Starting from Scratch (was Re: OT: Modern college education

From: Ethan Dicks <erd_at_infinet.com>
Date: Fri Oct 23 07:46:43 1998

>
> > You play the game like this:
> > 1) Scout for a surface deposit of Coal and start mining coal.
.
.
.
> > 14) Using iron, and wire build generator.
> > 15) Using generator create electricity.
> > 18) Mine tungsten and build lightbulb.
> > ...
> > First one to a PDP-8 wins :-)

Hey! I though about this for a grad project in History - build a computer
using Roman technology (metallurgy, etc., since the Romans didn't have
electricity). The point was to prove that with sufficient relevant
information, primitive computer technology *could have been* built with
materials at hand. I wasn't too sure about transistor manufacture, though.
In any case, it would have only been a demonstration of the technology;
building a PDP-8 from scratch is clearly a monumental task.
 
> What about creating a Game ?
> Of course all Graphics has to be ASCII :)

Not on a PDP-8. There was a vector graphics board set. It used an
oscilloscope for a display tube. As was proven in a patent lawsuit
filed against Nintendo, video games did exist before Pong, just not
in the living rooms of America.

-ethan
Received on Fri Oct 23 1998 - 07:46:43 BST