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Advent of Computing

142 EpisodesProduced by Sean S HaasSean HaasWebsite

Welcome to Advent of Computing, the show that talks about the shocking, intriguing, and all too often relevant history of computing. A lot of little things we take for granted today have rich stories behind their creation, in each episode we will learn how older tech has lead to our modern world.

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Farewell

February 22nd, 2024

0:39

An important message from RadioPublic

Episode 128 - Cryotrons LIVE!

March 24th, 2024

41:49

Originally presented at VCF SoCal in February of 2024.

The cryotron, a superconductive switch, almost revolutionized computing. It's one of those …

Episode 127 - Nim

March 11th, 2024

1:00:32

This is going to be a wild rambling ride. In 1939 a computer called Nimatron was made. It was one of the earliest digital electronic computers in the world. It did one thing: play a game called Nim. Over a decade …

Episode 126 - IBM Compatible (No, Not Those)

February 19th, 2024

1:13:47

This episode wraps up the System/360 trilogy by taking things back to where they started for me. We will be looking at System/360 clones, how they …

Episode 125 - US v IBM

February 1st, 2024

1:10:32

My coverage of the IBM System/360 continues! In this episode we look at US v IBM, and the fallout that surrounded the release of the System/360. By 1969 IBM already had a history of antitrust litigation. What was IBM …

VCF SoCal - Interview with Micki and Steve

January 20th, 2024

29:31

In this episode I sit down and talk with Micki and Steve about VCF SoCal, a new Vintage Computer Festival! The event is taking place in Orange, …

Episode 124 - The Full 360

January 15th, 2024

1:03:31

The release of the IBM System/360 represents a major milestone in the history of computing. In 1964 IBM announced the 360 as the first family of …

Episode 123 - The Jupiter Ace

January 1st, 2024

57:35

Released in 1982, the Jupiter Ace is a fascinating little computer. It's hardware isn't much to write home about. It's just an 8-bit microcomputer very much in line with other systems of the era. Where it shines is …

Episode 122 - To Edit Text

December 18th, 2023

59:08

Tools are the most important programs in the world. Without quality tools it's impossible to write quality software. One of those most important of …

Episode 121 - Arguments Against Programming

December 4th, 2023

1:04:13

Most accounts of the early history of programming languages all share something in common. They all have a sentence or two explaining how there was great resistance to these new languages, but eventually all …

Episode 120 - Simply COSMAC

November 13th, 2023

1:03:08

Have you ever opined for a simpler time? Have you ever wanted a computer that you can understand all the way down to the silicon? Then RCA's COSMAC might be the architecture for you! COSMAC was a simplified computer …

Episode 119 - The Batch!

October 29th, 2023

1:00:28

This episode we are looking at a ghost of bygone days: batch processing! Before fancy terminals peppered computer rooms, before there was a microcomputer on every desk, there was the batch. In this non-interactive form …

Episode 118 - Viral Dark Ages

October 15th, 2023

1:15:35

It's finally Spook Month here on Advent of Computing! To kick things off I'm tackling a bit of a mystery. Between 1972 and 1982 there is only one well documented virus. This period is book ended with plenty of sources …

Episode 117 - What's in a Byte?

September 24th, 2023

1:03:45

Byte has to be one of the most recognizable parts of the digital lexicon. It's an incantation that can be recognized by even the uninitiated. But where does the byte come from? Has it always existed, or did it more …

Episode 116 - Monte Carlo

September 10th, 2023

1:01:27

It's finally time! In this episode we are looking at the Monte Carlo method, perhaps the first practical computer program that could outpace human …

Episode 115 - Digital Lifeforms

August 27th, 2023

1:08:29

I will admit, the title here is a bit of click bait. In the early 1950s a researcher named Nils Aall Barricelli started in on a bold project. His …

Reading - The Story of Mel

August 26th, 2023

11:01

This episode is simply a reading of the Story of Mel. I opened last episode with an excerpt, but didn't feel right leaving it at that. So, I present, the Story of Mel as written by Ed Nather and preserved in the Jargon …

