Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!nsc!pyramid!isieng!roy
From: roy@isieng.UUCP (Roy Wells)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: USSR Microcomputers: How far behind US?
Message-ID: <1203@isieng.UUCP>
Date: 9 May 89 17:00:16 GMT
References: <1805@orion.cf.uci.edu> <8013@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <528@laic.UUCP> <1905@etive.ed.ac.uk> <4366@ttidca.TTI.COM>
Reply-To: roy@isieng.UUCP (Roy Wells)
Organization: Integrated Solutions, Inc., San Jose, CA
Lines: 29

In article <4366@ttidca.TTI.COM> hollombe@ttidcb.tti.com (The Polymath) writes:
>In article <1905@etive.ed.ac.uk> nick@lfcs.ed.ac.uk (Nick Rothwell) writes:
>}Well, in Space Research in particular, I get the impression that the USSR
>}have some advantages. How come their space shuttle can land itself, but the
>}American one can't?
>
>I think ours has the capability, but it's reserved for emergency use
>because of safety considerations.  I helped with some of the initial
>testing and development of the Heads Up Display (HUD).  It provides a
>zero-zero landing capability, among other things, but, for obvious
>reasons, they avoid using it in that capacity.

Also remember that our shuttle has really antique computers onboard.  
If memory serves (small pun here) the Shuttle's main computer has 
all of 64KB DRAM.  The reason?  The Shuttle was designed in the 
1970s, using the technology of that time.  

Putting an AT aboard the Shuttle would measureably increase it's 
computing power.

What boggles the brain is that we won't retrofit the thing with 
something more modern.


-- 
Roy Wells				| Clothes make the man.  Naked 
Integrated Solutions			| people have little or no influence
My opinions are mine.  They are 	| on society.
available for rent, though.		| -- Mark Twain