In the lengthy "Re: yo" thread, Mr. Ismail mentions:
[double-quote from Mr. Donzelli]
> > PDP-8, PDP-11, IBM S/3xx, Nova, etc. Computers were not invented in 1974,
> > guys.
>
> Yes, I realized that. The PDP-8 and PDP-11 are definitely worthy of
> mention, but did they really make the impact and have significance equal
> to the Altair and the others? I'm sure you could argue to that effect.
> Care to?
It's probably fair to say the the minicomputer actually made more
of an impact in society than the micro has. It was the minicomputer
which was first affordable to smaller companies and operations; the
mini was also the first class of machine available to schools of
modest means. You'll find that almost every microcomputer designer
was, at some point in time, touched by a mini, and sometimes their
designs reflect that.
One of the original Apple's designers actually held the DG Nova
in such high esteem it's rumoured that he kept a picture of one
taped to his bedroom wall.
Billy Gates did the original work on his BASIC interpreter with
stolen time on a PDP-10 (though, that can't really be termed a
mini).
Most of the impact, though, of the mini is behind the scenes;
they made manufacturing more efficient through the increased use
of CNC, made scientific experimentation more prodcutive through
more accurate experiment monitoring, and found their way into all
manner of hospital equipment.
This isn't meant to downplay the changes brought forth by the
microcomputer, which with the advent of the Internet are enormous,
but merely to place the minicomputer in the light of day. The
changes were different from the micro, but certainly not unimportant.
______________________________________________________________________
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| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin) | West Boylston |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast | Massachusetts, USA |
| mailto:carl.friend_at_stoneweb.com | |
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http://www.ultranet.com/~engelbrt/carl/museum/ | ICBM: N42:21 W71:46 |
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Received on Tue Apr 29 1997 - 08:13:11 BST