On Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:16:14 -0500, Anne & Lynn Wheeler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>One of the earliest IBM attempts to move computing into the hands of >single users was the "SCAMP" project in 1973. This six-month development >effort by the company's General Systems Division (GSD) produced a >prototype device dubbed "Special Computer, APL Machine Portable" (SCAMP) >that PC Magazine in 1983 called a "revolutionary concept" and "the >world's first personal computer." To build the prototype in the short >half-year allowed, its creators acquired off-the-shelf materials for >major components. SCAMP could be used as a desktop calculator, an >interactive APL programming device and as a "dispenser" of canned >applications. The successful demonstration of the prototype in 1973 led >to the launch of the IBM 5100 Portable Computer two years later. Interestingly in light of recent IBM attitudes, the 5100 was running the APL\360 code under an S/360 emulator. One of these beasts showed up at the University of Toronto where I worked, and the sales/demo guy let us play with it. We had heard rumours that it was running an emulator, but no one from IBM would confirm it. By chance, we were aware of a bug in the APL\360 interpreter that caused a program check, which the APL supervisor caught and reported as a System Error. So we carefully keyed in the offending expression, hit enter, and nothing happened. Then we noticed a little red "check" light had come on on the 5100, and it was unresponsive. The IBM guy got all hrumphy, and we weren't allowed to play any more. Of course he couldn't understand that our glee was not at breaking his machine, but at confirming that it was running an emulator. Tony H. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
