4 Jun
2023
4 Jun
'23
7:24 p.m.
On Jun 4, 2023, at 11:54 AM, Rick Bensene via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
Ben F. wrote regarding transport of data in a moving vehicle:
Are you suggesting some kind of, say, portable computer?
Runs, dodging and weaving.
David
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is it such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
David Barto
barto(a)kdbarto.org
yes. a Kombi full of tapes hurtling down the
highway.
...down the Autobahn. the Autobahn...
https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/artifact/331/1893
Doubtful that VW Bug was on the Autobahn at the time, and, while the advertisement was
very novel with a full-on minicomputer in the back seat of a VW Bug, the amount of data
potentially being transported was likely only 4K 12-bit words, or 48K bits.
Since the machine had magnetic core memory, the system would retain the content of its
memory without power, so in this scenario, the VM Bug was actually capable moving data
from one point to another, albeit, not all that much data.
Now, if the Bug had a trailer hitch, it could tow a trailer behind it with a gasoline or
diesel powered generator with sufficient capacity to run the PDP-8. If that were the
case, the machine could actually process the data in its memory while it was moving down
the road...something a station wagon full of reels of magnetic tape wouldn't be able
to do.