Episode 114 - The LGP-30: A Forgotten Machine

August 15th, 2023

1:06:06

In 1956 Librascope released the LGP-30, a truly wild machine. It was, for the time, the most simple and cheap machine that could actually be useful. …

Episode 113 - Prolog, Part II

July 30th, 2023

1:10:20

I'm wrapping up my dive into Prolog with... Prolog itself! This episode I'm actually covering the development of Prolog, using all the natural …

Episode 112 - Prolog, Part I

July 16th, 2023

1:08:46

I've been told I need to do an episode about Prolog. Well, here's the start of that process. To talk about Prolog we first need to come to grips …

Episode 111 - To Boldly Transmit

July 2nd, 2023

1:03:17

Space is cool, in all meanings of the word. Not only is it wondrous, vast, and fascinating, it can also be a cold place. It's also a very useful …

Episode 110 - The Atari 2600

June 18th, 2023

1:07:58

I don't usually cover video games. When I do, you know it's for a weird reason. This episode we are looking at the Atari VCS 2600, it's strange hardware, and how it fits into the larger story of the rise of …

Episode 109 - What's Up With Microcontrollers?

June 4th, 2023

1:02:35

What really is the deal with microcontrollers? Are they just little computers... or are they something totally different? This episode we are …

Episode 108 - The Mundaneum, Part II

May 21st, 2023

56:27

This episode we pick back up where we left off. We are looking at the roots of the Mundaneum, the applications of the Universal Decimal Code, and how it call connects to hypertext.

Selected Sources:

Episode 107 - The Mundaneum, Part I

May 7th, 2023

1:06:07

The Internet is the closest we've come to a universal store of all human knowledge. However, it's not the first pass at this lofty goal. In this episode(and the next) we are looking at the Mundaneum, a project started …

Episode 106 - Digital Eyes

April 16th, 2023

1:12:24

Back in episode 90 I made a passing reference to the Cyclops, the first consumer digital camera. It's this masterstroke of hackery that uses a RAM chip as a makeshift image sensor. In this episode I'm coming back …

Episode 105 - Apple's Growing Pains

April 2nd, 2023

1:18:11

The Apple III was a pretty slick machine... in theory. From a lack of launch software, to strait up hardware failures, Apple's 3rd computer didn't really win in the market place. Why was that? Was the machine setup for …

Episode 104 - Sketchpad

March 19th, 2023

1:13:39

We're finally taking a look at Sketchpad. This program was completed in 1963 as Ivan Sutherland's Ph.D. research. On the surface it looks like a very fancy drawing program. Under the hood it's hiding some impressive …

Episode 103 - The Text Interface

March 6th, 2023

1:01:08

This episode I attempt to find the first interactive computer text interface. All I can say is, well, it's a journey.   Selected Sources:   https://sci-hub.se/10.2307/3917015 - Early article on Stibitz's CNC Model …

Episode 102 - Application of Ada

February 20th, 2023

1:05:12

This episode picks up where we left off last time. We are looking at Ada and its applications. How does Ada handle tasking? What's the deal with objects? And, most importantly, what are some neat uses of the language? …

Episode 101 - Origins of Ada

February 6th, 2023

1:02:25

Ada is a fascinating language with a fascinating history. It was initially developed as part of a Department of Defence project. The plan was to …

Episode 100 - Updates and Mysteries

January 23rd, 2023

1:12:56

Advent of Computing has finally reached 100 episodes! Today we are taking a break from the usual content to discuss the show, it's arc, and some of …

Episode 99 - The Berkeley Software Distribution

January 9th, 2023

1:09:55

UNIX is a big deal. It's one of the most influential programs in history. Most operating systems that we use today can trace their lineage back to UNIX. The only notable exception at this point is Windows. But all …

Episode 98 - The Canon Cat

December 26th, 2022

1:10:28

This time we are looking at a somewhat obscure machine: the Canon Cat. Designed by Jef Raskin, the Cat is sometimes called the spiritual successor …

