Info on things old wanted...

From: Lawrence Walker <lwalker_at_mail.interlog.com>
Date: Thu Oct 30 17:46:09 1997

 
> As far as who developed the first computer - we could argue all day on
> that one. There are no distinct lines between technologies or generations.
> For example, do analog computers count? At what point does a complex
> feedback control become a computer? For example, do the computers used to
> direct gunfire count? They date from well before World War 2, and it took
> digital machines many years to surpass them in performance, yet I would
> not call them computers as we think of them.
>
> William Donzelli
> william_at_ans.net
>
  This discussion ignited my curiosity and I checked some
source-references. What I had remembered from my digital
course (for me,relatively recent, 1982-83) was that a
computer was defined as a device to control data or processes
containing a CPU, means for I/O, and memory. This is a bigger
can of worms than I had imagined . After going through several
dictionaries, early general computing books and various text-books
and scientific encyclos. it would seem there is no precise
definition of a computer. While there are specific definitions re
the various sub-species (electronic,digital,analogue.mini,mainframe,
etc) the term computer is generally defined by processes.
 The simplest being -- -a device that computes.
 and the same dictionary (Websters) defines
  to compute -- to calculate.
 Oh well, we know what we mean, dont we . %^))
 Anyone for a flame on game machines ? And I'm not touching on
that gun-control thing with a 10-ft pole.

ciao larry
lwalkerN0spaM_at_interlog.com
Received on Thu Oct 30 1997 - 17:46:09 GMT