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From: ralphw@ius3.ius.cs.cmu.edu (Ralph Hyre)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: LINC
Keywords: Linc Eight
Message-ID: <2639@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Date: 8 Aug 88 21:13:23 GMT
References: <677@buengc.BU.EDU> <509@aiva.ed.ac.uk>
Sender: netnews@pt.cs.cmu.edu
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
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In article <509@aiva.ed.ac.uk> ken@uk.ac.ed.aiva (Ken Johnson,E32 SB x212E) writes:
>In article <677@buengc.BU.EDU> bph@buengc.UUCP (Blair P. Houghton) writes
>about `Mythical microprocessors'.
>
>The first computer I ever used, in about 1970, was called the `Linc
>Eight', a machine the size of a wardrobe with 4K of memory in real
>ferrite core store and inch-wide Dec-tape.  
Alan Kay speaks fondly of the Linc series processors in the history of
personal computing, but I don't recall him referring to the tape thing as 
Dec-tape, although he mentioned that it was similar.  As I recall,
the early LINCS were considered personal computers because the owner
could see over top of them when placed on a desk.
(I saw the 'Doing with Images makes Symbols' tape today.)

I believe 2500 were made, and many are still operating today, since they are
used to support neurobiology research, and neurons haven't speeded up that 
much in 20 years.

Disclaimer: I may be confusing this with some other machine, but I recall
a TX-2 used for Sutherland's Sketchpad program, then a LINC, then this
desktop monster with a mouse, and so on. 


-- 
					- Ralph W. Hyre, Jr.

Internet: ralphw@ius2.cs.cmu.edu    Phone:(412)268-{2847,3275} CMU-{BUGS,DARK}
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