31 Jan
2009
31 Jan
'09
12:53 p.m.
One thing that's sometimes worth a quick demo is
the propensity of EPROMs to
temporarily lose their programming when nailed with high-intensity light from,
say, a camera flash. That caught me out a few times -- I've got a couple of
That also caught IBM when introducing the 701,
though it wasn't EPROMs. If I remember the story
correctly, they used one of the forms of CRT memory
systems in the machine. Originally, it seemed like
a good idea to make the tubes visible both because
it looked cool and because you could see what the
machine was doing. But at the press introduction,
they fired off flashbulbs and the light interacting
with the memory devies crashed the machine.
Watson dictated that the plexiglass be replaced
by a steel plate.
(Caution, this is the story as my fuzzy memory
recalls it. I may have gotten some details wrong
or have lost some due to wetware bitrot. YMMV)
BLS