Episode 98 - The Canon Cat

I've been feeling like rambling, so it's time for a classic ramble. This time we are looking at the origins of books about computers. More specifically, computer books targeted at a general audience. Along the way we stumble into the first public disclosure of digital computers, the first intentionally unimportant machine, and wild speculation about the future of mechanical brains. No sources listed this time, because I want the journey to be a surprise!

This is a hefty one. I usually try to keep things as accessible as possible, but this time we have to get a little more technical than usual. We are picking up in 1964, with the first proposals for a new version of ALGOL. From there we sail through the fraught waters of ALGOL X, Y, W, and finally 68. Along the way we see how a language evolves over time, and how people and politics mesh with technical issues. Selected Sources: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/1061112.1061118 - Successes and Failures of the ALGOL Effort https://sci-hub.se/10.1109/MAHC.2010.8 - Cold War Origins of IFIP https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/algol/algol_bulletin/ - The ALGOL Bulletin

ALGOL is one of those topics that's haunted the show for a while. It comes up any time we talk about programming languages, and with good reason. Many of the features and ideas found in modern languages have their roots in ALGOL. Despite that influence, ALGOL itself remains somewhat obscure. It never reached the highs of a C or LISP. In this series we are going to look at ALGOL from 1958 all up to 1968, keeping a careful eye on how the language evolved, how it's problems were addressed, and how new problems were introduced. Selected Sources: https://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/ALGOL/paper/Backus-Syntax_and_Semantics_of_Proposed_IAL.pdf - Backus, 1958 IAL report https://algol60.org/reports/algol60_rr.pdf - ALGOL 1960 Report https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/1060960.1060966 - Cleaning Up Algol  

Originally presented at VCF SoCal in February of 2024. The cryotron, a superconductive switch, almost revolutionized computing. It's one of those fascinating near misses. In this episode we are talking about the history of the cryotron, how the NSA and supercomputing factors into the mix, and the current state of research into the topic. Did the NSA actually construct a supercomputer that ran in a vat of liquid helium? The answer is... maybe? Video of this talk: https://youtu.be/FqzSGTZ3TMU

This is going to be a wild rambling ride. In 1939 a computer called Nimatron was made. It was one of the earliest digital electronic computers in the world. It did one thing: play a game called Nim. Over a decade later, in 1951, another Nim machine hit the scene. This computer called Nimrod, was designed to demonstrate how computers worked... by playing a game of Nim. These machines, humble as they may sound, end up deeply complicating the history of computing. Join me as I, once again, muddy the long arc of progress.   Selected Sources:   https://archive.org/details/faster-than-thought-b.-v.-bowden - Faster Than Thought   https://www.goodeveca.net/nimrod/NIMROD_Guide.html - Faster Than Thought

This episode wraps up the System/360 trilogy by taking things back to where they started for me. We will be looking at System/360 clones, how they could exist, why they existed, and why IBM didn't crush them. We close with a discussion of how these earlier clones impact our understanding of the IBM PC story. The truth is, by 1981 IBM was no stranger to clones. This is the culmination of a wild story, so prepare!   Selected Sources:   https://archive.org/details/iclbusinesstechn0000camp/mode/1up - ICL: A Business and Technical History   https://archive.org/details/impactreportamdaunse/page/1/mode/1up - Impact Report by INPUT   https://www.stayforever.de/ibm-pc-a-conversation-with-dr-david-bradley/

My coverage of the IBM System/360 continues! In this episode we look at US v IBM, and the fallout that surrounded the release of the System/360. By 1969 IBM already had a history of antitrust litigation. What was IBM doing to upset the Department of Justice, and how does it tie in to the larger story of clone computers?   Selected Sources:   http://www.cptech.org/at/ibm/ibm1956cd.html - 1956 Consent Decree   https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/298/131/ - 1936 Consent Decree   https://archive.org/details/foldedspindledmu00fish/page/n5/mode/2up - Folded, Spindled, and Mutilated

In this episode I sit down and talk with Micki and Steve about VCF SoCal, a new Vintage Computer Festival! The event is taking place in Orange, California on Febuary 16th and 17th. VCFs are a wonderful time, and a great opportunity to meet up with other retro enthusiasts. The weekend will be filled with exhibits and speakers, including myself! I will be in attendence, and talking about some super cool technology. Stick around until the end of the interview for the full details. More information on VCF SoCal can be found at: https://www.vcfsocal.com/

The release of the IBM System/360 represents a major milestone in the history of computing. In 1964 IBM announced the 360 as the first family of compatible computers. Users could choose a system that was just the right size for their needs, mix and match peripherals, and have no fear of future upgrades. If you started on a low-end 360 you could move up to a top of the line model and keep all your software! Something like this had never been done before. Such a watershed moment resulted in interesting cascading effects. In this episode we will look at the 360 itself. In the coming weeks we will be examining how it shaped and dominated the market, how it led to a federal antitrust suit, and how a mysterious series of clone computers survived in uncertain times.   Selected Sources:   https://spectrum.ieee.org/building-the-system360-mainframe-nearly-destroyed-ibm   https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2012/11/102658255-05-01-acc.pdf - Fred Brooks Oral History   https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2017/11/102655529-05-01-acc.pdf - 14K Days

Released in 1982, the Jupiter Ace is a fascinating little computer. It's hardware isn't much to write home about. It's just an 8-bit microcomputer very much in line with other systems of the era. Where it shines is it's software. In a period when most home computer ran some version of BASIC the Ace was using Forth. On the surface that might sound like a trivial difference, but that one deviation from the norm made all the difference in the world.   Selected Sources:   https://www.theregister.com/2012/09/21/jupiter_cantab_jupiter_ace_is_30_years_old - The Register article on the Ace   https://jupiter-ace.co.uk/documents_index.html - Every other Ace resource you could ever want