First computer

[philipdalton]

Re: First computer

I suppose Bill Gates could have a really advanced computer specially made for him for a million dollars if he so wanted.

[PC66]

Re: First computer

I suppose Bill Gates could have a really advanced computer specially made for him for a million dollars if he so wanted.

Probably be the only way to have Windows run in another couple of versions..... And then only to perform basic tasks at about the same speed as an 8086 running at 4.77MHz.

[philipdalton]

Re: First computer

This is what Sir Clive Sinclair, the great 80's computer pioneer, has to say:

"When I started out, I was just interested in getting people interested in computers. It was very exciting then. There was a lot of innovation. There's no technical change now - it's all just Wintel stuff. It's just all got bogged down. The designs are very clumsy nowadays. They're not taking risks at all, they're just making the same sort of machines. The only breath of fresh air is Psion. They're terrific and they go their own way. Windows CE is a hope, as well.
I thought computers today would be used for the same kind of things they were used for then. I could see them becoming ubiquitous. But what has disappointed me greatly has been how little change there really has been. Take parallel computing - it's ridiculous, it should have happend by now. Computers should be hundreds of time more powerfull than they are now. They're also absurdly expensive for what they do. Very little of the price is from processing power. I don't use the internet at the moment. I get frustrated by the speed. If they would sort that out, then I would use it. But I think it's a most marvellous thing, it's amazing what can be done with it. I just don't want to use it while it's so slow."

Does anyone, by any chance, happen to know what 'parallel computing' is?

[PC66]

Re: First computer

Does anyone, by any chance, happen to know what 'parallel computing' is?

It's the method whereby a task which can be broken down into distinct sub-tasks can have two or more of those sub-tasks running concurrently, i.e. in parallel.

For example, say that a particular task consists of several distinct parts, A, B, C, D & E, and that you can't run B until the result of A is known, and that D is likewise dependent upon the result of C. The final stage, E, combines the results of C & D and thus can't be executed until all the other four tasks have been completed. If you have a single processor which can do only one thing at a time, then each of the five parts has to be performed serially, one after the other. So you could run them in sequence A-B-C-D-E. Or you could choose one of several other orders, so long as B comes after A, D comes after C, and E is the last step, e.g. A-C-B-D-E or C-A-B-D-E.

If you have more than one processor available though, since A & C are not dependent upon anything else, you can run them concurrently, A on one processor, C on the other. As soon as the first processor completes A, it can start work on B, and as soon as the second processor completes C, it can start on D, so processes C & D can run in parallel (or, depending upon how long each part takes, the second processor could already be starting on D while the first processor is still working on A, since D is dependent only upon the result of C). Finally, when C & D have both been completed, one processor can then run E.

Obviously that's a simple example and it can become much more complex than that, but the key point is that by having multiple processors so that different parts of the task can be processed concurrently, the final result is achieved that much more quickly.

Compare it with something like having to check four accounts books for errors: If one person has to do it, all he can do is take one book at a time, then when he's finished that book move onto the next. But if you have four people, you give each person one book to check and they all work on them at the same time, so the job is done much faster.

[RetroTechRules]

Re: First computer

My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81, I got it as a Christmas present in 1983

[Elbmek]

Re: First computer

My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81, I got it as a Christmas present in 1983

I used to write programmes for that for my son. And when copying script from magazines it took hours to transfer script to binary on a tape recorder. And then check every single digit for the full stop in the wrong place, or the comma missing!!! AGH! The agony!

[philipdalton]

Re: First computer

I used to write programmes for that for my son. And when copying script from magazines it took hours to transfer script to binary on a tape recorder. And then check every single digit for the full stop in the wrong place, or the comma missing!!! AGH! The agony!

It's a good thing that technology's progressed the way it has.

[PC66]

Re: First computer

With that progression though, the art of good programming seems to be fading fast in some quarters. With the faster speeds of modern processors and the vast amounts of memory and disk storage now available, there's much less incentive to write code with efficient, fast algorithms and which makes efficient use of memory.

[Kaptain_Von]

Re: First computer

My first experience of a computer was one that my uncle had built from scratch back in 1978. I remember it being on a tea trolley in the basement and using punch tape to load programs written in FORTRAN onto it. My uncle was a computer designer and later went on to work on the ticket systems used on the London Underground but this was one that he had designed and built himself. He taught me some simple programming and this inspired me to go on and convince my dad to buy me a ZX81 when they came out so that I could learn programming. However, by the time the ZX Spectrum came out I was far more interested in racking up a high score on Jetpac. That said, some of the programming skills did stick and I can still knock up programs in VB, Sax Basic, WinBasic and a few more 'old school' languages like REXX and SNOBOL.

[PC66]

Re: First computer

Good to see mention of SNOBOL. I find that while many today know of FORTRAN, COBOL, Algol et al, even if they've never actually used them, the number of people who even recognize the name SNOBOL is much fewer. It was a very capable language, for the purposes for which it was intended.

And for those who haven't heard of it before, SNOBOL = StriNg Oriented symBOlic Language.

[escorteclipse1990]

Re: First computer

I remember the first computer we had in primary school back in 1985 was a BBC one with CUB monitor. One computer for 70 kids!

[Retro Bat]

Re: First computer

ZX81 followed by an Atari Lynx

[xmark1234]

Re: First computer

zx81 followed by zx speccy 48k

[darren]

Re: First computer

I think my first was the speccy 48k with the rubber buttons.
My older bro had a vic 20 that was his first one.

[fynger]

Re: First computer

I saved up for months to get a ZX81 ....it was 79.99.....following week it came down to 59.99......Bugger.