Episode 97 - What Exactly IS A Database? Part II

December 13th, 2022

1:07:41

We've approach the beast itself: SQL. Or, as it used to be known, SEQUEL. In this episode we will discuss how early navigational databases failed, and how we were able to move past them into a relational future. It's a …

Episode 96 - What Exactly IS A Database? Part I

November 28th, 2022

1:00:17

I've fallen into a bit of a data rabbit hole, and you get to join me. In this episode I'm starting my journey to understand where databases came …

Episode 95 - Aspen Movie Map

November 14th, 2022

1:06:27

So far I've strayed away from hypermedia in my larger hypertext coverage. This episode helps to fix that. Today we are looking at Aspen Movie Map, a …

Episode 94 - Robots, and the End of Humanity

October 30th, 2022

1:14:55

Robots have always fascinated and horrified humanity in equal measure. The prospect of a synthetic lifeform is at times exciting, but can quickly turn south. Luckily we've never gotten that far... or have we? This …

Episode 93 - Fun and (Horror) Games

October 16th, 2022

1:04:16

Anybody up for a fright? This episode we are looking at 3 of the earliest horror video games I can find. Over this journey we will look at different programmatic ways to instill fear, how platforms can affect the route …

Episode 92 - Copy Protection

October 2nd, 2022

1:25:44

It's Spook Month 2022! To kick things off we are diving into the frustrating depth of copy protection, piracy, and the origins of commercial software. In 1969 the Great Unbundling made the software market viable for …

Episode 91 - Whirlwind

September 18th, 2022

1:23:16

Whirlwind represents a fascinating story of transition. The project started in the middle of the 1940s as an analog machine. As times changed it became a digital device. By 1951 it was perhaps the fastest computer in …

Episode 90 - Where Did The S100 Bus Go?

September 4th, 2022

1:20:03

In the last half of the 70s there was one gold standard in home computing: S100. This was a standardized bus that was the heart of many computers. …

Episode 89 - Forth

August 21st, 2022

1:16:54

What language has two stacks? What language is used on satellites and in home computers? What language deals in words? Why, Forth, of course! Forth is a highly unique language developed in the 60s by Chuck Moore. And …

Episode 88 - BEFLIX, Early Digital Animation

August 7th, 2022

1:14:38

Digital animation has really become an artform in and of itself. In the current epoch these animations play out on fancy bitmapped displays, but it's …

Episode 87 - The ILLIAC Suite

July 24th, 2022

1:08:09

Can a computer be creative? Can we program a machine to make art? It turns out the answer is yes, and it doesn't even take artificial intelligence. This episode we are diving in to the ILLIAC Suite, a piece for string …

Episode 86 - Fluidic Computing

July 10th, 2022

1:15:33

What is a computer? A miserable pile of electrons!

But... not necessarily. I have yet to find a fully satisfying definition for "computer" that …

Episode 85 - Visi On, the PC GUI

June 26th, 2022

1:14:32

More Visi-fun ahead! Today we are looking at Visi On, a visionary user interface developed for home computers. Along the way we will discuss smalltalk, portability, and how the slick graphics over at Xerox were adapted …

Episode 84 - VisiCalc, the Killer App

June 12th, 2022

1:07:04

Today we are looking at VisiCalc, the original killer app. Hitting the market in 1979, VisiCalc was the first computer spreadsheet program. Through it's 6 year lifespan it was ported to everything from the Apple II to …

Episode 83 - SEAC

May 29th, 2022

1:09:15

The  Standards Eastern Automatic Computer was built by the National Bureau of Standards in 1948. It started crunching numbers in 1950 and stayed in constant operation until... 1964!  This early machine, festooned with …

Episode 82.5 - Aaron Reed Interview, 50 Years of Text Games

May 22nd, 2022

40:27

In this episode I talk with Aaron Reed, author of 50 Years of Text Games. We discuss the history of computer games, interactive fiction, business "gaming", and why we all love Adventure.

