- 1 language (DATABASIC) Then it did everything. I still use it now, mostly to connect to other things.
- 1 DBMS (PICK) Then it did everything. I still use it now, mostly as a system of record feeding 50 other systems.
- Dumb Terminals. Almost everything ran on the server. It wasn't as pretty as today, but it did the job, often better. Code was levels of magnitude simpler.
- Communication with others: Phone or poke you head around the corner. No email, texts, Teams, Skype, social media, Slack, Asana, etc., etc., etc 1% of the interruptions.
- Electronic communication: copper or fiber optic. Just worked. No internet or www, but we didn't need what we didn't know we would need someday. So simple back then.
- Project management. Cards on the wall. Then we went to 50 other things. Now we're back to cards on the wall.
- People. Managers (usually) had coded before. Users/customers (usually) had done the job before. Programmers (usually) also acted as Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Project Manager, Designer, Sys Admin, Tester, Trainer. There were no scrum masters, business owners, etc. It was waterfall and it (usually) worked.
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
- 1992, I spent 90% of my time working productively and 10% on overhead.
- 2022, I spend 10% of my time working productively and 90% on overhead.
Because of this last one, most of my contemporaries have retired early to become bartenders or play bingo.
1992 - It was a glorious time to build simple software that got the customer's job done.
2022 - It sucks. Because of all the unnecessary complications, wastes of time, and posers running things.
Most people my age have a countdown clock to Social Security on their desktop. 30 years ago, I never could have imagined such a state would ever exist.
> 2022, I spend 10% of my time working productively and 90% on overhead
Is it because the nature of work/programming has changed? Or now you're in a more "leadership/managerial" position that requires you to manage people and ergo feels like overhead.
