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Episode 183 - A Digital Gap?
I've been browsing old compur surveys and trying to build up a comprehensive data set. What I've found is a little surprising: between late 1945 and 1949 only 10 new computers entered service. Once…
Episode 182 - Spinning Memories
What connects IBM, the NSA, the Third Reich, and high fidelity recordings of symphonies? The answer is: magnetic drum memory. Join me as I lose all track of scope and plot to discovery just how and…
Episode 181 - RAYDAC
In 1947 Raytheon signed a contract to make their first computer. It would be their last... at least for many many years. The fruits of this contract was RAYDAC. Early digital computers were odd, to…
Episode 180 - You Wouldn't Magnetize a Tape!
The image of a mainframe is almost always accompanied by it's companion: the magnetic tape drive. For decades magnetic tape served as the medium of choice for computing. It was faster than punch…
Episode 179 - Programming Block by Block
In which we discuss GPSS: the General Purpose Simulation Language. As for as languages go, this is a unique one. It's designed for certain types of simulations. It's code is just a handy way to feed…
Episode 178 - The Programma 101
The Olivetti Programma 101 isn't quite like any other machine. On first glance it looks like a big desktop calculator. Inside, it's a purebred computer... but strange one. It uses twisted spring…
Dan Temkin - Forty-Four Esolangs
Dan Temkin has been a long time friend of the show. I finally got the chance to sit down and talk with him about one of his latest projects. Forty-Four Esolangs is a "The first artist's monograph of…
Episode 177 - Getting Real with RSX
Who wants to hear me make incorrect assumptions about old software? RSX is a system that, from the outside, can sound like it has a similar story to that of UNIX. First developed for the PDP-15 in…
Episode 176 - Is That Even UNIX?
UNIX is beloved by many. It's the classic minicomputer operating system. It's big, it's powerful, it's multitasking, and it has some very specific memory requirements. So what happens when you try…
Episode 175 - SNOBOL? That's Disgusting!
Today we are talking about one of the most unique languages I've ever come across. SNOBOL emerges from the early days of programming. It's first compiler is implemented on the back of an envelope. It…
Episode 174 - The Bell Model I
We are getting back to the actual digital family tree. In 1937 George Stibitz built a tiny binary adding circuit on his kitchen table using scraps he "liberated" from his job at Bell Labs. In 1940 he…
Episode 173 - Hybrid Programming
Hybrid computers are composed of a digital computer linked to an analog computer. That leads to an interesting challenge: how do you write software for one of these things? The analog side actively…
Episode 172 - Analog/Hybrid
In 1945 the first electronic digital computers sparked to life. Number crunching was instantly changed forever! The perfect technology had arrived, and there was never even a competition, right?…
Episode 171 - What Is a 4GL?
Last episode I said that Fourth Generation Languages were a topic for another time. Well... this counts as another time. Today we are trying to figure out what exactly makes a language 4th…
Episode 170 - Thoroughbred/OS
I'm back to normal episodes, and I'm running out the gate with a weird one. Thoroughbred/OS was a multi-user and multi-tasking operating system for the IBM PC. It's mian interface was... BASIC of all…
Episode 169.5 - Ben Zotto and the Story of Sphere Computers
I recently had the chance to talk to Ben Zotto about his upcoming book: Go Computer Now! - The Story of Sphere Computers. It's all about an obscure machine powered by the Motorola 6800 that released…
Episode 169 - Dellinger's Viruses
In 1981 Joe Dellinger attempted to create the perfect computer program: a virus that spread silently. In 1982 a revision of that virus broke containment. It would have remained completely hidden if…
Episode 168 - Halt and Catch Fire
Imagine a secret number that could be used to bring your computer to a screeching halt. In 1977 Gerry Wheeler discovered an interesting feature of Motorola's new 6800 microprocessor. There was a…
Episode 167 - The Tape That Unwound Itself
Have you ever had a computer do something you can't explain? Have you ever thought a machine had a mind of its own? In 1971 Met Life was faced with this exact conundrum. Their tape drives, for some…
Episode 166 - Beyond the PDP-11
My trilogy on the PDP-11 concludes with a look at the far flung places this computer can take us. In this episode we look at some issues with claims of the PDP-11's linage, smuggling, Hungarian-made…
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Advent of Computing has published 199 episodes since April 2019, covering topics in History, Technology.
Advent of Computing is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 56m.
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