It’s not all touch screens, accelerometers and Google Maps today, my friends. I’m based at NYU’s Bobst library in order to be within shooting distance of the various Apple stores and AT&T stores for today’s festivities. Plus it’s air conditioned. But in my roaming around the library I found these old school computers. Not only have I never seen anything like these before, but they have nothing to do with the iPhone. I’m trying to maintain our collective sanity here, people.
um…you realize those aren’t computers, right? They’re microfilm/microfiche readers. Kinda like an overhead projector crossed with a microscope. Nothing “computer” about it, just lights and lenses.
-Wes
Dude – You’re young and not exposed to old school tech, I understand. Those are microfiche readers, they have nothing to do with computers.
The are probably kept around to read archived records.
…you do realize those are microfiche machines, not computers?
Uh, those are slide or microfiche readers, not computers at all. You must have been born in the 80s…
Are you sure they’re computers? They look like microfiche/microfilm readers to me.
Those are microfiche readers, dummy. They’re little more than really big magnifying lenses.
ummm those are not computers. they are microfilm projectors. it’s something before you time but that was the way they use to archive old newspaper and magazines and so on.
lol: first time in a library?
fyi: al gore invented the interweb on the micro 750, note the absolutely fingerprint-free touchscreen.
Um, those aren’t computers. I’m pretty sure from the pictures that the are microfiche readers. They are designed to view old newspaper articles which have been printed onto transparent film. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfiche they are basically just motorized rollers with a mini projection bulb and a screen.
-kap
damn, where did all these comments appear from?
Not computers.
Sometimes there is a lag between when comments are made and when they show up. Moderating goin’ on? Anyway, this was hillarious. Even if this was someone’s first time in the library, haven’t they used machines like this a million times in moves that came out in the 90’s and even after 2000?
Nicholas, are you retarded? :-) Microfiche readers: and they haven’t changed much in 50 years. You’ll find that most (if not all) of the periodical collections in most libraries are on microfiche.
You might want to check out the following video on teacher tube to see how these work.
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=61f8f06494c97b1afccf
Ok, I’m glad I’m not the only one who was slightly concerned that these weren’t computers. If they were, then that screen would have had to been the first touch screen. I remember far too many research papers being done in front of those screens.
” ” (-dummy -retarded) :D