User Reviews

I became interested in computers partially due to the TVO series "Bits and Bytes". Each episode covered a unique topic (such as computer generated music, graphics and animations, programming in AppleSoft BASIC, reading/writing files using floppy disks, games, graphics tablets, etc.)

Although it will seem dated now, the series was very popular in the 80's. Many teachers used to show this series in classrooms.

Well done, TVO!!!

There was a time when people didn't fully understand the potential of computers, or the potential for everyday people (not electrical engineers) to get something out of them. I oughta know, I remember watching this show on PBS in Chicago in about 1984.

Parts of it were dumbed down, but I guess that could be considered 'user-friendly'. The animated sections of the shows spelled out some of the processes and how it all worked in greater detail, while the live-action sections were structured as "teacher" Luba Goy told middle-aged layman Billy Van what computers did and how to get the most out of them. Suffice it to say, Billy Van's initial diffidence always changed to wonderment and enthusiasm over the course of each show.

It would be hopelessly dated from a technological standpoint today but some parts illustrate basics that still haven't changed, and it was excellent viewing for the generation that shaped what computing is today.

It is not an exaggeration to say that my current occupation in the world of High Performance Computing can be traced to "Bits and Bytes". Luba and the Little Programmer opened my 14yo mind to the power which can be unleashed by stringing together the simplest commands.

Now, you may argue that perhaps that was not a good thing. But it certainly completed it's mission.

Even the soundtrack was influential on my life, introducing me to Kraftwerk and setting me down the route of Electronic and Industrial music.

Haven't seen an episode since the mid 80s, and don't want to. It would ruin it.

I learned VisiCalc (and by extension, Lotus and Excel) from this show.

Billy Van played dumb but not dopey, hitting the perfect mix of curiosity and eagerness without being irritatingly obtuse. Luba Goy, an "Air Farce" veteran even then, played the role of instructor straight, with patience and authority, like you'd get from a non-patronizing teacher.

Just as I seek to relive my youth by running the original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple emulator, I'd really like to see this show rebroadcast or on DVD. It might be disappointing through my jaded adult eyes, but it'd still be a hoot to listen to Luba giving tips on the proper care of 5.25" floppy disks.

I haven't seen an episode of this show in 20 years, but I was thinking about it and I thought I would post my thoughts on it here.

As a young child in the 80s, home computers were something new. When I was nine, I had won a VIC-20 in a contest sponsored by Pepsi in Northern Ontario (you collected the letters for VIC-20 in the bottle caps).

A home computer was far more interactive than the Atari 2600 because it was usually built-in with a native BASIC interpreter.

Watching this show helped me understand the basic fundamentals of computer programming. It's too bad that there are no TV shows dedicated to showing how to program today.

They were dark days: TVO was trying desperately to fill its mandate to educate, trying to replicate the success of 'Sol,' which educated thousands of young Ontarians to speak French like schizophrenic eunuchs.

'Bits n' Bytes' situated Billy Van in a dark, windowless room with a gigantic television monitor. Like your worst nightmare, Luba Goy would appear on screen and command Van to perform mindless computer tasks on a Commodore PET or Government of Ontario ICON.

10 Print "I affirm that TV Ontario is educating me for the computer revolution in a light and entertaining manner."

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