# Surfing the web over a 1964 300 Baud Modem **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448 "2013-03-09T01:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/1 "2013-03-09T01:36:36Z")
Check this out. He’s got what very well may be the oldest functional computer modem on the planet: [http://www.wimp.com/connectsinternet/](http://www.wimp.com/connectsinternet/) Around 1979 a friend’s dad, who worked with computers, had a setup at his house that allowed him to log into his company’s mainframe over a 300 baud modem (it was only plastic and metal, not wood, leather and brass however). My friend and I were able to play a [text-based Star trek game](http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/28228/Star-Trek-1971-Text-Game) where you’d rather tediously move around from quadrant to quadrant zapping Klingons and visiting starbases. Even then we thought 300 baud was horribly slow. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/2 "2013-03-09T02:23:59Z")
Neat. 300 Baud goes back to 1964? I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/3 "2013-03-09T02:32:38Z")
> [@Santos\_L\_Halper](#): > > My friend and I were able to play a [text-based Star trek game](http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/28228/Star-Trek-1971-Text-Game) where you’d rather tediously move around from quadrant to quadrant zapping Klingons and visiting starbases. Wow, I think I actually played that way back when. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/4 "2013-03-09T02:49:57Z")
Good lord, I played that game too. How badly am I dating myself? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/5 "2013-03-09T03:26:33Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Good lord, I played that game too. How badly am I dating myself? We played that Star Trek game in high school back in the 70’s [on one of these](http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=950). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/6 "2013-03-09T03:28:40Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Neat. 300 Baud goes back to 1964? I didn’t know that. Yeah, no shit. I remember 300 Baud from the mid-80s. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/7 "2013-03-09T03:29:09Z")
there are still working Bell 101 modems. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/8 "2013-03-09T03:41:15Z")
Woo Hoo! [Text Trek!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(text_game)) I personally preferred playing what must have been [Trek73](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trek73) on a computer that had no screen, just a printer. That game had you meeting and enemy ship, and you would both pound the snot out of each other until someone’s shields gave out. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/9 "2013-03-09T04:28:03Z")
Cool! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/10 "2013-03-09T05:19:24Z")
My first modem was one or two steps up from that one. It was 300 baud, but direct connect, which meant I had to dial the remote number on a phone, then when I heard tone, hit the connect switch on the modem and (quietly!) hang up the phone. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/11 "2013-03-09T07:48:21Z")
I also remember that text game, and I remember tying up my parents phone using a modem to connect to various BBSes. ---
**Author:** ![bodangus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@bodangus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bodangus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/12 "2013-03-09T13:04:03Z")
xyzzy ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/13 "2013-03-09T14:08:51Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > We played that Star Trek game in high school back in the 70’s [on one of these](http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=950). You, too? There can’t have been many around. Where (city is okay) did you go to high school? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/14 "2013-03-09T15:36:09Z")
I also played the Star Trek game in the early 1980s. I loved it! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/15 "2013-03-09T15:48:59Z")
> [@bodangus](#): > > xyzzy Nothing happens. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/16 "2013-03-09T16:00:16Z")
That was a really neat video - thanks for sharing! 🙂 I used to play the old text games too - frustrating yet fun - but I don’t recall the star trek ones. Gosh darnit I missed all the fun! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/17 "2013-03-09T18:01:36Z")
What I find the oddest (and, in a way, scariest) thing about this video is that the RS232 port was developed _prior to 1964._ No lie, just yesterday I was troubleshooting a piece of modern medical equipment (designed less than ten years ago, built less than three) that not only still had an RS232 port, but was DB25 no less. That’s a piece of modern medical equipment using a technology/communications protocol that is _ **50 years old.** _ ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/18 "2013-03-09T19:41:05Z")
The good stuff endures. No worse than tip and ring on twisted pair, which is not only over 100 years old, but the original technology has been flexible enough to support VDSL data at over 50 meg. How many times has USB been revised in the past 15 years? Do you think Thunderbolt will still be around in 15 years? How about eSATA? I’d be willing to bet that tip and ring and RS232 will still be with us. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/19 "2013-03-10T02:56:39Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > You, too? There can’t have been many around. Where (city is okay) did you go to high school? St Louis. It was a private Catholic high school. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448/20 "2013-03-10T16:35:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, no shit. I remember 300 Baud from the mid-80s. Yep. I had no idea it went back that far. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surfing-the-web-over-a-1964-300-baud-modem/652448.md?page=2)