"The program that swallowed Saturn"

[dstyer]

I was just skimming through my most recent e-book purchase of The Wrath of Khan and remembered a scene where the Genesis scientists were talking about the size of their game program. I found the passage in Chapter 4, but in the e-book it differs from what I remember from 1982. I seem to remember the dialogue stating '50 megabytes' - a real world measurement in the original print version. The current e-book version simply says '50 megs' which could mean almost anything.

Anyone have a print copy from 1982 that can tell me I'm not completely daffy?

 

[Avro Arrow]

Sorry.

 

[dstyer]

oh well...

 

[Leto_II]

Not long after reading that passage in my elementary school library's copy of the novelization (I think I would've been in the third grade at the time), I blurted out "Christ on a crutch!!" right in front of a teacher and got sent to the principal's office.

...Thank you, Vonda.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I seem to remember the dialogue stating '50 megabytes' - a real world measurement in the original print version. The current e-book version simply says '50 megs' which could mean almost anything.

If we take the TNG-era shows into account, I don't think it would be too far out of line to retcon "50 megs" to be verbal shorthand for "50 megaquads".

 

[Leathco]

If we take the TNG-era shows into account, I don't think it would be too far out of line to retcon "50 megs" to be verbal shorthand for "50 megaquads".

This idea makes me feel better. I was reading this book last week, and it really took me out of the story hearing about this HUGE 50 Megabyte program. I know, sign of the times and all.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If we take the TNG-era shows into account, I don't think it would be too far out of line to retcon "50 megs" to be verbal shorthand for "50 megaquads".

Which of course must at all times be cross-linked with redundant melacortz-ramistat 14-kiloquad interface modules. The core element is based on an FTL nanoprocessor with 25 bilateral kelilactirals. With twenty of those being slaved into the primary Heisenfram terminals.

 

[zarkon]

Always a bit dodgy trying to predict stuff like that. I remember in Doctor's Orders the enterprise library computers got an 80 Terabyte upgrade, which is only mildly impressive even for home use today and will probably be about as impressive as that 50 megabytes within the next 20 years lol.

 

[tomswift2002]

Always a bit dodgy trying to predict stuff like that. I remember in Doctor's Orders the enterprise library computers got an 80 Terabyte upgrade, which is only mildly impressive even for home use today and will probably be about as impressive as that 50 megabytes within the next 20 years lol.

In 1982 50 megs must've been considered HUGE, especially when you think that in 1982 the Commodore 64 only had 64kb (with the option of putting in 256kb of additional RAM) and 20kb of ROM.

And even by the time of Doctor's Orders, you had computes like the Commodore Amiga 500 that only came with 0.5Mb of RAM but could be upgraded to 8Mb.

 

[zarkon]

In 1982 50 megs must've been considered HUGE, especially when you think that in 1982 the Commodore 64 only had 64kb (with the option of putting in 256kb of additional RAM) and 20kb of ROM.

And even by the time of Doctor's Orders, you had computes like the Commodore Amiga 500 that only came with 0.5Mb of RAM but could be upgraded to 8Mb.

We're talking about storage, not ram. In 1982 in the enterprise (hah) sector you could get a hard disk with a capacity of 400MB. A couple of years earlier IBM released a large 1GB drive, but that was REALLY expensive. By 1987 the newest version of that drive hit 7.5GB. So 50MB would be nothing for a big time project like Genesis in the year it was made, let alone the future. By 1989 IBM's newest drive could go up to 22GB, albeit in a linked array. The absurd speed of storage increase was already obvious.

Of course this information would have been harder to come by for the authors in the eighties - you'd need to be reading enterprise IT trade journals. You can freely buy 30TB SSD drives today in a 2.5" form factor, and much larger models are planned in the very near future.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Even in 1986, us Dr Who fans were cringing at "A megabyte modem!"...