<<A related question would be how much work was done outside the USA and UK. >> One standard work is "The First Computers : History and Architectures" Ed Rojas, et al MIT Press; 2002; ISBN 0-262-68137-4 US : 5 sections Germany : 7 sections UK : 5 sections Japan : 2 sections as an indication of activity <<similar questions could be asked about the amount of documentation preserved from various countries. >> In the UK context, where there is on-line documentation of the ICL 2900 series is a question I don't know the answer to There is of course an operational ICL 2966 at TNMoC, Bletchley Park Martin -----Original Message----- From: Paul Koning via cctalk [mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org] Sent: 31 January 2024 18:53 To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Cc: Wouter de Waal &lt;wrm(a)dW.co.za&gt;za>; Paul Koning &lt;paulkoning(a)comcast.net&gt; Subject: [cctalk] Re: VCF SoCal I wonder what fraction of early (before, say, 1955) computer work was done in the USA. A substantial fraction no doubt, but perhaps not as large as one might guess. A related question would be how much work was done outside the USA and UK. For that matter, similar questions could be asked about the amount of documentation preserved from various countries. One difficulty, I think, is that resources like bitsavers have a large proportion of US material. Maybe because of the predominance of the work, maybe in part because of the distribution of collectors. To pick one example, material -- even just a passing reference -- about the Philips PR8000 is very nearly nonexistent. And I see no trace of any other Dutch computer at all on Bitsavers. True, some stuff can be found in places like the CWI archive, though searching that can be rather painful. paul

I do remember reading that lot of British computers were quite superior to the rest of the world, but sold for inland use only. The reason given was that we couldn't figure out ow to make them leak oil! cheers, Nigel On 2024-01-31 14:05, Martin Bishop via cctalk wrote: and UK. >> preserved from various countries. >> series is a question I don't know the answer to cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: most interesting were never available in the US. were TERRIBLE! done in the USA. A substantial fraction no doubt, but perhaps not as large as one might guess. A related question would be how much work was done outside the USA and UK. documentation preserved from various countries. One difficulty, I think, is that resources like bitsavers have a large proportion of US material. Maybe because of the predominance of the work, maybe in part because of the distribution of collectors. To pick one example, material -- even just a passing reference -- about the Philips PR8000 is very nearly nonexistent. And I see no trace of any other Dutch computer at all on Bitsavers. True, some stuff can be found in places like the CWI archive, though searching that can be rather painful. -- Nigel Johnson, MSc., MIEEE, MCSE VE3ID/G4AJQ/VA3MCU Amateur Radio, the origin of the open-source concept! Skype: TILBURY2591

cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: Is any of that online? One frustrating thing about various museums is that they have stuff, but you can't access it. For example, I know a museum with a collection of 1950s software on punched tape, but they refuse access to it for reading it.

On Feb 1, 2024, at 9:52 AM, Henry Bent via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 at 09:37, Paul Koning via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: Generally I have found that access to special collections is conditional on having credentials that the museum is willing to accept. In that case I can imagine that the museum might be willing to allow inspection, perhaps supervised, but that they would not be willing to allow their media to be run through a punched tape reader because they were concerned about the possibility for damage. Did you talk to them about the possibility of some sort of optical scanning?

On Feb 1, 2024, at 9:52 AM, Henry Bent via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 at 09:37, Paul Koning via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: Generally I have found that access to special collections is conditional on having credentials that the museum is willing to accept. In that case I can imagine that the museum might be willing to allow inspection, perhaps supervised, but that they would not be willing to allow their media to be run through a punched tape reader because they were concerned about the possibility for damage. Did you talk to them about the possibility of some sort of optical scanning?