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#4004039 - 09/02/14 05:13 PM Personal computers in 1952  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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Man, no way I would have been able to afford a PC gaming hobby had I been around in 1952. wink


http://www.retronaut.com/2014/08/announcing-a-general-purpose-digital-computer/


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#4004043 - 09/02/14 05:28 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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#4004051 - 09/02/14 05:49 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Man, no way I would have been able to afford a PC gaming hobby had I been around in 1952. wink


http://www.retronaut.com/2014/08/announcing-a-general-purpose-digital-computer/

You say that like that computer would actually have the ability to allow you to play games.... smile


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#4004063 - 09/02/14 05:58 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Man, no way I would have been able to afford a PC gaming hobby had I been around in 1952. wink


http://www.retronaut.com/2014/08/announcing-a-general-purpose-digital-computer/


You wouldn't have had the chance as you would have been in North Korea fighting....


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#4004067 - 09/02/14 06:09 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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LMAO @ Mace and Arthonon


Meh, I'm sure even that rudimentary computer could have run a very simple chess program.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4004135 - 09/02/14 09:16 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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I do not see anything in that ad that identifies this machine as a "Personal Computer". This ad is directed at the financial directors of medium size firms (yeah, finance use to manage IT), since a small firm would not be able to afford it.

I doubt it would be capable of any type of games, as all this was is a glorified calculator. See the available functions. This specific machine was not designed to run even a simple programming language.

Personal computer was a marketing term coined by IBM after the success of the Apple II, which finally convinced them that individuals had a use for a computer, which they did not believe until then.

They did call them a "PC" for a while before that, but in that context it meant "portable computer" because they were small enough to move to one place to another without needing a moving company.

Last edited by Bib4Tuna; 09/02/14 09:29 PM.
#4004140 - 09/02/14 09:29 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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I can think of a game to run on that computer, something right up it's alley.

Define an indirect fire gun and target at a specified distance apart (this can be done with just fountain pen and paper). Then, write a function that calculates the arc trajectory of a shell fired at this target. Maybe introduce a two dimensional (head or tail) wind factor into the function, too.

Then each player guesses an elevation for the gun, and runs the function to see how close their shot landed.

Hardcore mode?

Change the gun and target elevation relative to each other.

This game could be played today in an Office spreadsheet, lol! Get all geeky writing functions! biggrin


WARNING: This post contains opinions produced in a facility which also occasionally processes fact products.
#4004143 - 09/02/14 09:32 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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I imagine they needed like 4 guys to turn the machine upside down when they wanted to play this trick -


#4004439 - 09/03/14 02:20 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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I don't think LCD was around in 1952?

Nope, just checked.



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#4004471 - 09/03/14 03:31 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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They flip the dot matrix printer... duh! duh


winkngrin

#4004483 - 09/03/14 03:44 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Fun writing words on nixie tube displays. biggrin


WARNING: This post contains opinions produced in a facility which also occasionally processes fact products.
#4004486 - 09/03/14 03:47 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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It makes sense what Bib4tuna said about this computer being marketed for businesses because who the heck could have spent that kind of money for a computer in 1952?


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4004490 - 09/03/14 03:55 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Oh yea, accounting departments is what this computer is aimed at.

I remember reading that some of the Ford Mustang suspension geometry design problems in the 1960s were aided by "borrowing" the payroll department computer at night to solve for the values the engineers needed. Saved weeks of manual calculations.


WARNING: This post contains opinions produced in a facility which also occasionally processes fact products.
#4004500 - 09/03/14 04:12 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: adlabs6]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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Originally Posted By: adlabs6


I remember reading that some of the Ford Mustang suspension geometry design problems in the 1960s were aided by "borrowing" the payroll department computer at night to solve for the values the engineers needed. Saved weeks of manual calculations.


Reading this set off my inner-geek. It's just too bad that I've always sucked at math. biggrin


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4004502 - 09/03/14 04:15 PM Re: Personal computers in 1952 [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Originally Posted By: adlabs6


I remember reading that some of the Ford Mustang suspension geometry design problems in the 1960s were aided by "borrowing" the payroll department computer at night to solve for the values the engineers needed. Saved weeks of manual calculations.


Reading this set off my inner-geek. It's just too bad that I've always sucked at math. biggrin

The other sadder part is that it shows you that engineering always gets overlooked when up against admin budgets. Bastages. (Not that I'm bitter or anything...)



(Damned bean counters)


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