On 25 Jun 2013, at 14:13, "Fred Cisin" <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jun 2013, Murray McCullough wrote:
It seems early history isn?t popular?anything
before the Apple 1 or
IBM PC is just not on the radar of computer or computer-like users
today.
Murray McCullough. Computer historian
I agree completely with Murray. Well said.
Amateur "History" of computers has become a formula:
A: Pre-historic: There were once big machines with punch cards and vacuum
tubes
"then came Altair/Imsai" to conclude the fossil record.
It goes much more in depth than that...modern computer historians SUCK.
B: Apple: Jobs and Wozniak invented computers
Nope! IBM, DEC, Bell Labs and others did. ;)
C: IBM: "IBM tried to compete with Apple" ("competing with IBM is the
mouse running up the elephant's leg with intent to rape"), "Bill Gates
invented computer software"/"OS"
[CP/M, TRS-80, Pet no longer exist[ed] for anybody who wasn't THERE -
cf. "Pirates Of Silicon Valley", wherein Bill Gates COLD CALLS IBM to
interest them in an OS!]
Is Pirates worth watching? (if not, is it worth watching in the sent of Electric Dreams as
it?s so bad you half to watch it?)
D: First PRACTICAL computer: Whatever the author first started with.
For a long time, the most common for that was the IBM AT, now becoming Mac.
Every story-teller acknowledges that there EXISTED at least one layer
before they got involved, although it was obviously NOT as important,
since it wasn't "PRACTICAL" yet.
The first practical computer was...the IBM 7090! ;) (It might be a different one
actually...I forget my IBM systems)
E: Mac
Each history varies slightly, mostly in section D
As younger and younger people, who try to call themselves "historians",
tell the story, D becomes E, and B and C fade into the
obscure "prehistoric" of A.
But, we are reaching the end of "personal computers"! The CLOuD may,
alas, be the future, (cf. Oracle/Microsoft in current news) Although they
will never be called "terminals" ever again, that will be the function of
what will be on every desk. (What is a "client" (thin, thick, obese), if
not a "terminal"?) "Personal Computer" wrested some market share
away
from "mainframe/terminal"; now "client/server" is taking it back.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at
xenosoft.com