From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 18898 invoked from network); 3 Oct 2023 21:10:19 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (50.116.15.146) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 3 Oct 2023 21:10:19 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id F17A34094C; Wed, 4 Oct 2023 07:10:17 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mercury.lcs.mit.edu (mercury.lcs.mit.edu [18.26.0.122]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id DD2B2400FC for ; Wed, 4 Oct 2023 07:10:11 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11178) id 9182518C090; Tue, 3 Oct 2023 17:10:10 -0400 (EDT) To: coff@tuhs.org Message-Id: <20231003211010.9182518C090@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2023 17:10:10 -0400 (EDT) From: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) Message-ID-Hash: YQWZIOCERY62HRTMUW7NNA34LBTFHZZU X-Message-ID-Hash: YQWZIOCERY62HRTMUW7NNA34LBTFHZZU X-MailFrom: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header CC: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing List-Id: Computer Old Farts Forum Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: > From: Dan Cross > This is long, but very interesting: https://spectrum.ieee.org/xerox-parc That is _very_ good, and I too recommend it. Irritatingly, for such an otherwise-excellent piece, it contains two glaring, minor errors: "information-processing techniques office" should be 'Information Processing Techniques Office' (its formal name; it's not a description); "the 1,103 dynamic memory chips used in the MAXC design" - that's the Intel 1103 chip. > Markov's book, "What the Dormouse Said" ... goes into great detail > about the interplay between Engelbart's group at SRI and PARC. It's a > very interesting read; highly recommended. It is a good book; it goes a long way into explaining why the now-dominant form of computer user experience appeared on the West coast, ad not the East. One big gripe about it; it doesn't give enough space to Licklider, who more than anyone had the idea that computers were a tool for _all_ information (for everyone, from all walks of life), not just number crunching (for scientists and engineers). Everyone and everything in Dormouse is a descendant of his. Still, we have Mitchell Waldrop's "Dream Machine", which does an excellent job of telling his story. (Personal note: I am sad and ashamed to admit that for several years I had the office literally right next door next to his - and I had no idea who he was! This is kind of like a young physicist having the office right next door next to Einstein, and not knowing who _he_ was! I can only say that the senior people in my group didn't make much of Lick; which didn't help.) Still, get "Dream Machine". Noel