[cctalk] Re: on the origin of home computers

8 Mar 2023

...
  -----Original Message-----
 From: Paul Koning via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt;
 Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 7:25 PM
 To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
 Cc: Paul Koning &lt;paulkoning(a)comcast.net&gt;
 Subject: [cctalk] Re: on the origin of home computers

 > On Mar 8, 2023, at 2:13 PM, Bill Degnan via cctalk
&lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt;
...
  wrote:
 >
 > There is ample evidence of people doing personal computing before the
 > microprocessor was invented.  There was a whole terminal/time sharing
 > scene in the late 60s, plus people who did personal computung by using
 > the machine at a school, work, or library.  There were also people
 > whonowned surplussed minicomputers who used them at home.  I think you
 > should consider mentioning this somehow.
 >
 > Really, your video is about personal computers with a microprocessor
 > installed.
 >
 > A person from the 70s would not look at computing the same as we do today.
...
   The larger
consumer of "home computers" were doing engineering type
 work, not so much playing games.  Even the apple/tandy/commodore users.  
 Conversely, computer games predates home computers by a decade or so; the
 PLATO system is a major source of early games, documented in several places.

Computer Games are almost as old as (Turing Complete) Computers. Alan Turing
insisted that the Manchester/Ferranti MK1 had a Random Number generator.
Christopher Strachey wrote a tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses to the
English) program which displayed its output in patterns on the MK1 screen.
In 1951 he wrote a checkers/draughts program for the Mk1.
He also wrote the "love letters" program.....
.. Turing was thinking about Chess but he couldn't fit it in the MK1....

...

 	paul 
Dave

2024

2023

2022

[cctalk] Re: on the origin of home computers