15 Apr
2024
15 Apr
'24
11:15 a.m.
Don't know if it's germane, but the CDC STAR-100 (Cyber 200 series) MCU
used a small drum. 70s-80s. Don't recall if the stations did also.
There was the "STAR Drum" blue sky that was part of the boilerplate in
proposals at the time. STAR had a 512-bit wide data channel reserved
for a paging device. I recall Neil Lincoln relating that they tinkered
with a 100K RPM drum, but could never get it to operate for more than a
few minutes.
Then there was SCROLL, also mentioned in the proposals. A very wide
tape wrapped around a multi-head rotating drum. I don't know if that
one ever got past the pencil-and-paper stage.
--Chuck