Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchYou Wouldn't Magnetize a Tape!
The image of a mainframe is almost always accompanied by it's companion: the magnetic tape drive. For decades magnetic tape served as the medium of c…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Programming Block by Block
In which we discuss GPSS: the General Purpose Simulation Language. As for as languages go, this is a unique one. It's designed for certain types of s…
4 months, 4 weeks ago
The Programma 101
Episode 178
The Olivetti Programma 101 isn't quite like any other machine. On first glance it looks like a big desktop calculator. Inside, it's a purebred comput…
5 months, 1 week ago
Dan Temkin - Forty-Four Esolangs
Dan Temkin has been a long time friend of the show. I finally got the chance to sit down and talk with him about one of his latest projects. For…
5 months, 3 weeks ago
Getting Real with RSX
Episode 177
Who wants to hear me make incorrect assumptions about old software? RSX is a system that, from the outside, can sound like it has a similar story to …
6 months, 1 week ago
Is That Even UNIX?
Episode 176
UNIX is beloved by many. It's the classic minicomputer operating system. It's big, it's powerful, it's multitasking, and it has some very specific me…
6 months, 3 weeks ago
SNOBOL? That's Disgusting!
Episode 175
Today we are talking about one of the most unique languages I've ever come across. SNOBOL emerges from the early days of programming. It's first comp…
7 months, 1 week ago
The Bell Model I
Episode 174
We are getting back to the actual digital family tree. In 1937 George Stibitz built a tiny binary adding circuit on his kitchen table using scraps he…
7 months, 3 weeks ago
Hybrid Programming
Episode 173
Hybrid computers are composed of a digital computer linked to an analog computer. That leads to an interesting challenge: how do you write software f…
8 months ago
Analog/Hybrid
Episode 172
In 1945 the first electronic digital computers sparked to life. Number crunching was instantly changed forever! The perfect technology had arr…
8 months, 2 weeks ago