Trivia Question

From: Andy Holt <andyh_at_andyh-rayleigh.freeserve.co.uk>
Date: Sat Feb 22 03:23:00 2003

> From: cctalk-admin_at_classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin_at_classiccmp.org]On
> Behalf Of Eric Smith
> "Andy Holt" <andyh_at_andyh-rayleigh.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> > the Poqet was definitely a "real" computer (PC compat).
>
> That's quite a sad definition of "real computer". Any one of my
> PDP-8 or PDP-11 systems, even the wimpiest, is much more of a "real
> computer" than any PC compatible will ever be.
>
It was not meant as a definition, but to distinguish the device from
"Basic-only" compters and similar calculators. The Poqet - precisely because
it was PC compat - had essentially full access to the underlying processor.

If we want to get "stronger" about what is a *REAL COMPUTER*, then I have to
remember the days when I started work and a Real Computer filled a
decent-sized room (or more), "toys" (minicomputers like the PDP-11) were
just coming in, and microprocessors were not even conceived-of.

The Real Computer I used then was an ICT 1905 with 32K of 24 bit core, 12M
(6-bit characters) of exchangeable disk ... and a processor power roughly
the same as an original PC.

The Supercomputer of the time was a CDC6600 (cannot remember the
configuration) which occupied a large building and was about the power of an
early '386. The Atlas was in the process of being phased-out and there was
still an IBM 7094 in use.

Andy
Received on Sat Feb 22 2003 - 03:23:00 GMT