The CDC 6000 series was designed by Seymour Cray.
.How do you decide who gets priority on your computer?
new 6000 SERIES Systems make “priority” a thing of the past
YOU CAN MAKE EVERYBODY “FIRST IN LINE” — because the new CONTROL DATA® Series 6000 Systems do things differently than any other computers available today. Their massive memory and incredible speed allow simultaneous access by a number of different users with different programs.
.Computer system speaks plain English
Computers may be storehouses of information, but to release it they must be addressed in a special language. Now Philips in Holland has devised a system that understands questions in English, so more people have access to the data bank. This gives an organization’s computer far wider use, and points to exciting future developments for home units.
In 1982 Martin Amis, yes that one, wrote a book about video game culture called “Invasion of The Space Invaders”. In it he included a Steve Jobs quote from when he was still an Atari employee. It is classic Jobs:
“The computer,” says Atari’s Steve Jobs, “is one of the pinnacles of Western rational thought. They bring together physics, electronics, chemistry and mathematics; they bring logic, and philosophy, information theory, all that. And the people working on these computers possess a passion about the discovery and creation of something. It’s a passion that I have only seen matched in people pursuing what they consider to be the truth of their existence. It’s the same purity of spirit I have experienced in monks.”
Also check out his thoughts in this interview with Byte Magazine done when the Macintosh was introduced.
.The hip young heroes of Atari, for instance, are convinced that they stand on the very brink of evolutionary breakthrough. The development of the video games is seen as roughly equivalent to mankind’s slow crawl from the primal broth of creation. Any day now, it seems, homo sapiens will once more be toweling himself down on the fresh dunes of tomorrow. “The computer,” says Atari’s Steve Jobs, “is one of the pinnacles of Western rational thought. They bring together physics, electronics, chemistry and mathematics; they bring logic, and philosophy, information theory, all that. And the people working on these computers possess a passion about the discovery and creation of something. It’s a passion that I have only seen matched in people pursuing what they consider to be the truth of their existence. It’s the same purity of spirit I have experienced in monks.” So perhaps the foul-mouthed, grimacing youths of the arcades aren’t just improving their geometrical and spatial awareness: what they’re really doing is searching for the meaning of life.
.HEATHKIT H8
This 8-bit machine, by itself is as versatile as a lot of systems that include peripherals
Skeptical? For starters, because of its unique design the H8 is the only machine in its price class that offers full system integration yet, with just 4K of optional memory and using only its “intelligent” front panel for I/O, may be operated completely without peripherals! In addition, by using the features of its built-in Pam-8 ROM panel control program, the H8 actually allows you to dig in and examine machine level circuitry.
.VIC-20 – Commodore’s Entry in the Small Computer Arena
by David D. Busch
If first impressions stick, the Vic-20 microcomputer by Commodore (King of Prussia, PA) will lodge itself in the mind of any potential purchaser. The 6502 microprocessor-based computer just doesn’t look like a $299 machine.
In fact, when I demonstrate the unit to those unfamiliar with it, I always save the price for last. This ploy is especially effective if the potential user already has some familiarity with other microcomputers and their prices.
First, I demonstrate the full-stroke, typewriter-style keyboard, which features four special function keys and a control key. The Pet Basic is identical to that used in higher-priced Commodore machines and comparable to Applesoft or Radio Shack’s model III Basic.
When reading this, keep in mind that a single AMD 6990 Graphics Card which is available for $700 is capable of over 5 teraFlOPS.
Also, Philip Elmer-De Witt still writes about technology.
And apparently Seymour Cray was so bad-ass he played Minecraft for real.
.Fast and Smart – Designers race to build the supercomputers of the future
The computer at the University of Illinois is simulating something that no one saw: the evolution of the universe in the aftermath of the Big Bang. Re-creating conditions that may have prevailed billions of years ago, the computer reveals on a remote screen how massive clouds of subatomic particles, tugged by their own gravity, might have coalesced into filaments and flattened disks. The vivid reds, greens and blues of the shapes are not merely decorative but represent the various densities of the first large structures as they emerged from primordial chaos in the near vacuum of space.
.COMMODORE VIC-20
“THE WONDER COMPUTER OF THE 1980s. UNDER $300.”—WILLIAM SHATNER
“The best computer value in the world today. The only computer you’ll need for years to come.”
Read the chart and see why COMPUTE! Magazine1 calls the VIC-20 computer “an astounding machine for the price.” Why BYTE raves: “…the VIC-20 computer unit is unexcelled as a low-cost consumer computer.” Why Popular Mechanics says “… for the price of around $300, it’s the only game in town that is more than just a game.”
.3-D trip inside a drawing, via computer graphics
Slip this display device on your head and you see a computer-generated 3-D image of a room before your eyes. Move your head and your perspective changes, just as though you were actually inside the room. Architects could use the device to draw buildings in three dimensions; realtors could use it to show buyers the interiors of homes without even leaving the office. Dr. Ivan Sutherland, University of Utah, invented the device, essentially a computer-graphics version of the old stereoscope.
.The Second West Coast Computer Faire
By Chris Morgan, Editor
San Jose was the place to be last March 3, 4 and 5 for the Second West Coast Computer Faire. The Convention Center was easily able to handle the crowd of 14,169 who came to see the latest developments in personal computing.
A quick examination of some of the hundreds of manufacturers’ booths revealed some trends: floppy disks are on the increase, with new models being shown or promised by Heathkit, Apple, Radio Shack and many others; more and more personal computers are now being offered with built-in floppy disks; peripherals and add-ons are now available for a wide variety of computer buses.
I certainly remember Elephant disks. When I first got my Apple IIc I joined a subscription service at a local software store where they let you rent a different program every week. Every time you went in to swap programs they would also give you a free, Elephant brand, floppy disk. In retrospect I was obviously supposed to pirate the apps, but I was 9 and found my self thwarted by the copy protection. I remember, some apps would let you make one, and only one back up disk of the program. So if I was the first one to rent it, then I could snag a copy.
.REMEMBER: ELEPHANT MEMORY SYSTEMS “NEVER FORGETS.”
MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE.
Says who? Says ANSI.
Specifically, subcommittee X3B8 of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) says so. The fact is all Elephant™ floppies meet or exceed the specs required to meet or exceed all their standards.
But just who is “subcommittee X3B8″ to issue such pronouncements?
