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Back in November, a reader named Allison left this comment under one of Will’s early ‘Show Off Your Smarts!’ posts: “I love this feature! It’s like being at a party where EVERYONE is interesting, and I get the feeling that I can join the conversation too.”
So in that spirit, we’re renaming this feature “Friday Happy Hour.” Like before, I’ll throw out a broad topic to get us started. But don’t let that restrict you. If you read or heard or know something other virtual partygoers will find intriguing, bring it on. I tend to find parties with strict rules off-putting.
Today’s initial topic is computer lore. Did you know that Apple originally trademarked the iPod name for a public internet kiosk, a project that never materialized? That Microsoft paid the Rolling Stones $12 million to use “Start Me Up” for the Windows 95 launch? That in 1976, the Apple I was launched with a suggested retail price of $666? I’m going to get a drink; talk amongst yourselves. Since it’s barely 1pm in my home time zone, that drink will likely be a Diet Barq’s Root Beer. I’m wild.
And remember, feel free to change the subject. It’s a party, not a test.
Though he isn’t often credited for it, John Atanasoff is the creator of the first electronic digital computer. While developing the idea, he took a road trip with no destination in mind, and ended up having a break through while at a bar in Rock Island, Illinois. The computer was physicall build by Clifford Berry, a graduate student at Iowa State University in the 1940s, and when it was all said and done, they called it the Atanasoff Berry Computer or ABC for short.
posted by Lindsay D on 7-6-2007 at 12:01 pm
Oh, and can anyone tell me where the olives and lemon slices are?
posted by Lindsay D on 7-6-2007 at 12:06 pm
C is the language du jour for the coding of many systems-level functions on modern computers, but why is it called C? Believe it or not C’s predecessor is called B, and B came from a simplification of the BCPL (Basic Combined Programming Language), which was a simplification of CPL, which was based on Algol 60. So in many ways C is the bastard grandchild of Algol. :) Also, BCPL was the first language to use {}s.
posted by Leadhyena on 7-6-2007 at 12:22 pm
Since this is a cocktail party — I’m drowning my weekly sorrows with ‘Dew … I’ll toss this in –
Leadhyena said:
Also, BCPL was the first language to use {}s.
So, no wonder there were problems. Who can run a computer with HUggzzz???
okay. I’m drunk on the ‘Dew.
posted by WizardBoy on 7-6-2007 at 12:28 pm
Can anyone here name the month/day/year when MTV first aired and what its first video was? I suppose this question is probably well known by now, but it used to stump folks all the time…oh, and no googling…geez, you can’t ask trivia anymore w/ google (who i dearly love) to give away all the answers…
posted by donner on 7-6-2007 at 12:31 pm
On the Windows/Rolling Stones story….
Microsoft initially chased after REM, wanting to use their song “It’s the End of the World As We Know it (and I Feel FIne)” for the commercial that eventually featured “Start Me Up.” As it turns out, REM has a strict no-commercial policy for their tunes, so Microsoft was forced to turn to Mick and co.
As someone who works in ad-land, I’d venture that this tale worked out for the best for Mr. Gates.
posted by DrewB on 7-6-2007 at 12:33 pm
I don’t know what day it was, but I know the song was something like, “Video killed the radio star.” Something along those lines.
posted by Ki on 7-6-2007 at 12:37 pm
donner, I don’t know when MTV was first launched (that was a bit before my time), but I do know that the first video played was Video Killed the Radio Star (how appropriate too!) by The Buggles.
posted by Lindsay D on 7-6-2007 at 12:39 pm
August 1, 1981
posted by Rico Suave on 7-6-2007 at 12:40 pm
My memes for today:
Seven commandments you haven’t broken yet.
posted by GoinglikeSixty on 7-6-2007 at 12:42 pm
Aha, yes. I always feel a little silly when I refresh my page only to discover that someone has posted the exact same thing 2 minutes before hand.
So to redeem myself, I’ll ask a question. And no googling! (Shame on you if you google the answer)
What was the name of the person who invented the switching system we use in our telephones today, what was his profession, and why did he feel the need to stray away from the super neat rollerskating switch board operators?
posted by Lindsay D on 7-6-2007 at 12:42 pm
Wasn’t it in early 1981 or ‘82? Way before my time, so I have no idea, but I think thats what I remember hearing.
now, off to google to check it out.
posted by Amy on 7-6-2007 at 12:43 pm
Speaking of things that have to do with Apple Computer, my parents attended the bar mitzvah of the guy who later grew up to create the “Graphing Calculator” application for the original PowerPC. He worked at Apple entirely without pay to make sure the application functioned and shipped with the computer - it’s a great story.
