Advent of Computing

Welcome to Advent of Computing, the show that talks about the shocking, intriguing, and all too often relevant history of computing. A lot of little things we take for granted today have rich stories behind their creation, in each episode we will learn how older tech has lead to our modern world.

Last refreshed: January 19th, 2026 at 8:44 PM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Episode 7 - Attack of the PC Clones

Today, I want to share with you the story of the first PC clones and how they cemented the rise of the x86 chipset. Most of this story takes place between 1981 and 1984, but I think it's fair to say that these 3 years are some of the most influential for the PC's rise to domination. So lets start the story with a discussion of the IBM PC, how it was special, and then examine how reverse engineering it lead to the current x86 monoculture we see today.

Jun 30, 2019•23 min•Ep. 7

Episode 6.5 - Edge-Notched

In this byte-sized episode we look at edge-notched cards. A punch card adjacent technology with a strange connection to the early internet.

Jun 23, 2019•7 min

Episode 6 - Digital Voices

What are the origins of our modern day text-to-speech systems? In this episode we will dive into the rich history of electronic talking machines. Along the way I will tell you the story of the vocoder, the first singing computer, and a little about the father of modern synthesized speech.

Jun 16, 2019•25 min•Ep. 6

Episode 5 - Unix for the People, Part 2

Now, as the name suggests this is the second part of a series on the history of UNIX. Part 1 mainly covers the background leading up to UNIX. If you haven't listened to it yet, I strongly suggest you go do that now. A lot of what was covered in part 1 provides needed context for our discussion today. Just as a quick recap, last time I told you about CTSS and Multics, two of the earliest time-sharing operating systems. Today, we are going to be picking up where we left off: Bell Labs just left Pr...

Jun 02, 2019•30 min•Ep. 5

Episode 4.5 - Space Travel!

In this mini-episode we talk about Space Travel, an obscure video game from 1969.

May 27, 2019•6 min

Episode 4 - Unix for the People, Part 1

Many people have never even heard of Unix, an operating system first released in the early 1970s. But that doesn't change the fact that all of the internet, and nearly every computer or smart device you interact with is based on some variant of Unix. So, how was such an important project created, and how did it revolutionize computing? Today we will dive into the story leading up to Unix: time-sharing computers in the 1960s. This is really just the background for part 2 where we will discuss the...

May 20, 2019•24 min•Ep. 4

Episode 3 - Mythic Macintosh

The original Apple Macintosh, later rebranded the Macintosh 128k, is inarguably one of the most recognizable vintage computers. Even it's design has become iconic: a single 3 ½ inch floppy drive and 9 inch black-and-white CRT built into one small rounded beige box. Even on its release in 1984 it was heralded as a visionary and groundbreaking machine that could even rival the success of the IBM PC. Today, we are going to look at the enduring legacy of the Macintosh and answer the questions: what ...

May 05, 2019•27 min•Ep. 3

Episode 2 - The Demo

A lot of newer technology doesn't expressly say it's going to "revolutionize the human experience", but sometimes, that line may actually be closer to the truth than you would expect. Today, I am going to tell you about a time when that was very much the case. Today we go back to 1968 to look at Doug Engelbart's "The Mother of all Demos" You can watch the entite archve of the demo here: http://www.dougengelbart.org/content/view/209/448/...

Apr 22, 2019•23 min•Ep. 2

Episode 1 - Folded Spindled and Mutilated

Today, I want to share with you a technology that shambles among us as a corpse that refuses to die. That is, of course, the punch card. In this episode, we will be talking about the storied history and influence from beyond the grave of the punch card.

Apr 09, 2019•27 min•Ep. 1

← Prev

Hosted on Libsyn

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android