6 Oct
1998
6 Oct
'98
2:16 p.m.
Max Eskin wrote:
Although it's certainly interesting, I doubt my new-found knowledge
of the first microprocessor is going to radically change any of my
view of the world. F14CADC doesn't mean anything different than
4004. But, what I guess might be significant is that this shows how
major an impact the military has played on computers. The ENIAC,
F14CADC, DEC Alpha, and other stuff I'm sure can all be attributed
to the pentagon.
Well, perhaps the ENIAC to some degree was sponsored by the War
Department of the US back during the Great Patriotic War, but the
rest you've mentioned are primarily results of free-market
capitalism. Stuff the government sponsors doesn't work half as well
and costs twice+ as much as what the market does. Or else somebody
would have to claim that a government Zenith 286 is better than an
NCR PC-812 of the same era -- I've worked with both. (Let's not get
into the price tags on USAF parts and equipment -- the screwdrivers
and toilet seats are the snowflake on the tip of the iceberg).
Check out the encryption debate if you think that any government is
ahead of the private sector in computer development. And NASA
wasn't ahead of HP or IBM either -- they did have better PR and some
lightweight casing materials that hadn't reached the open market yet.
(The main reason a lot of government electronics is classified is
because they hate to get laughed at).
--
Ward Griffiths <mailto:gram@cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/>
When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked me if I had any
firearms with me. I said "Well, what do you need?" -- Steven Wright