Historical question, what went wrong with bubble memory?
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From: Brian Inglis on 18 Nov 2006 11:15 On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:14:37 GMT in alt.folklore.computers, Peter Flass <Peter_Flass(a)Yahoo.com> wrote: >Brian Inglis wrote: >> >> Given that an order pad and an answering machine could perform the >> same functions, wonder if many were bought for that purpose? >> An Apple ][ would have been cheaper and lighter, requiring only a >> cassette recorder for storage, and a hotel room TV for display. >This was several years before the first microcomputer was even thought of. TI Silent 700 Portable came out in 1976, Apple ][ in 1977. -- Thanks. Take care, Brian Inglis Calgary, Alberta, Canada Brian.Inglis(a)CSi.com (Brian[dot]Inglis{at}SystematicSW[dot]ab[dot]ca) fake address use address above to reply
From: Christopher C. Stacy on 19 Nov 2006 04:07 Brian Inglis <Brian.Inglis(a)SystematicSW.Invalid> writes: > On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 06:03:36 -0500 in alt.folklore.computers, > CBFalconer <cbfalconer(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >>Brian Inglis wrote: >>> Charles Richmond <richchas(a)comcast.net> wrote: >>> >>... snip ... >>>> >>>> TI used to advertise the Silent 700 for use by salesmen. "Take >>>> orders and type them into the bubble memory all day. Then dial up >>>> the company computer at night and download the day's orders." >>>> I think it significant that the Silent 700 was aimed to sell to >>>> more than just programmers. >>> >>> Given that an order pad and an answering machine could perform the >>> same functions, wonder if many were bought for that purpose? >>> An Apple ][ would have been cheaper and lighter, requiring only a >>> cassette recorder for storage, and a hotel room TV for display. >> >>Apple ][s did not exist. The 8008 did, but just barely. > > TI Silent 700 Portable came out in 1976, Apple ][ in 1977. From my memory of lugging both of those things around, the Apple ][ was not designed to be especially portable and was not convenient, any more than lugging a 1980s era desktop or mini-tower computer. The TI Silent 700 (and ilk) was intended to be portable and came in its own carrying case with a handle. You could take the Silent 700 with you anywhere and it did not require a television set or messing around with connectors. And the floppy disk on an the Apple ][ was not an internal drive -- it was another box you had to connect and plug into power. And the Silent also gave you a hardcopy record. And you could bring your TI Silent 700 terminal to the client's office and connect to your timesharing system if you needed to. I thought the Silent 700 came out earlier than that; I could swear I was using them (or some other portable thermal-printer acoustic coupler terminal just like them) back around 1975. The version with bubble memory was 1977, but maybe there was an earlier model? The Apple ][ was introduced in June 1977 but it only had an adaptor for an (audio) cassette tape; it did not have a floppy drive until 1979. The Apple did not have an acoustic coupler: that's another thing you'd need. No comparison.
From: prep on 19 Nov 2006 02:56 Stephen Fuld <S.Fuld(a)PleaseRemove.att.net> writes: > I actually did some evaluation of bubble memory as an alternative to > the CCDs, but the bubble's advantage of non-volatility was not > enough to overcome its disadvantages. I worked on a project that used Bubble Memory in anger. At the time, it was an OK solution but the other memory types shot ahead in speed and capacity. BM was rugged, could be made to stand really bad conditions, (mainly the surounding electronics), but was slow, and small. It was a MUCH better floppy disk than any floppy that tried to survive north of the 26th. It also was in a subsystem that looked like a DEC RX01/2 so no SW tweeking was needed. I think it is still running today. -- Paul Repacholi 1 Crescent Rd., +61 (08) 9257-1001 Kalamunda. West Australia 6076 comp.os.vms,- The Older, Grumpier Slashdot Raw, Cooked or Well-done, it's all half baked. EPIC, The Architecture of the future, always has been, always will be.
From: Roland Hutchinson on 20 Nov 2006 12:11 Christopher C. Stacy wrote: > I thought the Silent 700 came out earlier than that; I could swear > I was using them (or some other portable thermal-printer acoustic > coupler terminal just like them) back around 1975. I seem to remember using one around 1973-74. -- Roland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it.
From: CBFalconer on 20 Nov 2006 14:24
Roland Hutchinson wrote: > Christopher C. Stacy wrote: > >> I thought the Silent 700 came out earlier than that; I could swear >> I was using them (or some other portable thermal-printer acoustic >> coupler terminal just like them) back around 1975. > > I seem to remember using one around 1973-74. You and me both. I think there is confusion about the original 700, which was fairly large, and a later 710 or something, which was much smaller. -- Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net) Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems. <http://cbfalconer.home.att.net> |