Advent of Computing

Robots have always fascinated and horrified humanity in equal measure. The prospect of a synthetic lifeform is at times exciting, but can quickly turn south. Luckily we've never gotten that far... or have we? This episode we will look at a selection of early robots, from the Mechanical Turk to Elektro. All have one thing in common: they run off smoke and mirrors.   Selected Sources:   Robots of Westinghouse by Scott Shaut - Best source on Elektro and his friends   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T35A3g_GvSg - See Elektro in action   https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inanimate_Reason_Or_a_Circumstantial_Acc/mvVdAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 - On the Mechanical Turk

Anybody up for a fright? This episode we are looking at 3 of the earliest horror video games I can find. Over this journey we will look at different programmatic ways to instill fear, how platforms can affect the route to terror, and even dig up the mystery of the first horror game.   Selected Sources:   http://www.twenex.org/ - Sign up for an account and play Haunt   https://www.zx-gaming.co.uk/games/monstermaze/default.htm - Escape from Rex and his maze!   The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, by John Sczepaniak

It's Spook Month 2022! To kick things off we are diving into the frustrating depth of copy protection, piracy, and the origins of commercial software. In 1969 the Great Unbundling made the software market viable for the first time. Ever since then pirates and software vendors have been locked in a battle over bits. This episode traces the early days of copy protection, and how spite played an important role.   Selected Sources:   https://fadden.com/apple2/cassette-protect.html - In depth analysis of Apple II copy protection   https://www.princeton.edu/~rblee/ELE572Papers/Fall04Readings/CryptoProc_Best.pdf - The crypto-microprocessor   https://sci-hub.se/10.1109/85.988583 - A personal recollection of the Unbundling

Whirlwind represents a fascinating story of transition. The project started in the middle of the 1940s as an analog machine. As times changed it became a digital device. By 1951 it was perhaps the fastest computer in the world, filled to the brim with new approaches to design and new technology. It may have even been host to the first video game.   Selected Sources:   https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0896850.pdf - Report on MIT's storage tubes   https://sci-hub.se/10.1109/MAHC.1983.10081 - An interview with Jay Forrester   https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/retro-hurst.pdf - Screenshots and info about the Bouncing Ball   https://www.retrogamedeconstructionzone.com/2021/07/the-whirlwind-bouncing-ball-simulator.html - Play the Bouncing Ball Program for yourself!

In the last half of the 70s there was one gold standard in home computing: S100. This was a standardized bus that was the heart of many computers. It allowed for the interchange of parts from different manufacturers. Best of all, the S100 bus was simple. This made for a wonderful platform for hobbyists, and helped jump start the home computer revolution. And then... it disappeared. Where did the S100 bus go, and would we have been better off if it stuck around? This episode we tackle these questions and more.   Selected Sources:   https://archive.org/details/IoNewsVolume1Number1/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater - The Cromemco Story   https://www.digibarn.com/stories/MITS/mholley-images/Ed_Roberts_Oct_1984_ME.pdf - An interview with Ed Roberts   https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/Apple%20II%20Documentation%20Project/Books/W.%20Gayler%20-%20The%20Apple%20II%20Circuit%20Description.pdf - Circuit Description of the Apple II

What language has two stacks? What language is used on satellites and in home computers? What language deals in words? Why, Forth, of course! Forth is a highly unique language developed in the 60s by Chuck Moore. And when I say unique, I mean unique. Forth uses reverse polish notation for all operations, along with a dedicated data stack for passing parameters. But it's not just unique for the fun of it, Forth's design is highly deliberate. It offers a level of simplicity and power that's rarely seen in programming languages. Selected Sources: http://www.forth.org/POL.pdf - Moore's Programming a Problem Oriented Language https://www.1strecon.org/downloads/Forth_Resources/CM_ForthLanguageInteractiveComputing_1970.pdf - Early paper discussing Forth https://archive.org/details/1985-10-dr-dobbs-journal/page/41/mode/1up - Dobb's Journal article on the NX4000

Digital animation has really become an artform in and of itself. In the current epoch these animations play out on fancy bitmapped displays, but it's origins are far more visceral. Or maybe we should say far more hacky. This episode we are diving in to BEFLIX: an early animation toolchain from Bell Labs that produced computer films on physical rolls of film. Selected Sources: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/363958.363993 - Paper on Zajac animation https://jimboulton.medium.com/studies-in-perception-a-restoration-story-241cd8c75ab1 - Recreation of Studies in Perception I https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1464122.1464130 - BEFLIX Paper https://techchannel.att.com/playvideo/2012/09/10/AT&T-Archives-Computer-Technique-Production-Animated-Movies - BEFLIX animation about BEFLIX  

Can a computer be creative? Can we program a machine to make art? It turns out the answer is yes, and it doesn't even take artificial intelligence. This episode we are diving in to the ILLIAC Suite, a piece for string quartet that was composed by a computer. Along the way we will examine the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, and how methods used to create the hydrogen bomb were adapted to create music.   Selected Sources:   https://archive.org/details/experimentalmusi0000hill/page/n5/mode/1up - Experimental Music   https://web.archive.org/web/20171107072033/http://www.computing-conference.ugent.be/file/12 - Algoryhythmic Listening(page 40)   https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEb-H1Xb9XcIyrrN5qauFr2KAolSbPi0c - The ILLIAC Suite, in 4 parts

What is a computer? A miserable pile of electrons! But... not necessarily. I have yet to find a fully satisfying definition for "computer" that encompasses the full grandeur of calculating machines. This episode we are further complicating that quest by adding fluid based computers to the mix. We will be looking at 3 machines that crunched numbers using nothing but fluids and tubes. There's actually a rich tradition of fluidics to talk about.   Selected sources:   https://archive.org/details/electronicbrains0000hall/page/186/mode/2up - Electronic Brains chapter on MONIAC   https://archive.org/details/ACFELANALYTICALSTUDIESOFFREEZINGANDTHAWINGSOILS1953/LUKYANOV%20-%20Hydraulic%20Apparatus%20for%20Engineering%20Computations%20%281955%29/ - Translated paper on the water integrator   https://www.gwern.net/docs/cs/computable/1964-gluskin.pdf - FLODAC!

More Visi-fun ahead! Today we are looking at Visi On, a visionary user interface developed for home computers. Along the way we will discuss smalltalk, portability, and how the slick graphics over at Xerox were adapted to run on smaller machines.   Selected Sources:   http://toastytech.com/guis/vision.html - Toasty Tech's Visi On page, with screenshots and downloads for emulation   https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-06/page/n255/mode/2up - A Guided Tour of Visi On   https://archive.org/details/RosettaSmalltalkACM1979/mode/1up - Rosetta Smalltalk