Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/06/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks, Douglas. Herbert Kanner kanner at acm.org Question Authority and the authorities will question you. > On Jun 26, 2016, at 3:52 PM, Douglas Barry <imra at iol.ie> wrote: > > Interesting piece of history, Herb. I'm glad to hear you're up and about > and presumably red shirted again like the guys in the image. Keep healthy!! > > Douglas > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herbert Kanner" <kanner at acm.org> > To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> > Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 11:45 PM > Subject: [Leica] Back ar work > > >> My mail program went nuts last week. Twice I sent a rather long piece of >> mail describing the circumstances around a Gallery picture and each time >> the mail went into a black hole and the text had to be composed again. >> This time I'm being smarter and writing and saving it first in a word >> processor. >> >> OK. Don't remember what I last posted re health, but I was in the >> hospital for over a week with congestive heart failure. Made a rapid >> recovery as soon as I got home, and after a couple of weeks, returned to >> volunteer week at the Computer History Museum. >> >> As a consequence of the loss of the Babbage Difference Engine, I rejoined >> the group that gives twice monthly demonstrations of a working PDP1 >> computer (vintage 1960), the first ?mini-computer?, in fact, the >> manufacturer (Digital Equipment Corporation) coined the term. >> >> The PDP1 is about the size of three household refrigerators. It's turned >> on at the throw of one switch. It sold for $120,000. In the year it came >> out, the manufacturer donated one to MIT. One professor permitted >> ?hackers? access to it from midnight to morning. This was before >> ?hackers? became a pejorative term. One of those hackers was Peter >> Samson, who figured out how to make the machine play four-part music, and >> our demo inclueds the opening of a Bach fugue. The other, Steve Russell, >> largely wrote the code for the world's first video game, Space War, which >> later became an arcade game. >> >> When I arrived at the Museum a week ago Saturday, I found the PDP1 team >> in the cafeteria area enjoing a post-lunch bull session. I just had to >> take a picture. We were all wearing our uniform red shirts. Note the guy >> on the right; that's Steve Russell. >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1000005_001.jpg.html >> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1000005_001.jpg.html> >> >> Please look ?large?. >> >> >> >> Herbert Kanner >> kanner at acm.org >> >> Question Authority and the authorities will question you. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >