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Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!axion!masalla.fulcrum.bt.co.uk!igb
From: igb@fulcrum.bt.co.uk (Ian G Batten)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.cog-eng,alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Multi-button mice (Re: Xerox sues Apple!)
Message-ID: <|8}X-#@masalla.fulcrum.bt.co.uk>
Date: 19 Dec 89 09:51:56 GMT
References: <172@comcon.UUCP> <7326@ficc.uu.net> <9320@hoptoad.uucp> <1989Dec18.081450.28019@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu> <2253@dataio.Data-IO.COM> <37371@apple.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: igb@fulcrum.bt.co.uk (Ian G Batten)
Organization: BT Fulcrum, Birmingham, England
Lines: 16

baum@apple.UUCP (Allen Baum) writes:
> 
> The terminology of "bucky-bits" precedes Symbolics by quite a bit. It
> originated at Stanford AI Labs in the late 60's, I believe. I can't
> recall how they got named exactly. Perhaps someone who remembers could
> set it straight, and possibly cross-post to alt.computer.folklore

The ``Hacker's Dictionary'', as I recall, traces the use of extensive
shift bits being called ``Bucky Bits'' to Nicklaus Wirth, who suggested
them whilst in the US on a sabatical.  He was nicknamed ``Bucky'' at
the time.

ian

-- 
Ian G Batten, BT Fulcrum - igb@fulcrum.bt.co.uk - ...!uunet!ukc!fulcrum!igb