I have my own private time machine on my laptop. I still run AutoCAD 2.18 from 1985/86 using a Virtual Machine running a 10Mb DOS partition. It is pretty amazing to try and use 1980 software today especially AutoCAD 2.18 without the UNDO command, Autosnaps, real time pan and zoom and so much more. You really realize how far CAD and design software has come.
In AutoCAD 2.18 it was the first release with AutoLISP and only had 90 commands. I run AutoCAD 2.18 on a virtual machine of DOS 5 and a 10Mb disk size maximum otherwise AutoCAD 2.18 will not run. Apparently in 1985 the idea of a hard disk larger than 10Mb was crazy talk.
Here are a couple more screen shots and a quick YouTube video:
My video on YouTube of AutoCAD 2.18 http://youtu.be/070Y8V3Mck4
If you want to try running Windows 1.0 or 1980 software for Apple check out these crazy web hosted virtual machines of software. Perhaps I should see about placing AutoCAD 2.18 in a web based virtual machine for people to try.
Relive the "80s and Run Windows 1.01 in Your Browser
Play with Mac OS 7 (System 7) Apps in Your Web Browser
List of 28 software you can run at archive.org:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Ahistoricalsoftware&sort=-publicdate
Cheers,
Shaan
Great! That was probably the first AutoCAD I used…
Great Scott!! You need 1.2 gigawatts to run that program!! 😉
That would be great! I’d love to be able to dial in and play around with AutoCAD 2.18! It’s been a long time since I’ve used an ’80s version. Started on 3.0.
Hello
I remember well ACAD R2.1x but I began with R1.4 !
ACAD R2.5 with the ssget Lisp function was for me the real beginning of Lisp …
And of course I played with ACAD R10/R11/R12 on MacIntosh …
I used also ACAD R2.5x – R13 on many different Unix Workstations : SUN, HP
Bye, Pat
I remember that program. Back in the day we were told computers had to be in a cold room to run properly, so those of us on AutoCAD sat in a refrigerated room, huddled over the keyboard in our coats. Good times. I remember the tabletop plotter, too. I could sit for hours watching the pens draw the picture up! I probably looked at it the same way people did when they first saw the automobile, lol.