The Curious Engineer

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Advent of Computing

adventofcomputing.libsyn.com

Welcome to Advent of Computing, the show that talks about the shocking, intriguing, and all too often relevant history of computing. A lot of little things we take for granted today have rich stories behind their creation, in each episode we will learn how older tech has lead to our modern world.

Computing historyRetro computing

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
Posts
211 from 9 Apr 2019 to 25 Oct 2026
Posting
weekly (29 in the last year)
Kind
personal blog
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https://rss.libsyn.com/shows/177941/destinations/1206722.xml

2026 24

  1. Episode 193 - Digital Dating... SCAM?
  2. Episode 192 - Local Computer Held Hostage!
  3. Episode 191 - The BHP Virus
  4. Episode 190 - Machine Room or DEATH TRAP!?
  5. Episode 189 - The IBM 701
  6. Usagi Electric and the LGP-21 Restoration
  7. Episode 188 - Training and Teaching with the Bi-Tran Six
  8. Episode 187 - What's Better Than Binary?
  9. LIVE from VCF West - Wait, Is That Really UNIX?
  10. Episode 186 - MADDIDA
  11. Episode 185 - Is EMUL-8ion a Form of Flattery?
  12. Episode 184 - What Is A Programming Language?
  13. Dale Biagio - Hello, World!
  14. Episode 183 - A Digital Gap?
  15. Episode 182 - Spinning Memories
  16. Episode 181 - RAYDAC
  17. Episode 180 - You Wouldn't Magnetize a Tape!
  18. Episode 179 - Programming Block by Block
  19. Episode 178 - The Programma 101
  20. Dan Temkin - Forty-Four Esolangs
  21. Episode 177 - Getting Real with RSX
  22. Episode 176 - Is That Even UNIX?
  23. Episode 175 - SNOBOL? That's Disgusting!
  24. Episode 174 - The Bell Model I

2025 26

  1. Episode 173 - Hybrid Programming
  2. Episode 172 - Analog/Hybrid
  3. Episode 171 - What Is a 4GL?
  4. Episode 170 - Thoroughbred/OS
  5. Episode 169.5 - Ben Zotto and the Story of Sphere Computers
  6. Episode 169 - Dellinger's Viruses
  7. Episode 168 - Halt and Catch Fire
  8. Episode 167 - The Tape That Unwound Itself
  9. Episode 166 - Beyond the PDP-11
  10. Episode 165 - LSI-11
  11. Episode 164 - LGP-30 LIVE! from VCF West
  12. Episode 163 - Ever Heard of the PDP-11?
  13. Episode 162 - CSIRAC, Australia's First Computer
  14. Episode 161 - The IAS Machine
  15. Episode 160 - What can Lunar Lander tell us about FOCAL?
  16. Episode 159 - The Intel 286: A Legacy Trap
  17. Episode 158 - INTERCAL RIDES AGAIN - Restoring a Lost Compiler
  18. Episode 157 - Only S1 Users Will Survive!
  19. Episode 156 - RPG, a Different Paradigm?
  20. Episode 155 - LINC
  21. Episode 154 - ACTing Up
  22. Episode 153 - The Keypact Mystery
  23. Episode 152 - LIVE at VCF - Reviving Retro Panel
  24. Episode 151 - The Friden Flexowriter
  25. Episode 150 - Starting Windows Up
  26. Episode 149 - IDRIS Is Not UNIX

