Lovely retro pr0n

[Gryzor]

This colourful series of ten historic computers, created in close collaboration with Docubyte, documents the beginning of our computing history.


Featuring such famous machines as the IBM 1401 and Alan Turing's Pilot ACE, Guide to Computing showcases a minimalist approach to design that precedes even Apple's contemporary motifs.


What's more, the combination of Docubyte's photography and our retouching and post-production techniques has resulted in something wholly unique: the ageing historical objects as photographed by Docubyte have been 'digitally restored' and returned to their original form. As a number of these computers pre-date modern colour photography, Guide to Computing therefore showcases them in a never before seen context.

Guide to Computing - Ink




Excuse me while I wipe my drool...

[Bryce]

Dribbling on my keyboard.....

Bryce.

[||C|-|E||]

Thanks for the link! They really look awesome 

[Gryzor]

Dribbling on my keyboard.....

Bryce.

Actually I started sending it in an email just to you and then thought others here will enjoy it as well... but I was sure yours would be the first comment


There's a fantastic coffeetable book with such photography, I'll post it if I remember its name.

[||C|-|E||]

Meh, Bryce was faster! 

If you remember the name of the book it would be really great! 

[Gryzor]

Meh, Bryce was faster! 

If you remember the name of the book it would be really great! 

Eheheh, still




Ah, here it is: https://www.amazon.com/Core-Memory-Visual-Vintage-Computers-ebook/dp/B0089LQFM4?ie=UTF8&keywords=core%20memory&qid=1462871693&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1Well worth tracking it down!

[Bryce]

Which reminds me... I have a 4K Ferrite Core Memory board that I STILL haven't mounted in a frame (as intended to do almost a year ago!!!).

Bryce.

[Gryzor]

You do? That's a crime man!


...and you don't happen to have a second one lying around, do you?


Post a picture if you have any

[Bytebreaker]

Beautiful pictures.
Modern computers are hidden in boxes. If it's not case modding, you have no aesthetic emphasis on the internal parts of a computer.


The old computers seem to be turned "inside out". The symmetric/aesthetic structure of the hardware components corresponds to the invisible logic and structures the computer works with.

[Gryzor]

Well, one of my favorite examples of human-machine interface is taken from the book I mentioned above; a defense installation console from somewhere in the US, it included (right there on the panel)... an ashtray. Like we do with cup holders nowadays

[ivarf]

I was expecting yellow Samantha Fox pictures and C64 Fuck Man in this thread....

[Bryce]

You do? That's a crime man!


...and you don't happen to have a second one lying around, do you?


Post a picture if you have any

I promised to post a picture of this, so here it is: 4K of Ferrite Core Memory.

[attach=2]

Bryce.

[Bryce]

Here's a close-up of the ferrite rings. This particular example is a Russian model from the 60's as far as I know. In fantastic condition considering how fragile they are and its age. Now mounted in a frame in my electronics room (along with other milestones of electronics history).

[attach=2]

Bryce.

[||C|-|E||]

It is amazing that you have one of these that is still intact  The last one I saw was in a museum.

[Bryce]

It's part of my own little museum I collect interesting bits of electronic technology. Mainly stuff from the 50's and 60's. It was an amazing time for electronics.

Bryce.

[MacDeath]

Delicate ? they went to the moon with those...

[Gryzor]

This is so cool. I could stare at it for hours...


How many intersecting points are there?

[Bryce]

The ones that went to the moon were safely inside a frame / box, not loose in some junk box like they tend to be today. Most of the Apollo equipment would have had only ROM in the form of ferrite rope memory anyway, not RAM as this is (well technically it's actually a Flash ROM as they are non-volatile).

Not sure how many intersections. There are 16384 toroids, each has 4 wires going through it. For size reference, the PCB is 140mm x 140mm. Each toroid is 0.75mm diameter. I've rechecked the part number and this part is actually from Bulgaria, so I doubt it was ever used in a space program.

Bryce.

[arnoldemu]

The ones that went to the moon were safely inside a frame / box, not loose in some junk box like they tend to be today. Most of the Apollo equipment would have had only ROM in the form of ferrite rope memory anyway, not RAM as this is (well technically it's actually a Flash ROM as they are non-volatile).

Not sure how many intersections. There are 16384 toroids, each has 4 wires going through it. For size reference, the PCB is 140mm x 140mm. Each toroid is 0.75mm diameter. I've rechecked the part number and this part is actually from Bulgaria, so I doubt it was ever used in a space program.

Bryce.

Have you connected it to a CPC yet?

[Bryce]

Maybe I should make a driver board so that the MegaFlash can use it instead of the W29C040 You'd need 4 plates for one ROM though!

Bryce.

[||C|-|E||]

The great thing about using these would be:

a) it is unlikely they will fail, ever.
b) you can repair them by yourself!

[Bryce]

Trying to repair one of these would be a lot more difficult than simply swapping an IC!

Bryce.

[||C|-|E||]

Ah yes! but try to repair an IC! 

[Bryce]

Try repairing a mesh of wires that are the thickness of a hair and thread 4 of these through a hole less than 0.5mm, at an angle!

Bryce.

[||C|-|E||]

Thinking about it, that would be close to neurosurgery