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Was Zuse's Z3 the First Programmable Computer?
Roland Piquepaille writes "Several years before the Colossus in the U.K. and the ENIAC in the U.S., the Z3, built by Konrad Zuse in 1941, was crunching numbers in Germany. In a short article, the Register reports on allegations that the Z3 was the first programmable computer. Based on a binary floating-point number and switching system, it had all the attributes of today's computers, such as a control block, a memory, and a calculator. But it didn't have the ability to store the program in the memory together with the data because the memory was too small. It had a 64-word memory of 22 bits each and was able to handle four additions per second and to do a multiplication in about five seconds. And it was pretty big: five meters long, two meters high, and 80 centimeters wide. It was destroyed during WWII, and later rebuilt in 1960/1961. You'll find more details, pictures and references in this analysis of this ancestor of modern computing. [Additional note: you can find other references to the Z3, Colossus and Eniac computers in this former Slashdot item, posted in October 2000.]"
Microsoft has a monopoly. Apple doesn't.
That's it. Different rules apply if you have a monopoly. Microsoft may consider this "unfair", but there are good reasons for it.
OK, it is time to put this argument to rest. For good. I know everyone on slashdot loves to use it, but it is faulty.
Think of it this way: If two people hit you with exactly the same force, causing exactly the same amount of pain, would you really be more angry at the larger of the two people? That's idiotic. If someone hits me and injures me I don't care what size they are, all I care about is the fact that they hit me. Liken this to Apple's DRM. People have said time and time again that if Microsoft used the EXACT same DRM as Apple does people would be screaming bloody murder. But they don't because it is Apple and they justify the double standard by saying that Microsoft is a monopoly and Apple isn't. Yes, thank you, that part is obvious. Let me remind you that DRM is DRM is DRM is DRM. The fact that Apple isn't a monopoly does not modify the comparison of two things that are exactly alike, because they are still EXACTLY alike! If the hitting example did not catch your attention then what about murder... should a person who has access to more guns (like microsoft has access to more market share) be sentenced tougher or treated differently than a person who only had access to one gun (like apple who only has access to a smaller market)? Both people committed murder, thus both people suffer the same punishment. It only takes one gun to kill someone just like it only takes one customer to suffer from DRM.
I think where everyone is mistaken with this argument is that 'the rules' of monopolies is something that applies to law. Microsoft cannot do certain things that Apple does, by virtue of the fact that Microsoft is a monopoly. But how in the hell does that extend to mean that certain things that Microsoft could LEGALLY do are worse than the EXACT same action taken by Apple? I mean seriously, think about it for one second, if the theoretical DRMs were exactly the same, what the hell would it matter that it is Apple's DRM limiting you? The pure and simple fact is that you are being limited.
Saying that Microsoft being a monopoly makes a difference in a theoretical case where both things are the same is not a justification. It is an excuse.
Was George W. Bush the first fake president?
People want to know.
Regards,
Kilgore Trout
What's the cosmic connection? Does SCO own the rights to Zuse's work? Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel!
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - America's greatest leader Ronald Wilson Reagan was found dead in his California home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him -even if you didn't agree with his politics, there's no denying his contributions to improving the lives of millions of Americans and freeing millions around the world from the tyranny of communism. Truly an American icon.
... imagine a Beowulf of these.
Why is Slashdot running this crap from Microsoft?
It's a Microsoft ad that was attached to this story. It claims that Windows 2003 had better performance and beat every configuration of Red Hat. Why does Slashdot run this FUD?
Suse's S3