Byte has to be one of the most recognizable parts of the digital lexicon. It's an incantation that can be recognized by even the uninitiated. But where does the byte come from? Has it always existed, or did it more recently come into being? And, more specifically, why is a byte 8 bits? Is it some holdover from long ago, or is there some iron clad rule of 8's? Selected Sources: https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1977-02/page/n145/mode/1up?view=theater - Buchholz on the "byte" in BYTE! http...
Sep 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 117
It's finally time! In this episode we are looking at the Monte Carlo method, perhaps the first practical computer program that could outpace human capability. The best part: the method relies on a random walk to reach a statistically valid answer! Selected Sources: https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10596 - Igniting the Light Elements https://library.lanl.gov/cgi-bin/getfile?00326866.pdf - The Beginning of the Monte Carlo Method, Nick Metropolis...
Sep 10, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 116
I will admit, the title here is a bit of click bait. In the early 1950s a researcher named Nils Aall Barricelli started in on a bold project. His goal was to simulate evolution on a computer and, in doing so, create a perfect lab to study evolutionary processes. What he found was astonishing. Given a simple rule set these interesting patterns emerged. He called them symbioorganisms. Despite being simple numeric constructs, they exhibited many properties of living things. Did Barricelli create a ...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 115
This episode is simply a reading of the Story of Mel. I opened last episode with an excerpt, but didn't feel right leaving it at that. So, I present, the Story of Mel as written by Ed Nather and preserved in the Jargon file.
Aug 26, 2023•11 min
In 1956 Librascope released the LGP-30, a truly wild machine. It was, for the time, the most simple and cheap machine that could actually be useful. It was the size of a desk when contemporary machines took up small rooms. It plugged into a normal wall outlet while other machines requires special power feeds. It was, perhaps, the first hint of a personal computer. And at its heart was a magnetic drum that only a true programmer could love. Selected Sources: http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/story-...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 114
I'm wrapping up my dive into Prolog with... Prolog itself! This episode I'm actually covering the development of Prolog, using all the natural language processing lore we covered last time. Along the way we will see how Prolog developed from a set of tools, and how those tools were generalized into a useful language. Selected Sources: http://alain.colmerauer.free.fr/alcol/ArchivesPublications/PrologHistory/19november92.pdf - The Birth of Prolog https://archive.org/details/introductiontoma0000hut...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 113
I've been told I need to do an episode about Prolog. Well, here's the start of that process. To talk about Prolog we first need to come to grips with natural language processing, it's tools, and it's languages. This episode we are doing just that, going from ELIZA to Planner ro SHRDLU in an attempt to figure out how AI was first taught human tongues, where smoke and mirrors end, and where facinting programming begins. Selected Sources: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/365153.365168 - ELIZA htt...
Jul 16, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 112
Space is cool, in all meanings of the word. Not only is it wondrous, vast, and fascinating, it can also be a cold place. It's also a very useful place to put things. This episode we are looking at the first practical use of space: communication satellites. Selected Source: https://archive.org/details/BigBounc1960 - The Big Bounce https://archive.org/details/dtic-ada-141865-ieee-centenial-journal-1984-ocr/page/n67/mode/2up - A Signal Corp Space Opera https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4308/ch6.htm - The...
Jul 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 111
I don't usually cover video games. When I do, you know it's for a weird reason. This episode we are looking at the Atari VCS 2600, it's strange hardware, and how it fits into the larger story of the rise of microprocessors. These new tiny chips were already changing the world, but they brought along their own problems. Selected source: https://spectrum.ieee.org/atari-2600 - Inventing the Atari 2600 https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2012/09/102658257-05-01-acc.pdf - Al Alc...
Jun 18, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 110
What really is the deal with microcontrollers? Are they just little computers... or are they something totally different? This episode we are looking at the development of the microcontroller through the history of the TMS1000.
Jun 04, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 109
This episode we pick back up where we left off. We are looking at the roots of the Mundaneum, the applications of the Universal Decimal Code, and how it call connects to hypertext. Selected Sources: https://web.archive.org/web/20051227184732/http://people.lis.uiuc.edu/~wrayward/otlet/xanadu.htm - Visions of Xanadu https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/4184 -- Selected Essays of Paul Otlet...
