25 Nov
2002
25 Nov
'02
10:45 a.m.
From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk
Oh no!
Tony has brought 4 bit computers into the world of being
useful. We are just lucky that one can't make a useful
0 bit computer.
Dwight
So what? People still did useful work on those
machines. I wrote a
database program to store my comic book collection on a computer with 2K
of effective memory and a rubber "chiclet" keyboard using cassette tape
for storage. Are you saying this was't real?
One of my related interests is programmable calculators (which are really
computers IMHO -- or at least I've love to see a sane definition which
excludes them). I've been using an HP65 (100 program steps, 10 registers
(variables)), an HP67 (224 progam steps, 26 variables), and so on. And
from the published software I have for these machines, I'll bet that
'real work' was done using them.
-tony
25 Nov
25 Nov
11:10 a.m.
In the real early 60's I did build a simple machine that only added. It
essentially consisted of discrete power transistors connected in cascading
flip-flops. Each flip- flop went to a light on the front panel. The input
device was a rotary telephone dial. It sure dazzled my friends and teachers
at school. The input was in decimal form via the dial and the output had to
be interpreted as it was in binary. My first experience with computers, if
you can call it that. Regards - Mike
Mike B. Feher, N4FS
89 Arnold Blvd.
Howell NJ, 07731
(732) 901-9193
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dwight K. Elvey" <dwightk.elvey(a)amd.com>
Oh no!
Tony has brought 4 bit computers into the world of being
useful. We are just lucky that one can't make a useful
0 bit computer.
Dwight
4:19 p.m.
On Mon, 25 Nov 2002, Mike Feher wrote:
In the real early 60's I did build a simple
machine that only added. It
essentially consisted of discrete power transistors connected in
cascading flip-flops. Each flip- flop went to a light on the front
panel. The input device was a rotary telephone dial. It sure dazzled my
friends and teachers at school. The input was in decimal form via the
dial and the output had to be interpreted as it was in binary. My first
experience with computers, if you can call it that. Regards - Mike
That's really cool! Especially that you used a rotary telephone dial for
the input. I was thinking that this would have been the perfect
low-tech, low-cost input device for a homebrew computer back at that
time.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
26 Nov
26 Nov
9:49 a.m.
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8:51 p.m.
Hi,
ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) said:
[Telephone dial]
And of course EDSAC had one as a way for the operator to input numbers
at run-time.
--
Cheers,
Stan Barr stanb(a)dial.pipex.com
The future was never like this!
the input. I was thinking that this would have
been the perfect
low-tech, low-cost input device for a homebrew computer back at that
time.
I beleive the Pilot Ace computer had a telephone dial on the operate
console which was used as some kind of single-stepping clock. You could
generate 1 to 10 clock pulses in the obvious way.
-tony 
28 Nov
28 Nov
7:49 p.m.
New subject: Telephone dials on consoles [was Re: 8 bit vs other Computers.]
Tony Duell wrote:
[Telephone dial]
I'm not sure abut the Pilot ACE. The picture I have does not have the
resolution to show if there is a telephone dial on the console. I do
however know that the DEUCE, developed from the Pilot ACE and ACE did
have a dial.
ISTR that the Ferranti Pegasus has one also, and the EDSAC as has
already been mentioned.
-- hbp
the input. I was thinking that this would have
been the perfect
low-tech, low-cost input device for a homebrew computer back at that
time.
I beleive the Pilot Ace computer had a telephone dial on the operate
console which was used as some kind of single-stepping clock. You could
generate 1 to 10 clock pulses in the obvious way.
25 Nov
25 Nov
11:23 a.m.
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12:05 p.m.
Tony wrote:
One of my related interests is programmable
calculators (which are
really computers IMHO -- or at least I've love to see a sane
definition which excludes them). I've been using an HP65 (100 program
steps, 10 registers (variables)), an HP67 (224 progam steps, 26
variables), and so on.
Dwight wrote:
Oh no!
Tony has brought 4 bit computers into the world of being
useful.
Actually, all HP handheld calculators made before 1986 used
56-bit words, and 10-bit instructions. The HP-01 watch was similar
but used a 48-bit word.
We are just lucky that one can't make a useful 0
bit computer.
Does an analog computer count as being a 0-bit computer, since it
doesn't have any bits? :-)
Were there any interesting 1-bit computers other than the Motorola
MC14500B Industrial Control Unit?
12:43 p.m.
On Mon, 25 Nov 2002, Eric Smith wrote:
Tony wrote:
Sure, the PDP14...
Peter Wallace
One of my related interests is programmable
calculators (which are
really computers IMHO -- or at least I've love to see a sane
definition which excludes them). I've been using an HP65 (100 program
steps, 10 registers (variables)), an HP67 (224 progam steps, 26
variables), and so on.
Dwight wrote:
Oh no!
Tony has brought 4 bit computers into the world of being
useful.
Actually, all HP handheld calculators made before 1986 used
56-bit words, and 10-bit instructions. The HP-01 watch was similar
but used a 48-bit word.
We are just lucky that one can't make a
useful 0 bit computer.
Does an analog computer count as being a 0-bit computer, since it
doesn't have any bits? :-)
Were there any interesting 1-bit computers other than the Motorola
MC14500B Industrial Control Unit?
2:17 p.m.
At 06:06 PM 11/25/02 -0800, you wrote:
Were there any interesting 1-bit computers other than
the Motorola
MC14500B Industrial Control Unit?
The first connection machine? (64K 1-bit cpu's if I remember correctly?)
carlos.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Carlos E. Murillo-Sanchez carlos_murillo(a)nospammers.ieee.org
26 Nov
26 Nov
9:55 a.m.
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12:19 p.m.
I wrote:
Actually, all HP handheld calculators made before 1986
used
56-bit words, and 10-bit instructions. The HP-01 watch was similar
but used a 48-bit word.
Tony wrote:
Do you not consider the HP71B to be a handheld HP
calculator?
It has a calculator mode, but I've always considered it to be a
handheld computer. Isn't that what HP called it?
27 Nov
27 Nov
10:56 a.m.
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8376
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12 comments
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participants (9)
-
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
carlos_murillo＠epm.net.co -
dwightk.elvey＠amd.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
foo＠siconic.com -
hansp＠aconit.org -
n4fs＠monmouth.com -
pcw＠mesanet.com -
stanb＠dial.pipex.com