2024 28

  1. Episode 148 - Is BLISS Ignorance?
  2. Episode 147 - Molecular Electronic Computer
  3. Episode 146 - The Z4
  4. Episode 145 - Zuse's Mysterious Machines
  5. Episode 144 - RABBITS
  6. Episode 143 - The Haunted Hard Drive
  7. Episode 142 - OS and JEDGAR
  8. Episode 141 - Computer Ruins Grocer
  9. Episode 140 - Assembling Code
  10. Episode 139 - HUTSPIEL
  11. Episode 138 - Type-It-Yourself
  12. Episode 137 - Edge Notched LIVE
  13. Episode 136.5 - Data Center Disaster
  14. Episode 136 - Getting On TRAC
  15. Episode 135 - XENIX
  16. Episode 134 - Beyond the Punch
  17. Episode 133 - LIVE from Intelligent Speech 2023
  18. Episode 132 - The PDP-1
  19. Episode 131 - Computer... Books?
  20. Episode 130 - ALGOL, Part II
  21. Episode 129 - ALGOL, Part I
  22. Episode 128 - Cryotrons LIVE!
  23. Episode 127 - Nim
  24. Episode 126 - IBM Compatible (No, Not Those)
  25. Episode 125 - US v IBM
  26. VCF SoCal - Interview with Micki and Steve
  27. Episode 124 - The Full 360
  28. Episode 123 - The Jupiter Ace

2023 24

  1. Episode 122 - To Edit Text
  2. Episode 121 - Arguments Against Programming
  3. Episode 120 - Simply COSMAC
  4. Episode 119 - The Batch!
  5. Episode 118 - Viral Dark Ages
  6. Episode 117 - What's in a Byte?
  7. Episode 116 - Monte Carlo
  8. Episode 115 - Digital Lifeforms
  9. Episode 114 - The LGP-30: A Forgotten Machine
  10. Episode 113 - Prolog, Part II
  11. Episode 112 - Prolog, Part I
  12. Episode 111 - To Boldly Transmit
  13. Episode 110 - The Atari 2600
  14. Episode 109 - What's Up With Microcontrollers?
  15. Episode 108 - The Mundaneum, Part II
  16. Episode 107 - The Mundaneum, Part I
  17. Episode 106 - Digital Eyes
  18. Episode 105 - Apple's Growing Pains
  19. Episode 104 - Sketchpad
  20. Episode 103 - The Text Interface
  21. Episode 102 - Application of Ada
  22. Episode 101 - Origins of Ada
  23. Episode 100 - Updates and Mysteries
  24. Episode 99 - The Berkeley Software Distribution

2022 27

  1. Episode 98 - The Canon Cat
  2. Episode 97 - What Exactly IS A Database? Part II
  3. Episode 96 - What Exactly IS A Database? Part I
  4. Episode 95 - Aspen Movie Map
  5. Episode 94 - Robots, and the End of Humanity
  6. Episode 93 - Fun and (Horror) Games
  7. Episode 92 - Copy Protection
  8. Episode 91 - Whirlwind
  9. Episode 90 - Where Did The S100 Bus Go?
  10. Episode 89 - Forth
  11. Episode 88 - BEFLIX, Early Digital Animation
  12. Episode 87 - The ILLIAC Suite
  13. Episode 86 - Fluidic Computing
  14. Episode 85 - Visi On, the PC GUI
  15. Episode 84 - VisiCalc, the Killer App
  16. Episode 83 - SEAC
  17. Episode 82.5 - Aaron Reed Interview, 50 Years of Text Games
  18. Episode 82 - Juggling Jobs with OS-9
  19. Episode 81 - A Ballad in 2600 Hertz
  20. Episode 80 - The Analytical Engine
  21. Episode 79 - ZOG: Military Strength Hypertext
  22. Episode 78 - INTERCAL and Esoterica
  23. Episode 77 - Magnetic Memories
  24. Episode 76 - Star Trek the (Unofficial) Game
  25. Episode 75 - A Cybernetic Future
  26. Episode 74 - The Elegance of LISP
  27. Episode 73 - IPL, AI, and Linked Lists

