Podcast Episodes

Ben Zotto and the Story of Sphere Computers

I recently had the chance to talk to Ben Zotto about his upcoming book: Go Computer Now! - The Story of Sphere Computers. It's all about an obscure machine powered by the Motorola 6800 that released …

Published on 22 hours ago

Dellinger's Viruses

Episode 169

In 1981 Joe Dellinger attempted to create the perfect computer program: a virus that spread silently. In 1982 a revision of that virus broke containment. It would have remained completely hidd…

Published on 6 days, 15 hours ago

Halt and Catch Fire

Episode 168

Imagine a secret number that could be used to bring your computer to a screeching halt. In 1977 Gerry Wheeler discovered an interesting feature of Motorola's new 6800 microprocessor. There was…

Published on 1 week, 6 days ago

The Tape That Unwound Itself

Episode 167

Have you ever had a computer do something you can't explain? Have you ever thought a machine had a mind of its own? In 1971 Met Life was faced with this exact conundrum. Their tape drives, for…

Published on 2 weeks, 6 days ago

Beyond the PDP-11

Episode 166

My trilogy on the PDP-11 concludes with a look at the far flung places this computer can take us. In this episode we look at some issues with claims of the PDP-11's linage, smuggling, Hungaria…

Published on 3 weeks, 6 days ago

LSI-11

Episode 165

This episode we continue my series on the PDP-11 by examining how DEC adapted to the advent of the microprocessor. Along the way we will see how the PDP-11 inspired new generations of computer…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

LGP-30 LIVE! from VCF West

Episode 164

Last weekend I had the chance to talk about the LGP-30 and my emulation project at VCF West in Mountain View, CA. The showrunners will be posting a full video later, but that takes a while to go live…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Ever Heard of the PDP-11?

Episode 163

The DEC PDP-11 is one of the most influential minicomputers of all time. Some would even call it the most influential computer of all time. But where exactly did it come from? How was it desi…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

CSIRAC, Australia's First Computer

Episode 162

In 1949 CSIRAC sprung to life in a lab in Sydney, Australia. It was a very early stored program computer. All machines of the era were unique. But CSIRAC, well, it was very unique indeed.

Selected So…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

The IAS Machine

Episode 161

The first batch of digital computers emerge directly following WWII. The hallmark of this generation is uniqueness: no two computers are the same. However, there is a machine that bucks that trend. T…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago