cfmcdonald's blog

An interesting piece from Ars Technica last month described the divergence between the set of plant species that have been collected by botanists and the set of plant species that have been cataloged into the set of known species.

A group of engineers have done emulation one better. In a a fantastic piece of reverse engineering, they have re-constructed a full-on software simulation of the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, the heart of the Apple, Apple II, Commodore PET, and a number of other early microcomputers and video game consoles.

Just a quick one-off link this time. Given the growing interest I sense in the community in the labor history of computing (see, for example, the recent IEEE Annals issue dedicated to the subject), I thought people might be interested in a recent story from the L.A. Times.

One of my colleagues suggested that a good use of this blog would be to inform those of our members who might not be aware of some the good places to find up-to-date information the latest goings-on in computing.

Here are a few annotated suggestions (as with most of my posts, with a strong American bias. I welcome proposed additions from other parts of the world):

Courtesy of Evan Koblentz' recent mailing list message, behold this ancient analog computing device, Lego-style. The contrast between this device and the older reconstruction of the Babbage Difference Engine is illuminating. The latter aimed to be as faithful as possible to the original in terms of materials and design, in order to prove the viability of the machine within its original historical context.

I recently came across a brand new blog that may be of interest to SIGCISers, Game Internals, by programmer Chad Birch. His first post describes the algorithm used to control the ghosts in Pac-Man (including an interesting bug). Along with the "Pac-Man Dossier" that he links to, it would be a great primary source for a study of the history of video game software. Hopefully Birch will keep the interesting material coming.

A major figure in the history of computing, Britain's Maurice Wilkes, died this past Monday. Obituaries can be found at the Guardian and the Independent; the latter was written by SIGCIS' own Martin Campbell-Kelly.

Last month's Wired magazine contained a story and interview with novelist Jane Smiley, whose recent book, The Man Who Invented the Computer, purports to finally reveal the true author of that device. Hint: The answer rhymes with Batanasoff. I have not had a chance to read the book, but based on the interview Smiley, an alumna of and former professor at John Atansoff's own Iowa State, appears to portray him as a wronged genius, exploited by a devious John Mauchly.

Dear SIGCISers,

I've recently taken up the vacant position of Member Communications for SIGCIS. Expect this blog to be more frequently updated with information and commentary that is (hopefully) of interest to this community. Marie Hicks has also agreed to help me with this task from time to time (thank you!).