Question for the old timers out there

[Sloan, Bernie]

I'm putting together a history of the Illinois Library Computer Systems
Organization (ILCSO), and I'd like to begin with a brief description of
what the technical environment was like circa 1977-1978.

I'm talking about IBM 360 mainframes. The ARPANET is less than ten years
old. No public Internet yet. Really low bandwidth (maybe 19.2K at the
most). E-mail in its infancy. OCLC just expanding beyond the borders of
Ohio. The Web still a gleam in Tim Berners-Lee's eyes. The first Apple,
TRS-80, and Commodore personal computers are brand new. The first IBM
personal computers (and MS-DOS) are still several years in the future.
The first word processor (WordStar) is still under development. You get
the picture.

Anyway, I am looking for sources that offer some good comparisons
between then and now (e.g., comparing an IBM 360's processing power with
a standard entry level PC available at a retailer like Best Buy).

Thanks!

Bernie Sloan
Senior Library Information Systems Consultant, ILCSO
University of Illinois Office for Planning and Budgeting
616 E. Green Street, Suite 213
Champaign, IL  61820

Phone: (217) 333-4895
Fax:   (217) 265-0454
E-mail: bernies at uillinois.edu