Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_freegate.com> wrote:
> Back to classic computers, it has been said, perhaps apocryphylly(sp?),
> that "My laptop has more computer power than NASA used to put men on the
> moon." While it may be true, I've never actually seen a description of the
> computer resources available to NASA between 1962 and 1969. Does anyone on
> the list have that information?
About 18 months ago I was in one of those "Giant Book Sale" places in
Colorado, and stumbled onto a big pile of what looked like oversize paperback
coffee-table books titled _Computers in Space: Journeys with NASA_ by James
E. Tomayko. I was somewhat surprised to discover that the book actually had
quite good technical content; for instance, it contained the first
sufficiently detailed description of core rope memory (also known as wire
braid memory or transformer memory) that I'd found. Rich and I bought the
entire stack and gave them out to people as gifts. Unfortunately the book is
now out of print.
However, the same author wrote a report for NASA on the same subject, which
is available online:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/computers/Compspace.html
And it's not apochryphal. Your laptop has many times more computing power
than the ground-based systems and the on-board computers put together.
Eric
Received on Mon Oct 19 1998 - 17:54:51 BST