May 21, 2023•56 min•Ep. 108
The Internet is the closest we've come to a universal store of all human knowledge. However, it's not the first pass at this lofty goal. In this episode(and the next) we are looking at the Mundaneum, a project started in the 1890s to address the information problem. How is it connected to the larger story of hypertext? And how can this older project inform our views on the information problem? Selected sources: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/4184 -- Selected Essays of Paul Otlet...
May 07, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 107
Back in episode 90 I made a passing reference to the Cyclops, the first consumer digital camera. It's this masterstroke of hackery that uses a RAM chip as a makeshift image sensor. In this episode I'm coming back around to the Cyclops and taking a look at the origins of digital imaging in general. Selected Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmSeVfmZHw - Terry Walker CHM lecture https://sci-hub.ru/10.1109/6.591664 - The origins of the PN junction https://sci-hub.ru/10.1364/AO.11.000522 - T...
Apr 16, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 106
The Apple III was a pretty slick machine... in theory. From a lack of launch software, to strait up hardware failures, Apple's 3rd computer didn't really win in the market place. Why was that? Was the machine setup for failure from the start? Was it's case really designed before it's motherboard? When it comes to the III there's a surprising amount of folklore to untangle. Selected Sources: https://archive.org/details/sim_byte_1985-01_10_1/page/166/mode/1up?view=theater - Interview with Wozniak ...
Apr 02, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 105
We're finally taking a look at Sketchpad. This program was completed in 1963 as Ivan Sutherland's Ph.D. research. On the surface it looks like a very fancy drawing program. Under the hood it's hiding some impressive new programming techniques. Selected Sources: http://worrydream.com/refs/Sutherland-Sketchpad.pdf - Sutherland's Sketchpad thesis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495nCzxM9PI - Sketchpad in action https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738195 - Oral History transcripts...
Mar 19, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 104
This episode I attempt to find the first interactive computer text interface. All I can say is, well, it's a journey. Selected Sources: https://sci-hub.se/10.2307/3917015 - Early article on Stibitz's CNC Model I https://archive.org/details/fortranprimer0000orga/page/103/mode/1up?view=theater - Primer on the FORTRAN Monitor System https://kyber.io/rawvids/LISP_I_Programmers_Manual_LISP_I_Programmers_Manual.pdf - LISP I manual...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 103
This episode picks up where we left off last time. We are looking at Ada and its applications. How does Ada handle tasking? What's the deal with objects? And, most importantly, what are some neat uses of the language? Selected Sources: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/956653.956654 - Rationale for the Design of Ada https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/45345/08-2590_A1b.pdf - Cassini's AACS computer and software http://www.bitsavers.org/components/intel/iAPX_432/171821-001_Introductio...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 102
Ada is a fascinating language with a fascinating history. It was initially developed as part of a Department of Defence project. The plan was to create a standardized language for everyone inside the DoD. The results, well, they may just surprise you. Selected Sources: http://archive.adaic.com/pol-hist/history/holwg-93/holwg-93.htm - Ada at the HOLWG https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/956653.956654 - Rationale for the Design of Ada http://iment.com/maida/computer/requirements/strawman.htm - Stra...
Feb 06, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 101
Advent of Computing has finally reached 100 episodes! Today we are taking a break from the usual content to discuss the show, it's arc, and some of the mysteries I have yet to solve.
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 100
UNIX is a big deal. It's one of the most influential programs in history. Most operating systems that we use today can trace their lineage back to UNIX. The only notable exception at this point is Windows. But all these new-fangled operating systems aren't blood relatives of UNIX, they are all derivatives. Second cousins, if you will. So how did we get from UNIX into a diverse field of UNIX-like things? It all starts with a little project at UC Berkeley. Selected Sources: https://archive.compute...