You can find Aaron's work here:

Episode 82 - Juggling Jobs with OS-9

May 15th, 2022

1:00:59

Multitasking: we all do it. For a feature of modern computing multitasking has surprisingly old roots. It started out as timesharing on vacuum tube …

Episode 81 - A Ballad in 2600 Hertz

May 1st, 2022

1:05:48

There's power in music, but not all tones are created equal. During the reign of Bell Telephone there was one tone in particular that opened up a …

Episode 80 - The Analytical Engine

April 17th, 2022

1:13:32

When people talk about early computers Babbage's Analytical Engine is bound to come up. Designed back in the 1830's it's definitely older than any …

Episode 79 - ZOG: Military Strength Hypertext

April 3rd, 2022

1:11:47

We're getting back to my hypertext series with a big of an obscure tale. ZOG is a hypertext system what was first developed in 1972 at Carnegie-Melon University. It then stagnated until the latter half of the 1970s …

Episode 78 - INTERCAL and Esoterica

March 20th, 2022

1:05:42

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 joke? Is it a form …

Episode 77 - Magnetic Memories

March 7th, 2022

1:09:16

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 …

Episode 76 - Star Trek the (Unofficial) Game

February 22nd, 2022

1:01:55

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 see the issue with …

Episode 75 - A Cybernetic Future

February 7th, 2022

1:07:29

Cybernetics is broadly defined as the study of control and communications, with a special emphasis on feedback-based systems. Put another way: …

Episode 74 - The Elegance of LISP

January 24th, 2022

1:09:24

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 …

Episode 73 - IPL, AI, and Linked Lists

January 10th, 2022

1:10:30

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 roots of AI and why list …

Episode 72 - Viatron Topples IBM

December 27th, 2021

1:11:26

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. They were offering a …

Episode 71 - 6502, The Mini-Microprocessor

December 13th, 2021

1:02:35

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 …

Episode 70 - The oN-Line System, Part 2

November 29th, 2021

1:05:11

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, pioneered remote …

Episode 69 - The oN-Line System, Part 1

November 15th, 2021

1:02:44

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, pioneered remote …

Episode 68 - Zork

October 31st, 2021

1:06:35

Make sure you have some extra batteries for your lamp, this episode we are delving into the depths of Zork. Written in 1977 Zork would quickly …

Episode 67 - Debug!

October 17th, 2021

1:03:45

This episode I face my greatest fears: computer bugs. We are going to dive into the origin of the term, and examine the origins of debugging. The simple fact is that as soon as computers hit the scene we start finding …

Episode 66 - Viruses and the PC

October 3rd, 2021

1:02:53

It's Spook Month on Advent of Computing! Every October we cover the more spooky, scary, and frustrating side of computers. To kick off this year we are looking at viruses again, this time with a special eye to the …

Episode 65 - Teletype, Teleprint, and Telegrams

September 19th, 2021

56:07

In today's episode we take a long hard look at the telegraph, and try to see how character encoding developed. We are dealing with 100% …

Episode 64 - Gemini's Tiny Machine

September 5th, 2021

1:02:59

Today we are talking about computers in space! 1964 saw the launch of Gemini I, the first spacecraft to carry an onboard computer. The aptly named Gemini Guidance Computer was responsible for guidance, navigation, and …

Episode 63 - What's With The Wedge, Part 2

August 22nd, 2021

56:45

This concludes my series on the distinctive shape of early home computers. In this episode we finally cover the Sol-20 itself, the first system on …

Episode 62 - What's With The Wedge? Part 1

August 8th, 2021

58:59

Early home microcomputers have a very distinctive shape to them. From the Apple II and the ZX Spectrum, to the Commodore 64 and the Amiga, wedged were the order of the day. I've always wondered why that shape became so …

Episode 61 - FRESS and Practical Hypertext

July 25th, 2021

1:01:45

Hypertext has really become a core offering of daily life, and defined the face of the Internet for decades. But the links and formatting we know so well only make up part of the story. Today we are looking at …

Bonus Episode - Q&A

July 18th, 2021

52:04

It's here! My celebratory question and answer episode! Contains ramblings on my checkered past, why computer history is important, and why FOIA is so …

