Operating Systems > Linux and UNIX
w00t!!
Sleeping Dog:
One other funny thing my friend reminded about....the computer at the bank stored information by literally punching holes in a metal tape. The thing sounded like a freight train.
Sleeping Dog
creedon:
First: Voidmain; I've got acouple of books here that belonged to my cousin (now deceased). Their titles are: "Systems Programming" by John J. Donovan pub. 1972 and"Digital Logic and Computer Design" by M. Morris Mano pub.1979; they"re complete Greek (or geek) to me, I never got the basics.
Second: When I was in the Navy, I knew a Gunners Mate that was older 'n God- a real 30-year man; he told me that during the '50's the U.S.S. Iowa did some tests on the fire control system for the 16-inch rifles. The fire control system was a big calculator that took about a billion bits of information about the firing problem (i.e. ships speed, sea conditions, target speed etc, etc.) chewed on it, and spit out a solution. This guy claimed that at 30 miles, the Iowa could place 9- 16 inch rounds in a 50 yard circle. Now, as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty sophisticated analog computer.
voidmain:
I once visited the battleship North Carolina off the coast of North Carolina. Here it is: http://www.battleshipnc.com/
[ July 03, 2002: Message edited by: VoidMain ]
Sleeping Dog:
I was going to mention the battleship computers earlier but I refrained. However, now that you brought it up....The Iowa class battleships had a mechanical computer used for fire control that employed gears, cams and rotating dials to resolve a fire solution. Many of the older battleships (Including the Tennessee, Alabama and North Carolina) were retro-fitted with this same mechanical computer.
In the battle of Surragao (sp) Straits (Phillipines 1945), an auxillary force of old battleships that had been relegated to pre-invasion duty just "happened" to catch the last vestiages of the Japanese Navy trying to sneak in the back door. Admiral Oldendorf employed the tactic of "crossing the T" with that fleet of old boats and blew everything except a light cruiser and a destroyer out of the water. They also had the advantage of what was then called advanced fire control radar used in conjunction with the mechanical fire control computers. It was also probably the last "battleship against battleship" engagement that the world will ever see.
For the sake of the upcomming holiday I will add this note.....Five of the big boats under Oldendorf's command had previously been sunk or badly damaged at Pearl Harbour.
Talk about sweet revenge......
Sleeping Dog
Sleeping Dog:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is still some "argument" as to what was truly the first "computer" as we now think of the word. There was a gay guy who worked for British intelligence during WWII named Turing (sp) who developed a machine for cracking the German Enigma code. The brilliant little queen killed himself a few years later after getting popped on a morals charge by the Bobbies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How many geniuses have met a premature tragic end, due to their socially backward society, eh?
Again you are right, Calum, about misunderstood people. I am not gay and I do not understand the behavior, but the travesty done to Turing, who should have been celebrated as a hero, is rivaled only by the way the US Government treated the principals of the Manhattan project during the McCarthay era. (Despite the fact that the Rosenbergs were as guilty as sin.)
Witch hunts really only condemn the hunters.
Sleeping Dog
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version