I've Been On The Internet For So Long That I Remember...

[ExGingi]

Not the internet, but that laptops would have black and white screens

You don't remember the plasma black and orange?

Were they even called laptops back then?

Not even mentioning those Compaq devices with a built in CRT screen (probably around 7-9 inches).

[YitzyS]

Not the internet, but that laptops would have black and white screens

black and white, or black and green?

(I don't remember, but I seem to have in my head that the words were green)

[lcm]

I'm talking about the ones that were called laptops.
And they had these bulky docks, that when you plugged them in, they could be connected to a screen in color

[ExGingi]

I'm talking about the ones that were called laptops.
And they had these bulky docks, that when you plugged them in, they could be connected to a screen in color

CGA, EGA, VGA, or SVGA? (9 pin or 15 pin?)

[lcm]

CGA, EGA, VGA, or SVGA? (9 pin or 15 pin?)

Oy, it's been too long. Don't remember, maybe vga

[AsherO]

black and white, or black and green?

(I don't remember, but I seem to have in my head that the words were green)

#greenscreen

https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/green-screen

[Dan]

#greenscreen

https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/green-screen

This is what I recall from these days, and being amazed about what I could research:

Dialing into the local library for internet access in the early 90s. Was all text based.

[ExGingi]

#greenscreen

https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/green-screen

Now that you mention it, I recall subscribing to, and anticipating the monthly print version (only version that existed back then AFAIK) of PC Magazine.

[AsherO]

Now that you mention it, I recall subscribing and anticipating the print version (only version that existed back then AFAIK) of PC Magazine.

Yup, and PC World, and a whole other host of magazines. And of course JDR MciroDevices catalog

[ExGingi]

Yup, and PC World, and a whole other host of magazines. And of course JDR MciroDevices catalog

I was never a PC World subscriber, but now that we're going down memory lane, and the Pavlovian conditioning of the scent of those magazines, the thrill of going to COMDEX was one of the highlights of those days.

[JoeyShmoe]

... that I remember when

wasn't so pixelated

From here: https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=5396.msg2573909#msg2573909

[shmelke]

Someone said AOL CDs, I give you AOL FLOPPY DISKS!

[Yehuda57]

Someone said AOL CDs, I give you AOL FLOPPY DISKS!

I don't know if this is an age thing or a geographic thing, but when I was a kid, floppy discs were the 5" discs that preceded these. They were more, well, floppy. These were called stiffies. Yes, I'm aware.

[Dan]

These were called stiffies.

Can't say I've ever heard a floppy disk being called that. They were both floppies to me.

[Euclid]

I don't know if this is an age thing or a geographic thing, but when I was a kid, floppy discs were the 5" discs that preceded these. They were more, well, floppy. These were called stiffies. Yes, I'm aware.

Can't say I've ever heard a floppy disk being called that. They were both floppies to me.

Yes

[yesitsme]

https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Stiffy+disk#:~:text=3.5%20inch%20floppies%20are%20less%20floppy%20than%20the%20larger%20disks%20because%20they%20come%20in%20a%20stiff%20plastic%20%22envelope%22%20or%20case%2C%20hence%20the%20alternative%20names%20%22stiffy%22%20or%20%22crunchy%22%20sometimes%20used%20to%20distinguish%20them%20from%20the%20floppier%20kind.

never heard of it that way

MicroSD capacities have reached 512GB, the equivalent of 365,000 floppies.  ouch

[ExGingi]

I don't know if this is an age thing or a geographic thing, but when I was a kid, floppy discs were the 5" discs that preceded these. They were more, well, floppy. These were called stiffies. Yes, I'm aware.

If you ever broke a 3.5" floppy, you would have seen that they are indeed extremely floppy. Contrast that with hard disks which were called such due to the hard metal platters in them that would spin at high speeds. You weren't very likely to see one of those disks, as the enclosures were quite strong (and airtight).

[yg99]

Actually the original floppies were even bigger. Don't remember exact size but more like 8-9 inches.

[SSLPhD]

Actually the original floppies were even bigger. Don't remember exact size but more like 8-9 inches.

I believe 8 inches. I have one lying around somewhere, but that was before my time.  In grade school we used the 5¼-inch disks, and were reminded repeatedly to be careful about where we touched.

[ExGingi]

I believe 8 inches. I have one lying around somewhere, but that was before my time.  In grade school we used the 5¼-inch disks, and were reminded repeatedly to be careful about where we touched.

I actually used 8" floppies on a typesetting machine in the late 80s. IINM capacity was 160k or so. No double sided.