TTL computing (link to) Re: Fuse PROM

From: Mark Tapley <mtapley_at_swri.edu>
Date: Tue Apr 16 00:10:09 2002

Fred wrote (about a demo PROM with visible links):

>How about using circuit breakers?
>Then you would have a manually erasable PROM, without further expenditure
>each time that you program it.

Then Richard wrote (about the distinction between hard-, firm-, and soft-ware):

>It happens that some folks differentiate
>between hardware and firmware based on whether you can touch it or not. You
>can't touch firmware, at least not in a practical sense, just as you can't
>touch software.

Hmmm. If the circuit breakers are the type that pop out a button when they
break, I *could* touch software, after it was programmed into the
circuit-breaker PROM.

Actually, if things were set up *just* right, I could arrange to be hit
over the head by software (as it was being written to PROM).

Do we need a new name for this device?
FEPROM (officially Finger Erasable Programmable etc., but we all know it's
really Fred's Erasable etc.)?
                                                        - Mark
Received on Tue Apr 16 2002 - 00:10:09 BST

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