4 ms·

I always like to point out the telegraph relay computer[0] built by one Harry Porter. I think that pretty much takes the cake for retro hardware. It also brin

I always like to point out the telegraph relay computer[0] built by one Harry Porter. I think that pretty much takes the cake for retro hardware. It also brings up the question of how early a binary computer could have been built, since the relay was invented in the early/mid 1800s[1] and Boolean logic in 1847[2] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3wPBcmSb2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3wPBcmSb2U [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relay#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relay#History [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Boole#Symbolic_logic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Boole#Symbolic_logic

asimuvPR 10y ago
Makes you wonder what will be built in the next hundred years with what we have available now.
- hola_hola 10y ago
  Strong AI. We probably have the technology to build it now but not the know-how.
  - intrasight 10y ago
    I'd be happy with Weak AI
- pjmlp 10y ago
  I would be happy with the Xerox PARC developer experience becoming mainstream, instead of people insisting in replaying a PDP-11 developer experience on their hexacore workstation with 16 GB and 2 GB GPGPU and the insistence of relying on programming languages that were already known as unsafe in early 70's for our IT infrastructure.
  - nickpsecurity 10y ago
    It's a nice thought but not happening. Given transition to hardware accelerators, I'd also be happy with products like this coming down to consumer, mid-range price: http://picocomputing.com/products/picocube/picomini/ http://picocomputing.com/products/picocube/picomini/ Imagine what I could do with that baby armed with HLS or Qflow. :)
TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
For some reason it took 90 years for Boolean switched hardware to appear - originally invented by Shannon in the US and Zuse in Germany in the late 1930s. It's interesting to wonder why it took so long, and what would have happened if it had been invented much earlier. The first may have been because Boolean algebra was very obscure and unlikely to cross the path of the electromechanical and telegraph engineers who worked with relays. The second I can't even begin to speculate about - although the first FET was patented in 1925, so in theory it would have been possible to build a solid state computer not long after.
- wycx 10y ago
  The idea of the transistor was patented in 1926, but it took all the hard work of making a transistor by the Bell Labs team for discrete transistors to become a reality. See [1] for an excellent summary of the birth of the transistor. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Fire-Transistor-Information-Technology/dp/0393318516 http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Fire-Transistor-Information-Te...
  - jrapdx3 10y ago
    The book you reference is no doubt a lot more thorough, but the wikipedia article is a pretty good brief overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_transistor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_transistor
- jrapdx3 10y ago
  The story of the FET is interesting. Patented in 1925 and 1928 by Lilienfeld, the invention wasn't implemented until the 1940's. Researchers at Bell Labs, Shockley and Pearson, build operational devices based on Lilienfeld's work, but never acknowledged the Lilienfeld FET in their published reports. FET production began in the 1950's when supporting technologies became available. Later on in the 1990's the original FET designs were implemented and produced working devices. Surprising how old many technologies really are. As with the FET it can take a long time before inventions or discoveries can be realized and put to good use.

asimuvPR 10y ago

Makes you wonder what will be built in the next hundred years with what we have available now.

hola_hola 10y ago
Strong AI. We probably have the technology to build it now but not the know-how.
- intrasight 10y ago
  I'd be happy with Weak AI
pjmlp 10y ago
I would be happy with the Xerox PARC developer experience becoming mainstream, instead of people insisting in replaying a PDP-11 developer experience on their hexacore workstation with 16 GB and 2 GB GPGPU and the insistence of relying on programming languages that were already known as unsafe in early 70's for our IT infrastructure.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  It's a nice thought but not happening. Given transition to hardware accelerators, I'd also be happy with products like this coming down to consumer, mid-range price: http://picocomputing.com/products/picocube/picomini/ http://picocomputing.com/products/picocube/picomini/ Imagine what I could do with that baby armed with HLS or Qflow. :)

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago

For some reason it took 90 years for Boolean switched hardware to appear - originally invented by Shannon in the US and Zuse in Germany in the late 1930s. It's interesting to wonder why it took so long, and what would have happened if it had been invented much earlier. The first may have been because Boolean algebra was very obscure and unlikely to cross the path of the electromechanical and telegraph engineers who worked with relays. The second I can't even begin to speculate about - although the first FET was patented in 1925, so in theory it would have been possible to build a solid state computer not long after.

wycx 10y ago
The idea of the transistor was patented in 1926, but it took all the hard work of making a transistor by the Bell Labs team for discrete transistors to become a reality. See [1] for an excellent summary of the birth of the transistor. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Fire-Transistor-Information-Technology/dp/0393318516 http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Fire-Transistor-Information-Te...
- jrapdx3 10y ago
  The book you reference is no doubt a lot more thorough, but the wikipedia article is a pretty good brief overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_transistor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_transistor
jrapdx3 10y ago
The story of the FET is interesting. Patented in 1925 and 1928 by Lilienfeld, the invention wasn't implemented until the 1940's. Researchers at Bell Labs, Shockley and Pearson, build operational devices based on Lilienfeld's work, but never acknowledged the Lilienfeld FET in their published reports. FET production began in the 1950's when supporting technologies became available. Later on in the 1990's the original FET designs were implemented and produced working devices. Surprising how old many technologies really are. As with the FET it can take a long time before inventions or discoveries can be realized and put to good use.