Google up “Ron Avitzur Apple” and click on the “Graphing Calculator 1.0″ link if you’re interested in reading the entire thing. I think it’s my favorite tale of dedication and tenacity.
posted by Mary on 7-6-2007 at 12:43 pm
MTV was launched in 1981. I know that only because my sister was born in the same year.
I’m not sure of the month or date (if it was April, than MTV and my sister are the same age), but I’m pretty sure the first video was “Video Killed the Radio Star”.
And no, I don’t know the artist, but I feel that I should.
posted by Lindsay S. on 7-6-2007 at 12:43 pm
My guess is
Sep 8th, 1981. And it was Video killed The Radio Star.
posted by Hal on 7-6-2007 at 12:43 pm
One NASA program, related to satellite tracking, was still using (among other things) a Nova 1200, a PDP-11 and LINC tape, as late as 1995.
posted by Lyam on 7-6-2007 at 12:59 pm
Hey, I love the party and I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to Ron Wayne who sold out of Apple in the beginning for, what was it, $800.00 for 10% of the company?
posted by Jane on 7-6-2007 at 1:02 pm
I remember hearing about that graphing calculator bit. Great story.
posted by DrewB on 7-6-2007 at 1:05 pm
I’d never heard the Ron Wayne story. Fascinating. This is from a 1997 CNET “Where are they now” story:
By some accounts, Ronald Wayne is Apple’s equivalent of the fifth Beatle. Steve Jobs, who worked with Wayne at Atari, recruited the chief field service engineer reportedly as a “tie-breaker” between himself and cofounder Steve Wozniak. Wayne became a partner for ten percent stock in Apple, according to the Mac Bathroom Reader, but relinquished his stake for $800 only two weeks after the company was founded. He now holds an engineering position with a defense contractor in Salinas, California.
news.com.com/2009-1023-259624.html
posted by Jason on 7-6-2007 at 1:10 pm
For the un-american out there, the first vid on MTV Europe was Dire Straits’ Money for nothing.. featuring top of the range cgi for the time, top notch!
posted by soops on 7-6-2007 at 1:22 pm
MTV was “before your time”??? You guys make me feel so old. I couldn’t afford cable in 1981, so I didn’t watch MTV, but I played the Buggles tune on air as a new song. Yeah, those radio stars didn’t get paid much.
posted by Miss Cellania on 7-6-2007 at 1:43 pm
Me too, Miss Cellania. I would fall asleep with the radio under my pillow and buy new batteries instead of lunch. The late night DJ’s were my friends and heros. It was an intimate and personel
experience that you can’t get with MTV. I could actually call and talk to the radio DJ’s (Even Married One, but that’s another story)
posted by Jane on 7-6-2007 at 1:56 pm
Who is still on here wasting the next 45 minutes away?
posted by Janet on 7-6-2007 at 2:15 pm
As an ISU alum I know all about Atanasoff, I spent many hours of my youth in Atanasoff hall working on computer programs that didn’t work.
Without googling… do you know why Atanasoff and Berry created their computer?
Since I’m a lightwieght, I’ll drink the $1 diet pepsi and hang out at the bar.
posted by Scott on 7-6-2007 at 2:17 pm
I’m here, all hopped up on diet root beer. Janet, did you ever get your prize from the Count My Change contest?
posted by Jason on 7-6-2007 at 2:18 pm
I didn’t mean “before my time”. That sounds wrong - I meant that MTV came on before my time, 4 years to be exact. I’m not implying anyone here is old, just that I’m young.
posted by Lindsay D on 7-6-2007 at 2:18 pm
To Scott:
Yep! He was working on his doctoral thesis, and had to go through weeks and weeks! of calculations even with help of the best calculating machine at the time. That’s when he got interested in creating a faster machine for computing. Iowa State gets Atanasoff and the computer, Univ. of Iowa gets Van Allen and his radiation belts. In a fight, Van Allen would win. Conclusion: Hawkeyes = better than Cyclones. Sorry Scott. I still like you though.
posted by Lindsay D on 7-6-2007 at 2:26 pm
The question I like to ask is, “What was the 2nd video shown on MTV?” A lot of people know what the 1st video was, but very few know that Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run” was #2.
As for computer lore, my favorite is the Bill Gates quote that everyone’s heard: “640k ought to be enough for anybody.”