Jan 09, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 99
This time we are looking at a somewhat obscure machine: the Canon Cat. Designed by Jef Raskin, the Cat is sometimes called the spiritual successor to the Macintosh. That's a nice little epitaph, but doesn't fully explain the tangled mess of things between Raskin, Jobs, Apple, and the Mac. Today we will try to untangle some of that mess as we examine a fascinating little computer that could have changed the world. Selected Sources: http://www.canoncat.net/ -- Everything about the Cat https://arch...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 98
We've approach the beast itself: SQL. Or, as it used to be known, SEQUEL. In this episode we will discuss how early navigational databases failed, and how we were able to move past them into a relational future. It's a fascinating tale about how careful research and planning can lead to much better tools. Selected sources: https://www.seas.upenn.edu/~zives/03f/cis550/codd.pdf -- Dr. Codd on relational databases https://web.archive.org/web/20070926212100/http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/chamb...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 97
I've fallen into a bit of a data rabbit hole, and you get to join me. In this episode I'm starting my journey to understand where databases came from, and how they started to evolve. This will serve as a foundation for next episode, when we will dive into one of the most popular databases from the 1970s: SQL. Along the way we wrestle with GE, the realities of the Apollo Program, and try to figure out what a database really is. Selected Sources: https://sci-hub.se/10.1109/MAHC.2009.110 - A histor...
Nov 28, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 96
So far I've strayed away from hypermedia in my larger hypertext coverage. This episode helps to fix that. Today we are looking at Aspen Movie Map, a project from 1978 that created a virtual Aspen, Colorado. Why would you want to digitize an entire city? Why did DARPA fund a trip to Aspen? And how does this link up with hypermedia? All this and more will be answered.
Nov 14, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 95
Robots have always fascinated and horrified humanity in equal measure. The prospect of a synthetic lifeform is at times exciting, but can quickly turn south. Luckily we've never gotten that far... or have we? This episode we will look at a selection of early robots, from the Mechanical Turk to Elektro. All have one thing in common: they run off smoke and mirrors. Selected Sources: Robots of Westinghouse by Scott Shaut - Best source on Elektro and his friends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T35A3...
Oct 30, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 94
Anybody up for a fright? This episode we are looking at 3 of the earliest horror video games I can find. Over this journey we will look at different programmatic ways to instill fear, how platforms can affect the route to terror, and even dig up the mystery of the first horror game. Selected Sources: http://www.twenex.org/ - Sign up for an account and play Haunt https://www.zx-gaming.co.uk/games/monstermaze/default.htm - Escape from Rex and his maze! The Untold History of Japanese Game Developer...
Oct 16, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 93
It's Spook Month 2022! To kick things off we are diving into the frustrating depth of copy protection, piracy, and the origins of commercial software. In 1969 the Great Unbundling made the software market viable for the first time. Ever since then pirates and software vendors have been locked in a battle over bits. This episode traces the early days of copy protection, and how spite played an important role. Selected Sources: https://fadden.com/apple2/cassette-protect.html - In depth analysis of...
Oct 02, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 92
Whirlwind represents a fascinating story of transition. The project started in the middle of the 1940s as an analog machine. As times changed it became a digital device. By 1951 it was perhaps the fastest computer in the world, filled to the brim with new approaches to design and new technology. It may have even been host to the first video game. Selected Sources: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0896850.pdf - Report on MIT's storage tubes https://sci-hub.se/10.1109/MAHC.1983.10081 - An intervie...
Sep 18, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 91
In the last half of the 70s there was one gold standard in home computing: S100. This was a standardized bus that was the heart of many computers. It allowed for the interchange of parts from different manufacturers. Best of all, the S100 bus was simple. This made for a wonderful platform for hobbyists, and helped jump start the home computer revolution. And then... it disappeared. Where did the S100 bus go, and would we have been better off if it stuck around? This episode we tackle these quest...
Sep 04, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 90
What language has two stacks? What language is used on satellites and in home computers? What language deals in words? Why, Forth, of course! Forth is a highly unique language developed in the 60s by Chuck Moore. And when I say unique, I mean unique. Forth uses reverse polish notation for all operations, along with a dedicated data stack for passing parameters. But it's not just unique for the fun of it, Forth's design is highly deliberate. It offers a level of simplicity and power that's rarely...
Aug 21, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 89
