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Choses très perso

Ici un bric-à-brac de choses personnelles.

Une sorte de profession de foi, émise en 1991 (en anglais)

Une association marrante entre le client/serveur et le sexe

Le client / serveur

L'architecture client / serveur est comme la pratique du sexe par les jeunes:

 Il est dans l'esprit de tout le monde tout le temps.
Tout le monde parle de lui tout le temps.
Tout le monde pense que tout le monde le fait.
 Presque personne ne le fait réellement.
 Ceux qui le font:

Le font pitoyablement,
Sont surs que la prochaine fois ça sera meilleur,
Ne le pratiquent pas d'une manière sure.
Vantent leur réussite, bien que très peu sont vraiment contents.

 John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine, 25 Janvier 1994

 I love computers

Early in my student ears I had the opportunity of working on a huge IBM computer, (I lived in a country where computers were a rarity and the government kept track even of typewriters). As a future computer engineer I was supposed to think of a program, write it on a 80 columns grid paper, go to a wonderful machine which punched a deck of carton rectangles, and then go with the Deck to the Local Authorized High Priest who fed on Fridays the machine.

Usually on Mondays we went to the temple, a long row of students willing to receive the fruits of their "RESEARCH" who stared at the desk where the listings , result of their week's work waited to be distributed.

Generally there were some multiple﷓page listings, but much more were half of a listing page, irregularly torn, with only a few lines and a poisoning "Program Aborted". I really don't remember a more shivering thrill than waiting to know if my output was the big one. (The listings were not sorted alphabetically). I also felt then that computers might be interesting but a more direct relation must exist between man and machine.

Fortunately, during the last two years of my studies, my Institute received a complete 8080 based computer with keyboard, printer, and a TERMINAL. It had a Macro Language, a Text Editor, some compilers, and an 8" single sided disk drive. It was then that I figured that I can double the capacity of the disk if I actually make a hole on it's other side and turn it in the drive. It always worked and the system never crashed.

I was very proud that I had my OWN key for the room where it (the PC) was stored, It was for the first time in my life when I felt I HAD to wake up at three a clock In the morning to go to the Institute to interactively test my simple wave simulation Fortran written program, to use the least number of Instructions (memory was scarce).

I also took home at night the printer's ribbon and reinked It by means of China Ink and some cotton stubs. (The only graphics I was able to output on screen and paper were stars, dots, and all sort of non graphic characters).

I remember that I dreamed of computers, of my graphic outputs, sensation I had only some years later after six months of toiling actually playing a role﷓game. I confess It was then when I thought for the first time that someday one will be able to switch on his computer and ask some divinity: Please give me more information regarding the Bermuda Triangle or What is the truth about death of the dinosaurs, and so on.

Having fled my country, I bought my first 8080 PC clone. It was wonderful. Nice software: compilers, word processors. Later on I had my Modem. Communication too was wonderful (except telecom bills).
My dream was beginning to come true. Connect with the world and ask some question to the world, to an unknown friend or to a professional. And it works!

What a tremendous, thrilling pleasure when seeing on your screen MESSAGE flickering. Where do I have a message from? Is it personal, is it an answer to some technical question, is it only an I AM STILL HERE message?

As society goes further on, communication MUST develop, information MUST Pass, some special new ethic must be developed and fulfilled, people will accept more likely rules when they are directly implied in issuing them.

Aren't computers nice and friendly?

I love computers. 

(Radu Caulea, 1991)


Copyright © 1998-2002 Radu Caulea, TAFORA MAJ 20/04/2006 !
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