23 Dec
2005
23 Dec
'05
8:38 p.m.
Scott Stevens wrote:
I have more machines with core + ICs that core +
discretes only....
<snip>
Core is also more 'radiation hardened' for
certain applications.
For space or military use, for instance. Not as important now
but it was for a long while.
No argument about there being ICs and core. I only pointed out the time
frame wasn't long. The first
core machine I remember seeing was the 1103 and it used vacuum tubes. (1K
by 36 bits). Using it as a
reference up to the last Cray designs with core and transistors, there is a
long time frame, at least 2 decades .
Core and ICs made the transition. But with ICs came the 1101, then the
1103. After that, RAM exploded
and it was a rare machine that stayed with core for very long. Core died
quickly, relative to it's life span.
Core is still used in a few applications, mainly space. But another
technology made most of the early
trips to the planets, a variation of core called plated wire. Some of those
are 30+ years old and still haven't
dropped a bit!
And then there are the EMP hardened technologies that still can't be
discussed, even today.
Billy