Jason Gets an Upgrade

image description

Jason Gets an Upgrade

b2ap3_thumbnail_old-computer_400.jpgSo I was working super hard at Resolve I.T. today upgrading Jason Bowen’s computer to this lovely Radio Shack Tandy TRS-80 Model iii. Which I got for about $20 at the Rowley Flea Market this morning.

Okay, so in addition to the fact that this will drive Jason crazy it is hilarious because when this computer was manufactured in 1980 it would have retailed for roughly $2495 (the equivalent of about $7884.90 in today’s money). The base model came with 4K of ram (expandable up to a whopping 48K) and 32K of total removable storage in each of its dual 5.25” floppy discs. This little fella is also tipping the scales somewhere around 38lbs. So if my math is correct and we account for storage capacity alone, you can fit approximately the equivalent of 1,048,576 of these monsters inside of a single 32GB iPhone (Jason’s phone).

So what fun facts can we deliberate by this information:

  1. If Moore’s Law held no truth and computing power today was the same size and weight it was in 1980 the iPhone would weight roughly 19,923 tons (39,845,888lbs). Which is the same weight as 293 – M1 Abrams Tanks! Try to fit that in your pocket!!
  2. Which also means if Jason could time travel back to 1980 with his 32GB iPhone in theory would be worth approximately $2,616,197,120.00
  3. His iPhone would have had the equivalent computing power of almost every personal computer in the USA in 1980.
  4. And no matter what the date, being annoying to a coworker by swapping out his computer for a 34 year old, 40lbs paper weight is priceless & super fun to watch on a Monday morning!

 

So, what is your input on my hypotheses? Do you think I’m nuts in my calculations or in my train of thought? I would love to know what you think &/or any computer related pranks that you have successfully executed at work. Thanks! Pat A.

 

  • SHARE
  • TWEET
  • LINK