Comments on: 640K ought to be enough for anybody

640K ought to be enough for anybody

netbros — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:11:05 -0800

The History of Computing Project is a collaborative effort to record and publish the history of the computer and its roots. The site includes a chronological timeline, biographies of computing pioneers, a look at computing hardware through the years, as well as software and games.

Having a 30-year career in the field, I am partial to mainframe computing. I started my career in 1973 working on this machine, and ended it on this one, with many in between. Other mainframe timelines: IBM mainframes Viking Waters Computer history: IBM 360/370/3090/390

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:22:56 -0800

If this slideshow started automatically you did not do anything for at least 30 seconds when you came to this site. FAIL

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:40:37 -0800

Ah, the 370... because it covers all the angles and then some.

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:30:20 -0800

This is deeply flawed. I wasn't able to find a reference to Lawrence Waterhouse's contributions to computer science anywhere.

By: netbros

netbros — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:38:07 -0800

mullingitover, it is a collaborative project, so I'm sure they would love to have your input and enhancements.

By: synaesthetichaze

synaesthetichaze — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:55:15 -0800

Speaking of IBM... it is interesting to see IBM's hardware architectures coalesce into a single platform. The POWER6 chips, for instance, contain not only the RS/6000 instruction sets, but also the zSeries ones; I don't really know what it means for the future, but it will be real interesting to watch. That new z10 looks like a fucking monster, as well... it's too bad I work for a company with no money, so we'll probably be running our z9 for the next decade or so. I can't wait to see what the p6 595 looks like. I'm guessing: z10 with a different racing stripe, and comes with a DVD of AIX instead of z/OS.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:05:23 -0800

So...no one else sees broken graphics everywhere on the main linked site? No? Hm.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:21:24 -0800

it is a collaborative project I emailed them about this much overlooked event - LEO, Lyons built and operated the world's first business computer.

By: msaleem

msaleem — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:11:21 -0800

Wikipedia has done quite a comprehensive job of detailing the history of computing hardware.

By: localroger

localroger — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:52:22 -0800

Tandy: TRS 100, destop computer with LCD screen built in This is pretty lame. Needs editing.

By: foonly

foonly — Sat, 10 May 2008 22:31:38 -0800

I haven't had a chance to go through this site much, but one favorite computer history source of mine is the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. It's in a former Silicon Graphics Inc. building, and is an absolute must-see. They now have a working model of Babbage's Difference Engine. Some of the docents are legendary figures in computing; last time I was there, I was told one of the people leading another tour group was Gene Amdahl. Also worth a look is the Digibarn. And, of course, the folks at the Vintage Computer Festival.

By: Artaud

Artaud — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:20:56 -0800

All the image links currently appear to be broken. Then again, maybe it's because I'm using Firefox-- now that would be delicious irony.