Gene E. Bloch said:
On Sun, 04 Nov 2012 17:07:19 -0500, Zaidy036 wrote:
On 11/4/2012 8:27 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message <
[email protected]>, Ed Cryer
[]
We called them "thermionic valves" if anybody ever asked us what a
"valve" was.
When I started as a computer programmer one of the women in the
office
told us how she programmed first-generation machines; and she used to
"hide from her boss in the memory cupboard".
I should think it was quite hot in there.
Ed
Depends; if it was core storage, maybe not ...
but full of bugs !!
That earns a golden groan
Although wasn't that the origin of the computer "bug in the program" -
insects in the relays?
The legend goes that a female member of the armed forces (US Navy?) came
up with the "bug" bit, based upon an actual insect in the works. If
memory (organic) serves, she retired as one of the highest ranking
females in military service. Relays were a common part of the early
"fire control" computers, although I really don't remember the details.
Perhaps the strangest system I ran across while working for a GE lab was
a system that was on the borderline between hardwired logic and a
computer as we think of it. Programming was done with cards and jumpers.
The "flip flops" were something called a "Mag Amp", used for one bit
storage, and decisions. It was old in the early 60's, and used to
control industrial systems. A later, also obsolete system was full of
miniature "crystal can" relays and transistors, with a few tubes and
stepping relays thrown in for good measure. It used IBM punch cards.
A PDP-8 was about the latest and greatest at the time. Mainframe disk
drives were physically huge, heavy, and movable only with a fork lift.