26 Jun
2004
26 Jun
'04
9:41 a.m.
On Fri, 2004-06-25 at 16:47, David V. Corbin wrote:
Remember this predates dot matrix printers on calculators. The printers
we're talking about had a typewheel with perhaps 12 positions round it
(0-9, decimal point, minus sign). Either one per column or one that was
shifted across the paper.
It would have been possible to make one with 16 characters round the
wheel, but I've never seen one.
"What significant advantage did octal have
over hex notation (especially in
the late '60s timeframe)?"
I'm a bit skeptical of the printer-hardware answer. Printing calculators
don't care about notation, only humans do. (Why five? how many fingers you got?)
8 (and 2 thumbs), like most people :-)
-tony