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> The paranoid in me wonders if in the future we'll have to resort to projects like this This has got me picturing my store-bought laptop with monstrously larg

> The paranoid in me wonders if in the future we'll have to resort to projects like this This has got me picturing my store-bought laptop with monstrously large, homemade processors bursting from the case that I can use for sensitive tasks. I wonder how close this is to the realm of possibility.

anexprogrammer 10y ago
Well. Having seen photos of the original Amiga prototype, as demoed at 1984 CES (hidden under a table). Each breadboarded custom chip was about twice the size of the machine case. Used about 7200 logic chips, so maybe not enough paranoia proofing? The 68000 was, of course, standard. I'm sure a Radeon and i5 would only be a bit larger. The internet may be obsolete by the time you're done wiring. ;) Photo here http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/08/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-3/1/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/08/a-history-of-the-amig...
- Renaud 10y ago
  Hadn't see the pictures of the Lorraine prototype before. The article you linked refers to breadboards but that's not what is shown on the picture and it's unlikely that much more than very basic concepts were built using breadboard. Instead people would use wire a much more reliable technique for building prototypes and very low volume productions. Wire wrapping involves boards with pre-drilled holes in which you insert IC sockets with elongated pins. You then wrap a few turns of wire around the pin and route your wire to another one. That's what we see in the picture and others of the same prototype. http://obligement.free.fr/gfx2/lorraine_cartes_5.jpg http://obligement.free.fr/gfx2/lorraine_cartes_5.jpg
  - colejohnson66 10y ago
    The IBM 1401 was built using "SMS cards"[0] connected using wire wrap [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Standard_Modular_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Standard_Modular_System
    - TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
      The earlier DEC machines had a wire-wrap backplane. The wire-wrap assembly was automated - which was just as well: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/PDP-10_1090_Backplane.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/PDP-10_1... I think it's hard to be amazed enough at projects like the Amiga. Custom chips prototyped with discrete logic and a complete multitasking OS - all built from scratch.

anexprogrammer 10y ago

Well. Having seen photos of the original Amiga prototype, as demoed at 1984 CES (hidden under a table). Each breadboarded custom chip was about twice the size of the machine case. Used about 7200 logic chips, so maybe not enough paranoia proofing? The 68000 was, of course, standard. I'm sure a Radeon and i5 would only be a bit larger. The internet may be obsolete by the time you're done wiring. ;) Photo here http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/08/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-3/1/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/08/a-history-of-the-amig...

Renaud 10y ago
Hadn't see the pictures of the Lorraine prototype before. The article you linked refers to breadboards but that's not what is shown on the picture and it's unlikely that much more than very basic concepts were built using breadboard. Instead people would use wire a much more reliable technique for building prototypes and very low volume productions. Wire wrapping involves boards with pre-drilled holes in which you insert IC sockets with elongated pins. You then wrap a few turns of wire around the pin and route your wire to another one. That's what we see in the picture and others of the same prototype. http://obligement.free.fr/gfx2/lorraine_cartes_5.jpg http://obligement.free.fr/gfx2/lorraine_cartes_5.jpg
- colejohnson66 10y ago
  The IBM 1401 was built using "SMS cards"[0] connected using wire wrap [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Standard_Modular_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Standard_Modular_System
  - TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
    The earlier DEC machines had a wire-wrap backplane. The wire-wrap assembly was automated - which was just as well: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/PDP-10_1090_Backplane.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/PDP-10_1... I think it's hard to be amazed enough at projects like the Amiga. Custom chips prototyped with discrete logic and a complete multitasking OS - all built from scratch.