The LangaList

5) What Are *Your* Best/Most Interesting
Computer Memories?

I was reading a story on the BBC web site the other day: It described what may be the last extant, fully intact, first-generation electronic computer: CSIRAC.

CSIRAC stands for "Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer." It was designed and built in Australia starting in 1946, ran its first program in 1949, and was put into service in 1951. It was only the fifth "modern" computer ever built and was developed largely independently from the other early electronic computer projects going on mainly in the US and England.

The machine was powered with some 2000 vacuum tubes ("valves" in non-American English) and weighed 7,000 kg; it had a bit less than 2K of RAM, about 5K of disk storage, and about 1K of acoustic-powered(!) mercury-filled data storage "delay lines" derived from early Radar gear. It was programmed with punch cards and toggle switches, and was a marvel of its time: "1,000 times faster than a mechanical calculator," although in today's terms we'd say it ran at the speed of 0.001MHz.

Amazingly, the machine never was cannibalized or destructively altered; in fact it remained in service until 1964. The machine is now in the process of being put on display in a museum; the last of its type, and perhaps the only remaining example of a fully intact, first generation external-storage electronic computer.

Thinking about the Australian efforts to un-mothball and showcase a piece of their computing past made me wonder what gems lurk in *your* attics and basements. And: What private memories of computing's past might be locked away, unshared, in the collective mind of us all together?

In next Monday's BYTE column, I'll tell you some of my earliest computing experiences and memories, and I invite you to share yours: What was *your* first hardware and software? What was your all-time favorite computer; or favorite software? Why; what made it special? What was your first real "Wow" experience with computing? What were your pc highs and lows? If you have old hardware or software in the attic, what is it? Why did you keep it? Does it still work?

Almost anyone's "top ten" list for seminal inventions of the last century---or millennium---would have to include the computer. Young or old, newbie or grizzled veteran, as the year winds down, please share your computing memories with us! Join in starting Monday, December 27th 1999 at http://www.byte.com 

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6) Last Shot To Enter December's FREE Book Drawing

Next week, I'll choose another monthly winner of a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications Tools." This book has been described as "An excellent, straightforward manual on email publishing, banner ads, driving traffic and especially ethics."  

To enter,  just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a book! (Full details also available via this link):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 

Or, if you'd like to try to win a Palm III organizer, try this link (full details also available here):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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7) More on Stopping Hoax Email

In the last issue, you read about ways to stop the spread of time-wasting hoax emails---you know, the kind that describes some supposed virus and then says "TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!"  I even provided a couple of email templates you can use to reply to hoax mails. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/dec-20-99.htm#4 )

As usual, many readers responded with numerous great suggestions--- you folks always come through! 

Here's a sampling of other reader-recommended anti-hoax sites you can add to the templates:

http://www.hoaxkill.com/ is "The Hoaxkill service: Let's get rid of hoaxes now!" Just forward them the virus hoax email and they will email the sender and all CCs a letter telling them about hoaxes. Cool, no? :) --sharon edmunds

I love your newsletter, keep up the great work. Just a note on your newsletter of December 16, there is a very good virus list and virus hoax list at this site: http://www.911virusalert.com . Just thought your readers would be interested.---Carl Desmond

I'm sure there are probably other "virus hoax" sites out there, beyond the ones that you have already listed, but one I've found to be very informational is http://www.datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm .Happy Holidays to you and yours from drizzly Seattle! --- Mike Haney

Your latest LangaList on hoaxes is spot on. Here're a couple more links:
http://www.netsquirrel.com/combatkit/
http://www.icsa.net/services/consortia/anti-virus/alerthoax.shtml and
http://www.urbanlegends.com/  which covers LOTS of hoaxes, urban legends, etc.---J. B. Van Wely

I had been fending off such mailings for several years when I realized that our User Group site http://www.ncug.org  had nothing for our members to educate themselves - where do I go, what do I look for, so, I guess I've become the leader of the sheep ... So, on our References list I added a Category of "Chain letters and Hoaxes" right in front of the members as this page is called up - put it under their nose, usually they'll see it ... ;-D Anyway, check out http://www.stiller.com/  for Stiller Research which keeps pretty well up-to-date on the latest, the others are, as you'll see, also noted on our page. I'll add my voice to everyone else - keep up the good work!!!!! --- Phil

Thanks to all who wrote!

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8) More "Plague" Info

You can expect hackers to try to use the impending Y2K rollover date as a disguise for viruses and worms. Indeed, I expect all of next year to be a kind of plague year online, rife with an astonishing number of virulent, fast-replicating worms and viruses.

I explain what's going, why, and what we can do about it in the current InformationWeek Online column:  http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter

Join in!

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9) Just For Grins

Reader Al Girard sends this along:

"Politically Correct Rudolph"

Rudolph was a four-hoofed ungulate, who, incidentally, possessed a nasal appendage of a maroon luster. Consequently, if circumstances were to present themselves that he ever came into your view, you would most undoubtedly remark at to its luminary qualities.

The multitude of other members of the population in his ecological community had previously teased, chuckled boisterously, and dubbed him unspeakable pseudonyms -- the objective of which was to lower his self-esteem and make him miserable. They also excluded him from participation in leisure activities consistent with their species.

However, on the twenty-fourth of December in an unspecified year, a mythological, supernatural being inherent to western culture (who symbolizes the Christmas attitude and allegedly brings gifts to children) arrived through the supersaturated, humid air, spoke to Rudolph and formally invited him, due to his extraordinary nasal characteristic to stand at the forefront of his snow vehicle with the express purpose that he navigate through the nocturnal mist.

At that point, the multitude of other members of the population in his ecological community who had previously teased, chuckled boisterously, and dubbed him unspeakable pseudonyms, reversed their disposition toward Rudolph to a more congenial, amicable relationship. They consequently exclaimed with great exaltation and fervor, "Rudolph, the antlered mammal with a maroon nasal appendage, you shall most certainly be recorded in the annals of time, and your memory will be preserved for posterity!

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