this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2025
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Programmer Humor

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[–] Quexotic@infosec.pub 28 points 3 days ago (6 children)
[–] sploosh@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

DB9 is still used on for MIDI on electronic instruments, though some manufacturers are moving to doing it with a TRS 3.5mm plug since it only uses 3 pins.

I had a mouse that plugged into the serial port, but my first computer was a Commodore 64.

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[–] Draegur@lemmy.zip 41 points 4 days ago (5 children)

"do you know what ps/2 ports are?"

"holy cow, PlayStation 2? you must be AT LEAST 25!"

[dying inside intensifies]

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[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 32 points 4 days ago (5 children)
[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

This reminds me when a mouse was an option not a requirement

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)
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[–] Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 134 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (23 children)

I raise

edit, actually, it might have been on the back...it's been forever since I touched one

[–] TheRealShadeSlimmy@lemmy.world 40 points 4 days ago (7 children)

I’ll see your raise, and up it:

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 63 points 4 days ago (18 children)
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[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 125 points 4 days ago (12 children)

Big keyboard jack, serial for mouse, parallel for printer

[–] josefo@leminal.space 30 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Don't forget the serial input for gamepads and joysticks in the dedicated sound board for some reason

[–] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 35 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Except that wasn't a serial port, it was midi, and the reason it was on the sound card was because the input was analog.

Your joystick was just two fancy potentiometers, and your soundcard decoded the voltage on the middle legs into a position.

Soundcards handled joysticks because they had the fastest ADCs.

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[–] aliceblossom@lemmy.world 82 points 4 days ago (12 children)
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[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 54 points 4 days ago (12 children)

Bitch

please.

(Kidding, you’re not a bitch and this isn’t a contest. But if it was…)

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[–] mercano@lemmy.world 62 points 4 days ago (2 children)

In my day, the RJ-11 jack was for connecting the keyboard, not the phone line.

The original Macintosh keyboard port

[–] iglou@programming.dev 30 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Okay that's something I had no idea about hahaha

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[–] Xatolos@reddthat.com 2 points 2 days ago

I remember those days.

[–] darkreader2636@lemmy.zip 18 points 4 days ago

You guys had keyboards?

[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 55 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The time of the classic "Keyboard missing. Press F1 to continue."

[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 25 points 4 days ago (6 children)

You know that thing that you don't have? You should press buttons on it.

Fuck you computer....

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 24 points 4 days ago

Way back, there were some rare keyboard / motherboard combinations where the motherboard couldn't detect there was a keyboard attached unless a key was pressed on it. That message was for those people with those combinations.

You pressed F1 and the computer would be like "my bad, there is a keyboard there, thanks for your help", or rather it would just shut up and boot.

The message could have been different but it had to fit in a small amount of BIOS ROM, so we got stuck with the one that covered all the bases the best, and unfortunately, most people who saw it didn't actually have a keyboard plugged in, thus, irony.

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[–] Spaniard@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (3 children)

An elegant port for a more civilized time

[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Nothing civilized about no hot plugging. Had to restart the whole damn computer, if the cable was loose or out at startup.

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[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago

Hokey connections and ancient peripherals are no match for a good dongle at your side, kid.

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[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

My first PC was a Timex Sinclair 1000 and I wrote a text-based choose your own adventure game in basic for it and saved the program on audio cassette.

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[–] madjo@feddit.nl 13 points 3 days ago

I remember a time when they weren't colour coded...

[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 39 points 4 days ago (6 children)
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[–] Malasaur@sh.itjust.works 13 points 3 days ago (2 children)

My brother in Christ, I also used this

And I'm 17

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[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 45 points 4 days ago (6 children)

Fairly certain my first computer used something like this for the keyboard. I did not have a mouse.

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[–] locuester@lemmy.zip 19 points 4 days ago

lol PS/2 ports are the newer ones. There were larger AT ports and ADB ports in addition to the 25-pin(!) LPT port (printer mostly) and COM ports (random peripherals including early mice, pre ps/2)

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 24 points 4 days ago (2 children)
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[–] LordCrom@lemmy.world 25 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Look at you with your fancy ps/2 keyboard port. Where's my AT port and 9 pin serial mouse.

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[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 32 points 4 days ago (4 children)
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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 11 points 4 days ago (9 children)

I said the real two genders.

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[–] DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 4 days ago (2 children)

PS/2

No, not the PlayStation.....

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[–] halyihev@lemmy.world 25 points 4 days ago (2 children)
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[–] YetAnotherMe@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (4 children)

if I remember correctly my first PC had the bigger DIN connector for the keyboard and a DSUB9 for the mouse. Guess I'm old ;)

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[–] HocEnimVeni@lemmy.world 28 points 4 days ago (5 children)

Back in my day they weren't color coded.

[–] fartographer@lemmy.world 42 points 4 days ago (2 children)

That's because color hadn't been invented yet and therefore people could only see in black and white. That's why old shows don't have color.

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[–] mr2meows@pawb.social 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

i have a gaming pc built this decade that has both of those ports dude

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[–] DeadMartyr@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I actually wanted a PS2 port because it works with interrupts rather than polling but they aren't really included anymore.

I feel like they don't make boards for people like me who want small boards with a super niche port.

When a MoDT Mini-ITX board comes out with a PS2 port I will buy that instantly

[–] 0x0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 days ago

Listen up, computer, I'm typing NOW. Not whenever you get around to polling the USB device. Sheesh.

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[–] MrFinnbean@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I feel like a relic..

I used to have disc with kickstart that i needed to use so my computer would boot.

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