Episode 60 - COBOL Never Dies

July 11th, 2021

1:08:05

COBOL! Just its name can strike terror in the hearts of programmers. This language is old, it follows its own strange syntax, and somehow still runs …

Episode 59 - ALOHANET

June 27th, 2021

1:04:12

ALOHANET was a wireless networking project started at the University of Hawaii in 1968. Initially, it had relatively little to do with ARPANET. But …

Episode 58 - Mercury Memories

June 13th, 2021

1:07:27

This episode we take a look at the earliest days of computing, and one of the earliest forms of computer memory. Mercury delay lines, originally developed in the early 40s for use in radar, are perhaps one of the …

Episode 57 - Simulated Sumeria

May 30th, 2021

1:00:45

Where did educational games come from? According to some, the practice of using games in classrooms started in the early 60s with the appearance of the Sumerian Game. However, the story is more complicated than that. …

Episode 56 - TMS9900, an Alternate Future

May 16th, 2021

1:08:12

The TI TMS9900 is a fascinating microprocessor. It was the first 16-bit microprocessor on the market, it has a unique architecture that makes it …

Episode 55 - Project Xanadu

May 2nd, 2021

1:05:38

Project Xanadu, started in 1960, is perhaps the oldest hypertext system. It's creator, Ted Nelson, coined the term hypertext just to describe Xanadu. …

Episode 54 - C Level, Part II

April 18th, 2021

58:44

Even after nearly 50 years C remains a force in the programming world. Anytime you brows the web, or even log into a computer, C is somewhere in the background. This episode I wrap up my series on C by looking at it's …

Episode 53 - C Level, Part I

April 4th, 2021

1:05:20

C is easily one of the most influential programming languages in the world, and it's also one of the most popular languages in the world. Even after …

Episode 52 - THE SOURCE

March 21st, 2021

57:39

One of the great things about the modern Internet is the wide range of services and content available on it. You have news, email, games, even podcasts. And in each category you have a wide range of choices. This wide …

Episode 51 - The IBM PC

March 8th, 2021

1:10:12

Released in August 1981, the IBM PC is perhaps one of the most important computers in history. It originated the basic architecture computers still use today, it flung the doors open to a thriving clone market, and …

Episode 50 - 8086: The Unexpected Future

February 22nd, 2021

1:01:53

The Intel 8086 may be the most important processor ever made. It's descendants are central to modern computing, while retaining an absurd level of backwards compatibility. For such an important chip it had an unexpected …

Episode 49 - Numeric Control and Digital Westerns

February 8th, 2021

59:03

Saga II was a program developed in 1960 that automatically wrote screenplays for TV westerns. Outwardly it looks like artificial intelligence, but that's not entirely accurate. Saga has much more in common with CNC …

Episode 48 - Electric Ping-Pong

January 25th, 2021

57:33

Sometimes an idea is so good it keeps showing up. Electronic ping-pong games are one of those ideas. The game was independently invented at least twice, in 1958 and then in 1966. But, here's the thing, PONG didn't come …

Episode 47.5 - Lars Brinkhoff Interview, Preserving ITS

January 18th, 2021

21:28

Lars Brinkhoff has been spearheading the effort to keep the incompatible Timesharing System alive. Today we sit down to talk about the overall ITS …

Episode 47 - ITS: Open Computing

January 11th, 2021

51:39

Modern operating systems adhere to a pretty rigid formula. They all have users with password-protected accounts and secure files. They all have …

Episode 46 - Hacker Folklore

December 28th, 2020

56:16

Hacker hasn't always been used to describe dangerous computer experts will ill intent. More accurately it should be sued to describe those enamored …

Episode 45 - Keeping Things BASIC

December 14th, 2020

57:13

BASIC is a strange language. During the early days of home computing it was everywhere you looked, pretty much every microcomputer in the 70s and early 80s ran BASIC. For a time it filled a niche almost perfectly, it …

