What Are Your Career Aspirations?

Before the Internet, remember BBS / 1

What was life like before the Internet? I'll never ask you?
I'll tell you a little 'something. In the 80's, when ancorala large network did not exist, someone invented a way to move characters through the phone.


It was a very "simple", he rested the phone on a device called a telephone coupler, and this party up to 75 characters per second. The call was "direct" means that calling a number where there was another pair and this after a while 'to get started.
You can see on this page is a simple and primitive system of transfer. When
tecnogia went 'forward, the rapid growth and a 75-step is' to 300 characters, then in 1200, 2400, 9600, 14400, 28800 up to 56000.
When they could transferred via a large number of characters (over 300) were born what is now remembered as a bulletin board: Bulletin Board System (bulletin board systems).

I entered this world after purchasing a 14,400 modem America, purchased together with the boys met at a conference (The PISAug). I remember cost '550,000 pounds and I also remember that it was the best purchase. He was very sensitive to line quality and often slow down or even lost the signal. That was
but 'how to enter a new world. Only need a program capable of displaying the characters that I received from the modem, a terminal program. There were many at that time and either I chose my own and began to converse with the universe. But what is
these bulletin boards?
Well, you type AT (telephone number of the BBS) and on the other hand, a computer and a modem with a proper, lit 24 hours to 24 (the majority) they'd say, and they would send you the screens where you could choose. Interact with an electronic system.

What I saw can be seen in the screen that I attached. As I said they were all characters. There was no picture. Services were basically three: messaging, online games and receive files. In the largest BBS with multiple phone lines also existed chat. Messaging could be local or national databases for those who embraced Fidonet, a large network of transnational communication that was passing at night messages from database to database.

My first connection to Catania was one of the great Alberto Marcedone BBS. An institution here in Catania. I still remember the thrill.

connections, then cost as much as a normal call. If you log in your own town you paid the local rate in time, if you log out, you paid a long distance.

Write a message like this would cost several hundred pounds because of the phone units.

Think about the difference today with where we are connected 24 hours to 24 and understand.

The BBS was the only way to receive the programs updated because the owners, called SYSOP (System Operator). shall bear the burden to get all the news at their expense. Let's say you were the benefactors who did it for passion. The bill came up for them at 600-800 thousand pounds in two months.

Catania A permit me 'to interact with new people, all of the city of Catania. From time to time these faces hidden behind screens would gather in the cold "CONTEST." Usually we went to eat a pizza together and we finally saw his face.

With many of them have been forged friendships that last until today to 20 years away. Robert of Roger and Alex Saputo are two of the people I met and then I frequent today.

For now I stop. I will tell you 'a new episode later. I anticipate that over time I became a sysop but that will be the last story.

Giuseppe Chillemi

http://www.giuseppechillemi.it