Classic Computer Rescue Squad

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Fri Nov 7 16:29:23 1997

> > The Nova will never be featured in the newspapers because it is not a
> > socially significant computer.
>
> Two words, one of which is not printable, but the lead-in is
> "Bull".

I think the answer may be in the middle somewhere. I would not put the
Nova (or Eclipse) in the top ten list of influential computers, but I
would not place it far off. If anything, they created a great rivallry
that fueled DECs growth.

> There's more to life than microprocessors and tiny boxes.

Well yes, even though that world is hidden from everyday view. The big
iron touches everyone these days in some way or another - AOL is not just
a roomful of micros, rather they probably have more big iron than anyone
but Uncle Sam - yet look at how many people use the service. In the past,
it was just the same, different application - everyone was processed by
hundreds of mainframe computers.
 
> Of course, I may have been trolled here, but if that's the case
> I'll learn to deal with it.

Yes, but some things need saying. History often gets trashed if you do
not take in the big picture.

Question (maybe a test, but what the hell):

What social impact did the IBM-RT have?

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Fri Nov 07 1997 - 16:29:23 GMT