Episode 44 - ENIAC, Part II

November 30th, 2020

59:47

In 1946 John Eckert and John Mauchly left the Moore School, patented ENIAC, and founded a company. One of those discussions would have consequences …

Episode 43 - ENIAC, Part I

November 16th, 2020

56:37

Completed in 1945, ENIAC was one of the first electronic digital computers. The machine was archaic, but highly influential. But it wasn't a totally new take on computing. Today we are taking a look at the slow birth of …

Episode 42 - IBM Gets Personal

November 2nd, 2020

1:01:43

This episode is not about the IBM PC. In 1981 the Personal Computer would change the world. Really, it's hard to talk about home computing without …

Episode 41 - Return of Viruses: The Spread

October 18th, 2020

49:52

It's time to round out spook month with a return to one of last year's topics: the computer virus. Malicious code traveling over networks is actually a relatively new phenomenon, early viruses were much different. In …

Episode 40 - Spam, Email, and Best Intentions

October 4th, 2020

55:41

Spam emails are a fact of modern life. Who hasn't been sent annoying and sometimes cryptic messages from unidentified addresses? To understand where spam comes from we need to look at the origins of email itself. Email …

Episode 39 - Learning Along the Oregon Trail

September 20th, 2020

58:36

We've all played the Oregon Trail, but what do you know about it's origins? First developed as a mainframe program all the way back in 1971, the Oregon Trail was intended as an educational game first and foremost. In …

Episode 38 - JOVIAL, the Evolution of Programming

September 6th, 2020

54:38

The creation of FORTRAN and early compilers set the stage to change computing forever. However, they were just the start of a much longer process. Just like a spoken language, programming languages have morphed and …

Episode 37 - The Rise of DOS

August 23rd, 2020

46:06

Is there a more iconic duo than the IBM PC and MS-DOS? Microsoft's Disk Operating System would be the final success that turned the company into what …

Episode 36 - The Rise of CP/M

August 9th, 2020

52:56

The IBM PC and MS-DOS, the iconic duo of the early 80s. The two are so interconnected that it's hard to mention one without the other. But in 1980 DOS wasn't IBM's first choice for their soon-to-be flagship hardware. …

Episode 35 - Analog Computing and the Automatic Totalisator

July 26th, 2020

48:32

A lot of the technology we associate with the modern day started on anachronistic machines. I'm not talking about mainframes, I'm talking older. …

Episode 34 - 8080 VS Z80

July 12th, 2020

46:06

In 1974 Intel released the 8080 processor, a chip long in the making. It was the first microprocessor that had the right combination of power and price to make personal computers viable. But that same year a small group …

Episode 33.5 - Brad Chase Interview, Marketing Lead for Windows 95 and Much More

July 5th, 2020

26:26

I recently got the chance to sit down and talk with Microsoft alumni Brad Chase. He was the product manager for Microsoft Works on the Macintosh, DOS 5, DOS 6, and the marketing lead for Windows 95 as well as much more. …

Episode 33 - Becoming Portable

June 28th, 2020

51:15

Portable computing is now totally ubiquitous. There's a good chance you are listening to this episode on a tiny portable computer right now. But where did it all come from? As it turns out the first portable computer …

Episode 32 - Road to Transistors, Part II

June 14th, 2020

46:29

In this episode we finish up our look at the birth of the transistor. But to do that we have to go back to 1880, the crystal radio detector, and examine the development of semiconductor devices. Once created the …

Episode 31 - Road to Transistors: Part I

May 31st, 2020

50:35

The transistor changed the world. It made small, complex, and cheap computing possible. But it wasn't the first attempt to crack the case. There is a long and strange lineage of similar devices leading up to the …

Episode 30 - Coherent Is Not UNIX!

