Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchINTERCAL and Esoterica
Episode 78
Programming doesn't have to be a very serious discipline. In fact, sometimes it's better if it's a little silly. Today we are talking about INTERCAL, the first esoteric programming language. Is it a…
Published on 3 years, 9 months ago
Magnetic Memories
Episode 77
It's no secret, I'm a big fan of memory. Not only is memory crucial for the functioning of a computer, it's also plain weird. This episode we are looking at magnetic core memory; a technology that d…
Published on 3 years, 9 months ago
Star Trek the (Unofficial) Game
Episode 76
This episode we blast off at warp speed! We're looking at Star Trek, a game written in BASIC in 1971. Examining this game gives us some insight into the early spread of BASIC. Along the way we will …
Published on 3 years, 10 months ago
A Cybernetic Future
Episode 75
Cybernetics is broadly defined as the study of control and communications, with a special emphasis on feedback-based systems. Put another way: cybernetics is the study of the flow of data. Predating…
Published on 3 years, 10 months ago
The Elegance of LISP
Episode 74
This is the conclusion to my exploration of why LISP is the "mother tongue of artificial intelligence". We pick up from the end of last episode and continue to cover the early days of AI. We follow …
Published on 3 years, 11 months ago
IPL, AI, and Linked Lists
Episode 73
I'll let you in on a secret: I've never understood why LISP is so closely associated with artificial intelligence. I've decided to fix this. In this episode, and the next, I'm tracing the early root…
Published on 3 years, 11 months ago
Viatron Topples IBM
Episode 72
Viatron's System 21 was the computer of the 1970s! ...At least that's what their marketing claimed. Started in 1967 Viatron was set to be one of the most exciting companies of the coming decade. The…
Published on 4 years ago
6502, The Mini-Microprocessor
Episode 71
No matter how you cut it the MOS Technology 6502 is an important chip. The chip was cheap, simple, and plentiful. This made it perfect for the home computing boom of the late 1970s. But how was this…
Published on 4 years ago
The oN-Line System, Part 2
Episode 70
NLS, or the oN-Line System, is often looked at as a mile marker in the development of modern computing. It was the first system to use a mouse, one of the first functional examples of hypertext, pio…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
The oN-Line System, Part 1
Episode 69
NLS, or the oN-Line System, is often looked at as a mile marker in the development of modern computing. It was the first system to use a mouse, one of the first functional examples of hypertext, pio…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago