[HN Gopher] Memories of Weird Memories, of Computers Past
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       Memories of Weird Memories, of Computers Past
        
       Author : geocrasher
       Score  : 28 points
       Date   : 2021-08-05 05:04 UTC (17 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (madned.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (madned.substack.com)
        
       | nayuki wrote:
       | > The system we were building could theoretically have up to 1GB
       | of memory, but we laughed at this idea at the time, because it
       | would require multiple refrigerator-sized cabinets and millions
       | of dollars to build it, and who needs a gigabyte of memory,
       | anyway?
       | 
       | > Now of course, a USB drive in the back of your desk drawer that
       | is only 1GB gets thrown out for being too small, and a suitable
       | replacement can be found for under $10 at the supermarket
       | checkout stand.
       | 
       | The first few paragraphs made me cringe because the writer
       | conflates volatile memory with non-volatile storage. It's
       | problematic to compare the two types together because for many
       | decades, storage has been an order of magnitude cheaper than
       | memory. The rest of the article isn't that bad.
        
         | JeremyReimer wrote:
         | The distinctions between volatile and non-volatile memory
         | weren't always so distinct!
         | 
         | "Another interesting property of core was that it is a non-
         | volatile system, unlike most of its predecessors. The magnetic
         | field in each ferrite bead is quite durable, and unless the
         | core system is exposed to a strong magnetic source, the state
         | of the memory should last almost indefinitely, even with no
         | power.
         | 
         | That means that all those old computers in storage somewhere,
         | in museums, in landfills or wherever they may be, likely still
         | contain the last program they ever ran. And If you could find a
         | way to power one on, that code could actually run again.
         | 
         | Spooky."
        
           | gumby wrote:
           | When the power went out in Cambridge (MA) the computers in
           | tech square would all crash. But when the power returned the
           | old KA-10s would continue. The only semiconductor memory was
           | the machine registers (in DTL, not TTL, logic). So the
           | program running at the time would crash, but unless the
           | machine was in the monitor (kernel in today's parlance)
           | everything else could continue just fine.
        
           | JoeAltmaier wrote:
           | Not really. I had a core plane in a desk drawer for years.
           | Each time I got it out to show someone, bits of core would
           | shake out onto the floor. See, the little ceramic cores decay
           | over time and fall apart. By now (if I hadn't gotten rid of
           | it) it would have no cores left.
           | 
           | Literally, 'bitrot'.
        
         | krallja wrote:
         | NewEgg also has a 1GB DDR2 for under $10. It's just not
         | immediately available like a supermarket checkout stand.
        
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       (page generated 2021-08-05 23:03 UTC)