May 17th, 2020

46:33

In the current day Linux is the most widely used UNIX-like operating system. It's rise to prominence has been an amazing success story. From it's humble beginnings Linux has grown to power everything from super …

Episode 29.5 - A Guided Tour of the Macintosh

May 10th, 2020

9:28

In this byte sized episode I take a look at a pack in that came with the first Macintosh. Along side Apple stickers, manuals, and the computer itself there was a single cassette tape labeled "A Guided Tour of the …

Episode 29 - PCM, Origins of Digital Audio

May 3rd, 2020

45:23

Every day we are inundated with digital audio: phone calls, music, even this podcast. Digitized sound has become so ubiquitous that it often fades …

Episode 28 - Applesoft BASIC, Microsoft and Apple's First Collaboration

April 19th, 2020

39:47

It's easy to think of Apple and Microsoft as bitter rivals, but that's not always the case. The two companies have a very complicated relationship, and a very long history. This connection goes all the way back to the …

Episode 27 - Vectrex, Playing With Vectors

April 5th, 2020

43:25

The 1980s were a turbulent and fast-moving decade for the video game industry. There were huge success stories, rapid advancements in technology, and …

Episode 26 - Memex and Hyperlinks

March 22nd, 2020

41:38

The widespread use of the internet has shaped our world, it's hard do imagine the modern day without it. One of the biggest featured would have to be …

Episode 25 - Making Disks Flexible, Part 2

March 8th, 2020

39:07

The floppy disk is one of the most iconic pieces of technology. While not in use in the modern day there was a period of 40 years where the floppy …

Episode 24 - Making Disks Flexible, Part 1

February 24th, 2020

42:27

The floppy disk was a ubiquitous technology for nearly 40 years. From mainframes to home computers, the plastic disk was everywhere. And in the …

Episode 23 - FORTRAN, Compilers, and Early Programming

February 10th, 2020

51:10

Our modern world is full of software, it's what makes everything tick. The sheer amount of code that goes into something like keeping the internet …

Episode 22 - Going Rogue

January 26th, 2020

45:15

Many video games today make use of randomized content, some more than others. It may seem like an obvious feature, but it turns out that procedural generation didn't really catch on in video games until the 1980 release …

Episode 21 - 8008: Intel's Second Shot

January 13th, 2020

31:35

It's time to continue our deep dive into the legacy of Intel's processors. This episode we will be looking at the 8008, the second microprocessor produced by Intel and the progenitor of the x86 family. Along the way we …

Episode 20.5 - Cooking in Y2K

January 6th, 2020

11:43

In this mini episode we will look at the Y2K bug, and some of the recipes it spawned. That's right, we are talking about Y2K cookbooks!

You can find all more Y2K compliant food here:

Episode 20 - PLATO Part 2: An Online Revolution

December 30th, 2019

37:25

In the conclusion to our discussion of PLATO we look at the final incarnation of the system: PLATO IV. How did an educational machine turn into one of the earliest online communities? What was it like to use PLATO at …

Episode 19 - PLATO Part 1: A Revolution in Teaching

December 16th, 2019

38:16

In  the 1960s a small project started at the University of Illinois. This project, called PLATO, would go on to pioneer a truly impressive amount of …

Episode 18 - Evolution of the Mouse

December 2nd, 2019

33:10

The computer mouse is a ubiquitous device, it's also one of the least changed devices we use with a computer. The mice we use today have only seen small incremental improvements since the first mouse was developed. So …

Episode 17.5 - Bill's Problem with Piracy

November 25th, 2019

10:26

In this mini-episode we look at a strange event in Microsoft's early history and their first case of piracy. Along the way you will learn about the best advetrizing campaign in history: the MITS MOBILE Computer Caravan!

Episode 17 - The BBC Domesday Project

November 18th, 2019

33:05

In 1086 William the Conqueror commissioned a survey of England that would come to be known as the Domesday Book. 900 years later the BBC would create …

Episode 16 - 4004: The First Microprocessor

November 4th, 2019

29:37

Intel is one of the dominant forces in the computer industry today, they may be most well known for their line of microprocessors. These chips have powered computers going back to the early days of microcomputers. How …

Episode 15 - Lost in the Colossal Cave

October 20th, 2019

28:57

Colossal Cave Adventure is one of the most influential video games of all time. Originally written for the DEC PDP-10 mainframe in 1975 the game has …

