Tag Archive for: 1970s

1970s gas prices surged past $1 (finally)


In 1973, the average price per gallon of gas was 39 cents.

Despite the anxiety over the possibility of $1 gas, unleaded regular didn’t reach that price in the South until Nov. 1979, when the Iran hostage crisis started, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Or did it?

Constitution staff writers Barry King and Sharon Bailey’s July 13 story from that year, headlined “Gas Goes Over $1 A Gallon In Much Of South” claimed the $1 mark was hit months sooner, noting Tampa, Fla., premium selling for as much as $1.05 and Jackson, Miss., customers paying $1.009 for premium.

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The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is gradually easing after surging for weeks. The price, however, is still at record levels. A gallon of regular-grade gasiline ddropped to $4.24 per gallon after reaching an astonishing $4.43 per gallon a week ago, according to AAA.

Credit: ArLuther Lee

The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is gradually easing after surging for weeks. The price, however, is still at record levels. A gallon of regular-grade gasiline ddropped to $4.24 per gallon after reaching an astonishing $4.43 per gallon a week ago, according to AAA.

Credit: ArLuther Lee

caption arrowCaption

The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is gradually easing after surging for weeks. The price, however, is still at record levels. A gallon of regular-grade gasiline ddropped to $4.24 per gallon after reaching an astonishing $4.43 per gallon a week ago, according to AAA.

Credit: ArLuther Lee

Credit: ArLuther Lee

>> MORE DEJA NEWS: Check out what we’ve covered before (and again)

Closer to home, one Georgia gas station hitting the $1 mark found itself shamed for doing so.

“A service station in Augusta listed premium prices at $1.014 until a local radio station broadcast the increase in news reports,” the Constitution told readers. “The station dropped its price back to 99 cents a gallon because the station operator said he couldn’t stand the bad publicity.”

In Atlanta, however, premium averaged a comparatively cheap 95.1 cents.

READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE

To zoom in on the story, click the three bars at top right. Then click “Original Document (PDF).”

Besides pricing, metro Atlanta drivers in summer 1979 had another mounting concern: keeping track of which service stations were open and when.

“Ten percent … are open 24 hours a day; 44 percent are open until 8 p.m. weekdays; 64 percent are open Saturday until 6 p.m.; and 36 percent are open Sunday,” Bailey…

Source…

Y Combinator’s Xerox Alto: restoring the legendary 1970s GUI computer

(credit: Michael Hicks)

This article originally appeared on the blog of author Ken Shirriff and is reprinted here with his permission.

Alan Kay recently gave his 1970s Xerox Alto to Y Combinator, and I’m helping with the restoration of this legendary system.

The Alto was the first computer designed around a graphical user interface, and it introduced both Ethernet and the laser printer to the world. The laser printer was invented at Xerox by Gary Starkweather, and networked laser printers were soon in use with the Alto. Y Combinator’s Alto is an “Orbit” model with slots for the four boards that drive the laser printer, laboriously rendering 16 rows of pixels at a time.

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Technology Lab – Ars Technica

P.F. Chang’s turns to vintage 1970s tech after credit card breach

eBay

US restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s China Bistro plans to temporarily bring back manual credit card imprinting while it investigates a security breach that allowed hackers to steal customer payment card data from multiple stores.

The old-school manual system has already been spotted by people affiliated with Sans, a computer security training institute. Readers may remember the system from decades ago, when eight-track tapes and, later, Betamax video, were still the rage. P.F. Chang’s servers will be retaining carbon copies of the transactions, according to KrebsOnSecurity reporter Brian Krebs, who first reported the breach three days ago after finding that thousands of newly stolen credit and debit cards for sale in underground forums were all used at the chain.

“At P.F. Chang’s, the safety and security of our guests’ payment information is a top priority,” a statement posted on the chain’s website stated. “Therefore, we have moved to a manual credit card imprinting system for all P.F. Chang’s China Bistro branded restaurants located in the continental United States. This ensures our guests can still use their credit and debit cards safely in our restaurants as our investigation continues.”

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