Advent of Computing

Released in 1982, the Jupiter Ace is a fascinating little computer. It's hardware isn't much to write home about. It's just an 8-bit microcomputer very much in line with other systems of the era. Where it shines is it's software. In a period when most home computer ran some version of BASIC the Ace was using Forth. On the surface that might sound like a trivial difference, but that one deviation from the norm made all the difference in the world.   Selected Sources:   https://www.theregister.com/2012/09/21/jupiter_cantab_jupiter_ace_is_30_years_old - The Register article on the Ace   https://jupiter-ace.co.uk/documents_index.html - Every other Ace resource you could ever want

Tools are the most important programs in the world. Without quality tools it's impossible to write quality software. One of those most important of those tools, and the most hotly coveted, is the text editor. These programs offer us a window into the digital world. It's no wonder that programmers the world over basically live inside text editors. In this episode will discuss when exactly that digital window was opened. When did text editors first appear? What forms did they take?   Selected Sources:   https://www.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/_media/pdf/DEC.pdp_1.1960.102650331.pdf - Colossal Typewriter Manual   https://www.si.edu/media/NMAH/NMAH-AC1498_Transcript_StephenPiner.pdf - Piner Oral History   https://opost.com/tenex/anhc-31-4-anec.pdf - The Beginnings of TECO

Most accounts of the early history of programming languages all share something in common. They all have a sentence or two explaining how there was great resistance to these new languages, but eventually all programmers were won over. Progress was made, despite the forces of counterrevolutionaries. What you won't find in most histories are the actual arguments these counterrevolutionaries made. This episode we are looking at those arguments. I've tracked down a handful of papers that argue against digital progress. Are these truly cursed articles, or is there something to be learned from arguments against programming?   Selected Sources:   https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/1455270.1455272 - Why Not Try A Plugboard? https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/367390.367404 - Comments from a FORTRAN User https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/320932.320939 - Methods of Simulating a Differential Analyzer on a Digital Computer

Explore the simplicity and accessibility of RCA's COSMAC architecture, a cheap and easy-to-understand computer design from the 70s. Learn about the development of the COSMAC microprocessor, the transition of RCA into the computer industry, and the evolution of the consumer-grade computer called Fred into the COSMAC processor. Discover the unique features and quirks of the COSMAC Elf computer trainer, and the importance of Direct Memory Access in computer systems. Join the call for more chips like the COSMAC and support the podcast.

This podcast delves into the era of batch processing in early computing, discussing the challenges faced by programmers in accessing computer time. It explores the significance of the IBM 704 and the MIT Computation Center, as well as the impact of batch processing on programmers. The chapter also explores the origins of user groups and the development of operating systems.

Exploring the mysterious 'Viral Dark Ages' of computer viruses between 1972 and 1982, discussing the scarcity of documented viruses during this time, origins and early mentions of computer viruses, the lack of ethical standards in the early days of computing, trap doors in computer security, the creation and consequences of a rogue worm program at Xerox Park, and the prevalence of worms and Trojan horses during this era.

Explore the origin of the byte and why it's 8 bits. Discover the significance of the number 8 in computer science. Learn about the term 'bit' and its connection to binary representation. Dive into the complexity of building memory and the use of punch cards in early computers. Uncover the evolution of byte sizes and the development of eight-bit character encoding.

Explore the significance of the LGP30 computer and its creator in the development of the Monte Carlo method. Learn about the origins and applications of the method, including its connection to Los Alamos and genetic algorithms. Discover the challenges faced in running quantitative models on the INIAC machine. Delve into the Monte Carlo method for simulating fission events and its simplicity. Finally, explore the history of the method, from its origins in Los Alamos to its application in the casino industry.

I will admit, the title here is a bit of click bait. In the early 1950s a researcher named Nils Aall Barricelli started in on a bold project. His goal was to simulate evolution on a computer and, in doing so, create a perfect lab to study evolutionary processes. What he found was astonishing. Given a simple rule set these interesting patterns emerged. He called them symbioorganisms. Despite being simple numeric constructs, they exhibited many properties of living things. Did Barricelli create a digital form of life? Selected Sources: https://sci-hub.se/10.1007/BF01556771 - Numerical Testing of Evolution Theories. Please, just read this paper and be amazed!

This episode is simply a reading of the Story of Mel. I opened last episode with an excerpt, but didn't feel right leaving it at that. So, I present, the Story of Mel as written by Ed Nather and preserved in the Jargon file.