A computer Question for he experts

[troj]

Depending on how old the version of Excel is that these files were created in, at some point in the early 2000s, Microsoft made a drastic change in the internal structure of MS Office documents. Microsoft maintained backwards compatibility, up to a point. If I'm not mistaken, up to Office 97 format can be read by current versions of MS Office. Older formats, likely not.

This is part of why I don't throw away old versions of software (within reason). They can be handy to have around from time to time. Not to mention an MSDN subscription that lets me download really old stuff - DOS 5.1, anyone?

-Kevin

 

[Ian]

DOS 5.1 was a good system for its time, I used it a LOT at one point.

 

[Bliksem]

Depending on how old the version of Excel is that these files were created in, at some point in the early 2000s, Microsoft made a drastic change in the internal structure of MS Office documents. Microsoft maintained backwards compatibility, up to a point. If I'm not mistaken, up to Office 97 format can be read by current versions of MS Office. Older formats, likely not.

This is part of why I don't throw away old versions of software (within reason). They can be handy to have around from time to time. Not to mention an MSDN subscription that lets me download really old stuff - DOS 5.1, anyone?

-Kevin

I'll raise you one, PC-DOS 2.11

 

[Cherokee]

Oh I remember DOS.

 

[Brad]

Kevin has a working TRS-80. We used them in HS in the early 80s.
Kevin is to computers what we are to shooting. Yep, a complete nerd. And proud of it.

 

[RicinYakima]

My favorite game of all time was "Aces of the Pacific" a DOS game.

 

[dannyd]

In the commercial computer business you try to stay ahead of the game. Your computer's life is measured just like a dog's. 1 year old laptop is 7 years old tech wise.

 

[Tomme boy]

I have a working Commodore 64. Disc drive, phone modem, printer, tape player. I was just looking at it last week and was thinking about getting it out and playing a few games on it.

 

[troj]

Kevin has a working TRS-80. We used them in HS in the early 80s.
Kevin is to computers what we are to shooting. Yep, a complete nerd. And proud of it.

I have the model that came out when we were in high school (Model 4). I also have two of the model I first learned to program on, in 8th grade - TRS-80 Model 1.

Then there are the 2 Apple //c systems (including the one I bought new in 1984), an Apple ][+, a //e and a //gs.

I still need to add a Model 3 to the collection.

Brad is correct - I am indeed a nerd. Have been for several decades.

-Kevin

 

[troj]

I have a working Commodore 64. Disc drive, phone modem, printer, tape player. I was just looking at it last week and was thinking about getting it out and playing a few games on it.

There's a project I follow, the Commander X16, which is dedicated to building a Commodore-like machine, using more modern parts but still using discrete circuits.

-Kevin

 

[Rick]

Brad is correct - I am indeed a nerd. Have been for several decades.

-Kevin

Nothing wrong with that. When my kids were in school I always cautioned them about teasing nerds cause one day they will working for them.

 

[fiver]

couldn't you just burn the document to a CD?
then it should be readable on any computer and you don't have to go through all this again in 5 years.

 

[troj]

couldn't you just burn the document to a CD?
then it should be readable on any computer and you don't have to go through all this again in 5 years.

It's not a function of media as much as it is format of the files themselves. A good analogy is the Rosetta Stone. We had hieroglyphics and knew they were writing, but writing had changed and nobody knew how to read them. Then the Rosetta Stone was found and it told us how to read the hieroglyphics.

These old files are written in hieroglyphics, so we need an application with a built-in Rosetta Stone to translate them.

Not only that, but any media has a shelf life, including burned CDs/DVDs....and more and more computers are also shipping without any sort of spinning media as a standard option.

-Kevin

 

[popper]

Install open office open the files go to save as and save in a newer version of excel. It may require an OLD vresion of Open Office. IIRC the change was actually back in the early 80s, about Win 3.0. Built me 'computer' back in the day, 16k memory, 8080 processor (just moved on from 4004), no OS, teletype keyboard. Program in machine language. By toggle switches. Learned fortran on 1620 punch cards.

 

[fiver]

wow.
so the data rewriter job that guy had in 1984 is going to become a real job.

 

[troj]

Install open office open the files go to save as and save in a newer version of excel. It may require an OLD vresion of Open Office. IIRC the change was actually back in the early 80s, about Win 3.0. Built me 'computer' back in the day, 16k memory, 8080 processor (just moved on from 4004), no OS, teletype keyboard. Program in machine language. By toggle switches. Learned fortran on 1620 punch cards.

There's the Office 97 change, when they introduced the extension ending in "x" - docx, xlsx, etc. Prior to that, the extension was the same, but the internal format would change with some regularity between versions.

What was the old computer? Altair 8800 or something else? The first computer I can remember using, back in the 70s, was an Altair that someone near us would let us come over and fiddle with. I was in 6th grade at the time. The first computer I programmed on was the TRS-80 Model 1, in both BASIC and Z-80.

I've never worked with punch cards - the University of Iowa got rid of their last punch my Freshman year, and their last sorter & reader my sophomore year. I have dealt with paper tape, a little bit.

-Kevin

 

[popper]

Used the altair bus but not really the altair. Yea, had the trs80 I, no DOS. Got the 6502 'commodor' like unit that did have the disk (and really good DOS). Started programming the micros back in the 70s got co. to change from 4004 to 6502. Z80 was pretty good but OS's were in infancy then. intel went from 808 to 8083, 8085, 8086 which were terrible. ^6800 was decent but 68000 was a beast - atari group had a very good OS but Tramiel wouldn't pay programmers for code so it went belly up.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Hah! Punch Cards! AND COBOL! I do/have worked in Tech since I left the Army in '97. Same company. Was in Tech/systems last 2 1/2 yrs in the Army. But I am NOT an IT nerd. Don't even have my own server! BUT - I did use punch cards in college ('85 grad), and COBOL. When I got out of the Army in '97, was offered $100K salary to program COBOL (for the Y2K scare). Turned it down. I HATE to program! Recently saw, with all the Covid nonsense, where unemployment payments were way behind and they needed Cobol programmers. Nearly spit coffee on my PC! I bet nerd kids these days can't even spell Cobol!

 

[troj]

I took COBOL in college, just out of curiosity. Came away from that with a firm decision in my head that I would *not* accept a job writing COBOL - yuck. Any language that cares what column I put something in (looking at you, as well, FORTRAN) is not something I want to do on a daily basis.

Currently schools teach a lot of Java. Why? Because the tools are free. Even back in the late 90s, it was hard to find recent graduates that knew COBOL; a company I worked for in the financial industry actually set up a program with a local school, where current employees could apply for a program where a two year program was paid for, and then they'd be moved into a programming job. Only catch was they then had to work for the company as a programmer for two years after, which really wasn't a bad deal.

There's still a *lot* of COBOL that runs the financial and insurance industry.

 

[popper]

Java is JUNK! And VERY unsafe!! Couldn't pay me enough to have a programmer job of any kind. I did hardware and software product development which was fun. Yup friend tried to get me into COBOL or DBASE programming - never gonna happen.
I'm kinda like BIL now - he flew A7 Nam, then most everything FEDEX flew (Falcon to 747), won't even get in a plane now.