Episode 14 - Creeping Towards Viruses

October 6th, 2019

29:12

Computer viruses today pose a very real threat. However, it turns out that their origins are actually very non-threatening. Today, we are going to look at some of the first viruses. We will see how they developed from …

Episode 13.5 - Minitel Research Lab Interview, with Julien Mailland and Kevin Driscoll

September 29th, 2019

34:05

Today I am joined by Julien Mailland and Kevon Driscoll, co-authors of Minitel: Welcome to the Internet and proprietors of the Minitel Research …

Episode 13 - Minitel, the French Network Connection

September 22nd, 2019

29:14

Today we are dipping back into the deep and complex history of the proto-internet. We are going to be looking at Minitel, a France-Wide-Web that was built in the 1980s as a way to help the country stay relevant in the …

Episode 12 - Journey to Altair

September 8th, 2019

32:20

Today we are going to be traveling back to the late 1970s to take a look at the early days of the home computer. And specifically how Microsoft found …

Episode 11 - Spacewar! (the Game)

August 25th, 2019

24:46

It really seems like in the last decade video games have gone from a somewhat niche hobby to a widespread part of our culture. Nowadays, there are a …

Episode 10.5 - The Jargon File

August 18th, 2019

10:56

In this mini-episode we look at the Jargon File, an early primary source about hacker culture.

The most recent version of the file lives here: 

Episode 10 - Networking for a Nuclear War, the Americans

August 11th, 2019

27:52

In this episode we are going to explore the ARPANET. This is a companion to the last episode, which covered contemporary Soviet attempts to create an …

Episode 9 - Networking for a Nuclear War, the Soviets

July 28th, 2019

27:39

Often times people assume the US is the homeland of the internet. Funded by the US Department of Defence, the first attempts at a large-scale network …

Episode 8 - Acorn and the BBC

July 14th, 2019

30:41

The Raspberry Pi had been a huge success at its stated goals, and continues to be. But, this isn't the first time a British company would design and …

Episode 7 - Attack of the PC Clones

June 30th, 2019

23:29

Today, I want to share with you the story of the first PC clones and how they cemented the rise of the x86 chipset.

 

Most of this story takes place between 1981 and 1984, but I think it's fair to say that these 3 years …

Episode 6.5 - Edge-Notched

June 23rd, 2019

6:50

In this byte-sized episode we look at edge-notched cards. A punch card adjacent technology with a strange connection to the early internet.

Episode 6 - Digital Voices

June 16th, 2019

25:28

What are the origins of our modern day text-to-speech systems? In this episode we will dive into the rich history of electronic talking machines. Along the way I will tell you the story of the vocoder, the first singing …

Episode 5 - Unix for the People, Part 2

June 2nd, 2019

29:57

Now, as the name suggests this is the second part of a series on the history of UNIX. Part 1 mainly covers the background leading up to UNIX. If you haven't listened to it yet, I strongly suggest you go do that now. A …

Episode 4.5 - Space Travel!

May 27th, 2019

5:52

In this mini-episode we talk about Space Travel, an obscure video game from 1969.

Episode 4 - Unix for the People, Part 1

May 20th, 2019

23:32

Many people have never even heard of Unix, an operating system first released in the early 1970s. But that doesn't change the fact that all of the internet, and nearly every computer or smart device you interact with is …

Episode 3 - Mythic Macintosh

May 5th, 2019

26:41

The original Apple Macintosh, later rebranded the Macintosh 128k, is inarguably one of the most recognizable vintage computers. Even it's design has become iconic: a single 3 ½ inch floppy drive and 9 inch …

Episode 2 - The Demo

April 22nd, 2019

23:03

A lot of newer technology doesn't expressly say it's going to "revolutionize the human experience", but sometimes, that line may actually be closer …

Episode 1 - Folded Spindled and Mutilated

April 9th, 2019

26:39

Today, I want to share with you a technology that shambles among us as a corpse that refuses to die. That is, of course, the punch card. In this …

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