

    Nice Wonder Bread bag on the desk in front of the keyboard.

    • Richard Miller (Hanszen '75 & '76) says:

      I think they did in Hanszen as part of the renovations over the summer of 1975

  6. ’86? Really? Must have been a legacy-gear kind of nerd. Thanks to the Rice Apple Consortium, Macs were relatively common on campus by 1985. IBM PC’s and XT’s were pretty common, too.

  7. Deborah Gronke Bennett says:

    How sure are you of the 1986 date for that picture? The Ramble t-shirt is so familiar, I am sure it is from before my graduation in 1982. Also the guy’s haircut and digital watch say about 1980 to me. I think that may be an Apple II, not a IIe. The Apple II came out in 1977. I almost feel like I should know the guy in the photo, but I can’t identify him right now.

    • Deborah is probably right. The simplest answer is that it’s significantly earlier than 1986.

      • Mike Gladu says:

        Can’t be. The Walkman WM-22 on the desk is a 1985 model.
        The T-shirt could be from any year after 1973. The Ramble used the original TOSRV label design year after year until they hired the person who did Ren-Fest poster art.
        I’d bet good money on 1985/86.
        Surely the Campanile has this photo and can pin down the name or at least the college…

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