On Jan 9, 2008, at 11:30 PM, Tracy R Reed wrote:
I have long thought it would be cool to build a simple computer out
of transistors, vacuum tubes, or relays. Not only for the
educational aspects but also for the art of it. And to demonstrate
that a computer is not magical. It is a machine just like any other.
A very complicated one. But a machine all the same. Transistors
themselves almost seem magical so they are out. Vacuum tubes are
expensive and potentially failure prone. But relays seem just right.
They are mechanical devices that people can understand. Put enough
of them together in the right way and you can actually make a semi-
useful computing machine.
I have to say, I've always wondered about exactly the same things.
Thanks for pointing this out, I think it's completely awesome, and
dispels a lot of mysticism that surrounds the "magic black boxes" that
make my computers compute.
Gregory
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Gregory K. Ruiz-Ade <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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