a year ago
At System Source, we have a large collection of software (hard copy, mag tape, paper of software for the Bendix. Many of the manuals have been scanned by our wonderful volunteers https://rbk.delosent.com/g15doc.html
a year ago
Is anyone immature enough to giggle when they hear the name of the computer?
a year ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendix_G-15 is the computer that has been restored.
a year ago
His excitement is infectious. It's hard to not feel giddy at seeing it finally run after all that hard work!
I can't wait to see the kinds of programs we can run on a machine like that, along with discussions about tricks when writing programs for serial memory computers :D
a year ago
He's been plugging away at this machine for a year and a half - the excitement is well-earned!
a year ago
On the topic, the oldest original running computer[1] can be found in the UK in the National Museum of Computing based in Bletchley Park (where Alan Turing and many others worked breaking German cryptography). The museum requires a separate ticket from the "main" Bletchley Park museum. It's around 1h trip from London Euston. Well worth a visit! Among other items, they have a working "Bombe" replica
a year ago
What kinds of programs were available for this machine? I’m really curious what kind of complexity was it capable of running.
a year ago
It's been said on previous YT videos - the system probally ran civil engineering calculations for building bridges and roads. They may have even been for work in Maryland (the state) where the Bendix 'lives' - at the System Source Museum outside of Baltimore MD. It's down in Texas to get fixed by Usagi.
a year ago
I'm curious about the economics of this machine.
Wikipedia says it could be rented for $1485/mo, and the average salary in 1956 was $3600 or $300/mo, so it would have to replace 5 people (engineers must have earned more), if you don't count the extra cost of software, power, and maintenance.
I remember from a book on Richard Feynman that a classroom full of bright students was about as fast as the computer the Manhattan Project got, except, of course, the computer didn't get tired.
a year ago
Not really a computer though - they didn't exist in the USA at the time. If I remember correctly it was a series of IBM calculating devices chained together.
a year ago
I’ve been to the System Source Museum many times and it’s well worth the visit if you are in the area. The G15 is a fascinating system, small and compact compared to the huge mainframe-sized contemporaries of the era.
a year ago
The oldest running computer anywhere is apparently in one of the Voyager probes. Source: a video about troubleshooting one of them that was posted on HN a while ago.
a year ago
They were only launched in 1977. I can guarantee you there are 100's of computers that are older than 1977 that are still in active use.
a year ago
Vastly more than hundreds. For instance I have an HP-65 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-65), a programmable pocket calculator from 1974. It's collectable, but not rare. It is built with similar objectives: low power numerical applications. Of course it has substantially less memory, buit then it was substantially cheaper!
a year ago
[flagged]
a year ago
[flagged]