Seeking disruptive tech

[Jon Elson]

On 12/10/2014 05:10 PM, William Donzelli wrote:
>> Behind DEC's PDP-1, funky light brown paint and all, is presumably some
>> contemporary innovation in packaging or fab process?
> Actually, the DEC system modules used in the PDP-1 through the PDP-6
> (I think?) were sort of a bad design. Expensive connectors, restricted
> airflow, and towards the end they grew too large and unwieldy. The
> Flip Chip was a huge improvement.
Yup, the system building blocks were single-sided paper-phenolic
boards with a crummy aluminum frame, and these blade-type
connectors hand-wired to the board.  Germanium transistors,
boards that were VERY easy to crack or damage when repairing,
and I think no provision for airflow at all.

Jon