Advent of Computing Sean Haas

This is a hefty one. I usually try to keep things as accessible as possible, but this time we have to get a little more technical than usual. We are picking up in 1964, with the first proposals for a new version of ALGOL. From there we sail through the fraught waters of ALGOL X, Y, W, and finally 68. Along the way we see how a language evolves over time, and how people and politics mesh with technical issues.
Selected Sources:
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/1061112.1061118 - Successes and Failures of the ALGOL Effort
https://sci-hub.se/10.1109/MAHC.2010.8 - Cold War Origins of IFIP
https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/algol/algol_bulletin/ - The ALGOL Bulletin

ALGOL is one of those topics that's haunted the show for a while. It comes up any time we talk about programming languages, and with good reason. Many of the features and ideas found in modern languages have their roots in ALGOL. Despite that influence, ALGOL itself remains somewhat obscure. It never reached the highs of a C or LISP.
In this series we are going to look at ALGOL from 1958 all up to 1968, keeping a careful eye on how the language evolved, how it's problems were addressed, and how new problems were introduced.
Selected Sources:
https://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/ALGOL/paper/Backus-Syntax_and_Semantics_of_Proposed_IAL.pdf - Backus, 1958 IAL report
https://algol60.org/reports/algol60_rr.pdf - ALGOL 1960 Report
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/1060960.1060966 - Cleaning Up Algol
 

Originally presented at VCF SoCal in February of 2024.
The cryotron, a superconductive switch, almost revolutionized computing. It's one of those fascinating near misses. In this episode we are talking about the history of the cryotron, how the NSA and supercomputing factors into the mix, and the current state of research into the topic. Did the NSA actually construct a supercomputer that ran in a vat of liquid helium? The answer is... maybe?
Video of this talk:
https://youtu.be/FqzSGTZ3TMU

This is going to be a wild rambling ride. In 1939 a computer called Nimatron was made. It was one of the earliest digital electronic computers in the world. It did one thing: play a game called Nim. Over a decade later, in 1951, another Nim machine hit the scene. This computer called Nimrod, was designed to demonstrate how computers worked... by playing a game of Nim.

These machines, humble as they may sound, end up deeply complicating the history of computing. Join me as I, once again, muddy the long arc of progress.
 

Selected Sources:
 

https://archive.org/details/faster-than-thought-b.-v.-bowden - Faster Than Thought
 

https://www.goodeveca.net/nimrod/NIMROD_Guide.html - Faster Than Thought

This episode wraps up the System/360 trilogy by taking things back to where they started for me. We will be looking at System/360 clones, how they could exist, why they existed, and why IBM didn't crush them. We close with a discussion of how these earlier clones impact our understanding of the IBM PC story. The truth is, by 1981 IBM was no stranger to clones. This is the culmination of a wild story, so prepare!
 

Selected Sources:
 

https://archive.org/details/iclbusinesstechn0000camp/mode/1up - ICL: A Business and Technical History
 

https://archive.org/details/impactreportamdaunse/page/1/mode/1up - Impact Report by INPUT
 

https://www.stayforever.de/ibm-pc-a-conversation-with-dr-david-bradley/

My coverage of the IBM System/360 continues! In this episode we look at US v IBM, and the fallout that surrounded the release of the System/360. By 1969 IBM already had a history of antitrust litigation. What was IBM doing to upset the Department of Justice, and how does it tie in to the larger story of clone computers?

 

Selected Sources:
 

http://www.cptech.org/at/ibm/ibm1956cd.html - 1956 Consent Decree
 

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/298/131/ - 1936 Consent Decree
 

https://archive.org/details/foldedspindledmu00fish/page/n5/mode/2up - Folded, Spindled, and Mutilated