@derek-m that looks interesting.. I'll have a look at that tomorrow.

@bob@lochinver I remember BASIC In 1972 or 3 we had lessons in secondary school. We had to fill in cards with one line of command code on each card, blanking out pre printed boxes on each card. Then we got a day out in Lerwick 50 miles away. The computer was set up on the edge of the stage in the school hall. It had come in about 4 suitcase sized boxes. We had to load our pre prepared cards into a hopper and in 2 seconds it had added up out 2+2 =  and displayed it on ticker tape. Isn't technology amazing?

Hi Chris,

In the introduction to one of the first books I read on computing, it stated that when electronic computers were first being developed, it was estimated that the total computing needs of the world would require 3 computers. I think they may have miscalculated slightly.

@derek-m I think you're referring to the one time president of IBM, Thomas Watson who said there was a world market for maybe five machines. Its why IBM's latest super intelligent computers are called "Watson", the other interesting things are like when people used to say 64k is enough for anyone or 640k and so on, the reality is it was more than enough for the work that needed doing on computers back in the day but as we progress and need higher screen resolutions and storage for browsers etc the limit keeps rising up and up. I am a huge fan of Retro computers (late 70's through to 90's) and have a collection of virtually all the main home micros from that period (over 170). Theres nothing better than starting up a ZX Spectrum 48k and having a game of Manic Miner !! 

@boblochinver, flash back alert. My first ever computer was the ZX Spectrum 48K - loved those rubber keys on the keyboard.

First ever PC: 20Hz processor with 2MB RAM, VGA monitor, running DOS 6. I still love the command prompt. 

@chris-in-kemnay you're recollection of the computer in the hall that came in 4 suitcases is just magical, I can imagine the amazement when this purely hardware machine actually gave the right answer to 2+2, its that ability for machines to show intelligent responses outside of a human being is what makes it so cool. Ticker tape or Murray Code is what I actually used when I was in the Royal Signals back in the early 80's, we would use it on teleprinters and then take the tape and transmit it down our radio broadcast networks to other teleprinters. The British army where the first to go digital with the Ptarmigan system which i was part of the further testing in mid 80's the wagon that housed the equipment was rather large and the operator sat inside using the equipment that was in rows of hardware (it got pretty damn hot) after a couple of years they had it all down to the size of a briefcase ! technology progress! 

Posted by: @editor

@boblochinver, flash back alert. My first ever computer was the ZX Spectrum 48K - loved those rubber keys on the keyboard.

First ever PC: 20Hz processor with 2MB RAM, VGA monitor, running DOS 6. I still love the command prompt. 

Mars ! how young are you !! haha I'm guessing a 386 / 486 intel chip in early 90's Dos was good DR DOS was slightly better as it had a great little interface. My first computer was one I built from scratch called the Sinclair ZX80 and it was with 1k ram and it had to blank the screen when it was calculating stuff !! The ZX spectrum still lives in the release of the ZX Spectrum NEXT which is a new modern version that was released a few years back. 

@boblochinver - it was a 386! And you're bang on, I think I got the computer in 1990. Shortly after that, Windows 3.1 came out and I didn't really like. I far preferred my DOS command prompt to do every. cd del copy move, with those super long path names. Loved it. 

Next big upgrade a good may years later was the CD-ROM drive and SoundBlaster card. Amazing how tech has moved on. All the things we thought would be with us forever or gone just a few decades later. 

And now for the past decade we're firmly entrenched in all things Apple. 

@editor I’ve used Mac as my main machine way before Apple was even considered mainstream. You do get a lot more ROI on Macs IMHO, when you do finally decide to upgrade I would highly recommend the new M series Macs with the new CPU which is absolutely amazing value. The Mac Mini is a genuine eye opener when it come to performance and would be great for the videos you currently produce for the YouTube channel. 

@duncan-mac If you have underfloor heating Duncan,  try running the HP during the day when the sun is shining, The HP is more efficient in warmer temperatures and you'll get more bang for your buck  and I've found that after the initial 2.5 kW start up for about half an hour to an hour to get the UFH water up to temperature. The HP takes about 1.2-1.5kW just idling keeping the water warm. I can easily charge the car at 5a/1.2kWh ish and run the HP and keep the batteries topped up from about 0800 to 1515 at this time of year and due to my roof orientation. At 1515 I'll stop the car, or HP as the sun moves off the roof and an hour later it'll just be the batteries charging till about 1645 then they'll start to discharge till about 0200 ish.

I hope this helps,

Chris

We've just posted @duncan-mac Tesla Powerwall review, along with his thoughts and calculations on return on investment. It's super interesting and definitely worth a read: https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/tesla-powerwall

Would be interesting your thoughts on RoI @boblochinver.

@editor what a great review by @duncan-mac about that solar and Tesla setup, I think it confirms my view that it really is worth adding a battery to your solar install, i suspect that a single Tesla battery pack may have been sufficient and give a overall better return on the investment. I keep talking about incrementals and how each little bit of extra benefit combines to bring larger overall benefits. I have installed Solar which technically is the slightly more capacity than Duncan’s but i only have a 4.8kwh battery storage which i plan to add an additional 4.8 for a 9.6kWh storage system, (my original install of solar panels, micro inverters, LuxPowertek inverter and the 4.8kwh battery storage cost just under £10k all complete and installed. I chose to upgrade my inverters to Micro IQ7+’s and the panels to JA Solar 455w which i have 12 of. I will complement that with a new hot water system probably most likely a solar thermal with an iBoost to gain maximum benefit from my solar. 

I also plan on doing whole house new internal wall insulation and floor insulation. I have an existing oil boiler and it performs well I plan on replacing the radioters in the house with new efficient ones K2 stals, with individual automatic temp controls. I  have though long and hard about buying an air source heat pump and to use underfloor heating, i was advised that the Ecodan 14kw would be one i would need (although they did say it was pushing it to its max) which in my mind would mean it would be overworking just to meet demand. The cost for the ASHP and doing all new underfloor heating system alongside the costs to tile/wood floor cover all the house would have been well in excess of £24k and that wasn’t including the fact that my electric bills would be much higher than at present. It is this reason why for my house heating I am not going to renew my oil boiler at present but wait for another 5 - 7 years to see what developments are made in this space as more and more people move over to ASHP and there will be more competition in the market to drive down prices. While its not ideal from a green point of view I just cant justify the price it would cost me at this point (I’m doing so many other things for the house renovation) that why replace an oil boiler that is not that old and performing well for the time being and currently keeps the house very warm and would be even more effective with new whole house insulation. I do plan on renewing my current Jag F-pace car with an electric car when its due in a years time. Lastly I will also look at some wind power to augment the setup. 

With all the really great information on these forums I know that over the coming years the opportunity to be made aware of upcoming technologies and benefits will be made very clear and thats something that I wholeheartedly embrace 🙂 

@boblochinver Good Post Bob, I'm going to.pop over for a visit  sometime:-) Can I just point out that what you spend  putting a heat pump in you can get an interest free loan for and the RHI you get from the government will pay fir the cost of the installation over 7 years. So its just the cost of electricity you end up.paying for and that should be far cheaper than oil.

( caveat. Scottish interest free loan)