Except that he never said it and absolutely hates that it’s constantly attributed to him.
posted by Eric on 7-6-2007 at 3:37 pm
If you really want to know who played an important part in cell phone technology look up the famous actress-Hedy Lamar!
posted by Brad on 7-6-2007 at 3:50 pm
I read something a long time ago about a car maker and computer maker. Insulting each other, mentioning that they didn’t go to the start button to shut down and the different makes of cars that come out every year. Does anyone know where I can find the whole thing?
posted by Sara on 7-6-2007 at 6:18 pm
Lindsay D-
I don’t know the name of the man, but as I recall he worked in a funeral home somwhere in the eastern part of the midwest, I believe. The town he lived in had one other funeral home who was his only competition. The wife of his competitor worked as an operator for AT&T and he believed was directing all of his business to his wife.
I totally didn’t google either- I’ve been researching telephone history for a while.
Another fun telco fact: Watson was Bell’s assistant. Watson was also Sherlock Holmes’ assistant. Before Watson and Bell got together, Watson was operating a burgler alarm company. The man to have the first telephone installed in his home, aside from bell, was a man by the name of Edwin T. Holmes , who also operated a burglar alarm company.
posted by Adam on 7-6-2007 at 7:50 pm
Sara: Hope this is what you wanted:
At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, “If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon”.
In response to Bill’s comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason at all, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the road for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single “This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation” warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask “Are you sure?” before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason at all, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to
drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same
manner as the old car.
10.You’d have to press the “Start” button to turn the engine off.
posted by cmk on 7-6-2007 at 10:42 pm
Another thing about “Watson, Bell, and Sherlock Holmes. Wasn’t it Sherlock Holmes that had a mentor named Dr. Bell?
posted by Tdave on 7-6-2007 at 11:21 pm
haha, that’s a great joke! I’ve never heard that one before.
Considering I’m not all that tech savvy (I’m still asking around to try to figure out nhow to set up a wireless connecteion on my laptop) I don’t know a lot of interesting computer stuff, but I DO know that computer designers often ingrave microscopic pictures and messages onto computer chips that can only be seen with a powerful magnifying glass.
There’s even a myth about two irate Intel engineers that engraved BILL SUX onto millions of Pentium chips.
Hrmmm, I’m a minor so I’ll just have a ginger ale with bitters.
posted by heather on 7-6-2007 at 11:51 pm
You all know the story of how Microsoft bought the program that became MS-DOS from a small shop near Seattle, right? The original name was QDOS, which stood for “Quick and Dirty Operating System”.
posted by Wily on 7-7-2007 at 2:35 am
TDave-
Actually, Dr. Joseph Bell is the real person that Doyle based Sherlock Holmes on. I forgot about that part of the connection.
posted by Adam on 7-7-2007 at 11:12 am
I’ve heard that car-computer thing before and it always makes me laugh.
But I don’t think that it’s true for all computers. Just windows.
posted by Alison on 7-8-2007 at 4:55 am
Along the list of car issues, VW drivers would look down their noses at GM drivers, just as Mac users understand their superiority to PC users
posted by Sandra on 7-8-2007 at 6:31 pm
Adam-
That’s right, I forgot about Dr.Joseph Bell.
posted by Tdave on 7-9-2007 at 2:38 am
First computer I ever had contact with was an IBM 860. I was a Systems Engineering student at the University of Arizona in the 60s.
It (the 860) took up the entire third floor of the Engineering building at UofA and consumed a major fraction of the output of Tucson Gas & Electric - they eventually built a new power plant to accomodate the shortages.
It had no RAM, used magnetic toroids, and was “programmed” with Hollerith cards, and consisted of about 10,000 7A7 & 7A14 vacuum tubes. It was, in fact, a really big, expensive, and faulty adding machine.
For my senior project I was told to compute pi to 4 decimal places. There was no debugging - if it didn’t like your cards it would just spit them out and you started from the beginning. It took a deck of cards about a foot thick to do the programming. I learned to read Hollerith cards as well as I read English literature.
At the end of the semester, after many late-night hours of poring over my cards, I finally approached one of the TAs and asked why I couldn’t get the right result. Was told that the computer never rounded off, so 3.14159 would be seen by the computer as 3.1415, hence my difficulty.
As an aside, there was a guy who worked in the guts of the Beast - his job was to replace tubes that burnt out. His work uniform was a pair of shorts, special shoes that wouldn’t melt on the hot floors of the mainframe’s innards, and a tool belt with an assortment of replacement vacuum tubes. He took breaks every 20 minutes because of dehydration.
We’ve come a long way, I think…
posted by Doc on 7-10-2007 at 8:40 am
BTW: Oh - bartender, I’ll have a single-malt Scotch with a Newcastle Ale back.
Thanks.
posted by Doc on 7-10-2007 at 8:58 am
Hey Mary,
Who are your parents?
- Ron
posted by Ron on 8-15-2007 at 8:30 pm