6 Oct
1998
6 Oct
'98
11:41 a.m.
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.
And _that_ is significant because instead of saying that the computer
is a triumph of enterpreneurs and daring capitalists, we can _also_
say that it is a triumph of America's great war machine.
the F14 CADC was the first microcomputer system that made fly by wire
practical. The 4004 was the first commercially viable single chip CPU.
Clear statments that do not conflict but do make a statment that points
to their significance.
< I'm not denying that Holt produced a CPU, and it may be important in
th
< history of military computers. It is irrelevant
in the history of
the
< personal computer unless there was a personal
computer designed that
< included it or a direct descendant.
Or the technology that made the silicon possible for later commercial
designs. It doesn't have to be the same design.
< I think it's great that Holt got his story out. Footnotes always add
< depth, but no chapters need to be rewritten.
The assuption is they are accurate chapters. ;) the depth is needed to
see how the later chapters are significant.
Allison
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