2021 28

  1. Episode 72 - Viatron Topples IBM
  2. Episode 71 - 6502, The Mini-Microprocessor
  3. Episode 70 - The oN-Line System, Part 2
  4. Episode 69 - The oN-Line System, Part 1
  5. Episode 68 - Zork
  6. Episode 67 - Debug!
  7. Episode 66 - Viruses and the PC
  8. Episode 65 - Teletype, Teleprint, and Telegrams
  9. Episode 64 - Gemini's Tiny Machine
  10. Episode 63 - What's With The Wedge, Part 2
  11. Episode 62 - What's With The Wedge? Part 1
  12. Episode 61 - FRESS and Practical Hypertext
  13. Bonus Episode - Q&A
  14. Episode 60 - COBOL Never Dies
  15. Episode 59 - ALOHANET
  16. Episode 58 - Mercury Memories
  17. Episode 57 - Simulated Sumeria
  18. Episode 56 - TMS9900, an Alternate Future
  19. Episode 55 - Project Xanadu
  20. Episode 54 - C Level, Part II
  21. Episode 53 - C Level, Part I
  22. Episode 52 - THE SOURCE
  23. Episode 51 - The IBM PC
  24. Episode 50 - 8086: The Unexpected Future
  25. Episode 49 - Numeric Control and Digital Westerns
  26. Episode 48 - Electric Ping-Pong
  27. Episode 47.5 - Lars Brinkhoff Interview, Preserving ITS
  28. Episode 47 - ITS: Open Computing

2020 29

  1. Episode 46 - Hacker Folklore
  2. Episode 45 - Keeping Things BASIC
  3. Episode 44 - ENIAC, Part II
  4. Episode 43 - ENIAC, Part I
  5. Episode 42 - IBM Gets Personal
  6. Episode 41 - Return of Viruses: The Spread
  7. Episode 40 - Spam, Email, and Best Intentions
  8. Episode 39 - Learning Along the Oregon Trail
  9. Episode 38 - JOVIAL, the Evolution of Programming
  10. Episode 37 - The Rise of DOS
  11. Episode 36 - The Rise of CP/M
  12. Episode 35 - Analog Computing and the Automatic Totalisator
  13. Episode 34 - 8080 VS Z80
  14. Episode 33.5 - Brad Chase Interview, Marketing Lead for Windows 95 and Much More
  15. Episode 33 - Becoming Portable
  16. Episode 32 - Road to Transistors, Part II
  17. Episode 31 - Road to Transistors: Part I
  18. Episode 30 - Coherent Is Not UNIX!
  19. Episode 29.5 - A Guided Tour of the Macintosh
  20. Episode 29 - PCM, Origins of Digital Audio
  21. Episode 28 - Applesoft BASIC, Microsoft and Apple's First Collaboration
  22. Episode 27 - Vectrex, Playing With Vectors
  23. Episode 26 - Memex and Hyperlinks
  24. Episode 25 - Making Disks Flexible, Part 2
  25. Episode 24 - Making Disks Flexible, Part 1
  26. Episode 23 - FORTRAN, Compilers, and Early Programming
  27. Episode 22 - Going Rogue
  28. Episode 21 - 8008: Intel's Second Shot
  29. Episode 20.5 - Cooking in Y2K

2019 25

  1. Episode 20 - PLATO Part 2: An Online Revolution
  2. Episode 19 - PLATO Part 1: A Revolution in Teaching
  3. Episode 18 - Evolution of the Mouse
  4. Episode 17.5 - Bill's Problem with Piracy
  5. Episode 17 - The BBC Domesday Project
  6. Episode 16 - 4004: The First Microprocessor
  7. Episode 15 - Lost in the Colossal Cave
  8. Episode 14 - Creeping Towards Viruses
  9. Episode 13.5 - Minitel Research Lab Interview, with Julien Mailland and Kevin Driscoll
  10. Episode 13 - Minitel, the French Network Connection
  11. Episode 12 - Journey to Altair
  12. Episode 11 - Spacewar! (the Game)
  13. Episode 10.5 - The Jargon File
  14. Episode 10 - Networking for a Nuclear War, the Americans
  15. Episode 9 - Networking for a Nuclear War, the Soviets
  16. Episode 8 - Acorn and the BBC
  17. Episode 7 - Attack of the PC Clones
  18. Episode 6.5 - Edge-Notched
  19. Episode 6 - Digital Voices
  20. Episode 5 - Unix for the People, Part 2
  21. Episode 4.5 - Space Travel!
  22. Episode 4 - Unix for the People, Part 1
  23. Episode 3 - Mythic Macintosh
  24. Episode 2 - The Demo
  25. Episode 1 - Folded Spindled and Mutilated