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Old Educational Computer Resurrected As a Spreadsheet

Posted by timothy on from the next-week-punchcards dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Back in the '60s, Bell Labs created a 'paper computer' called CARDIAC so students could learn the fundamentals of computers. Dr. Dobb's recreates the paper computer in an Excel spreadsheet and hints they will show how it gets ported to an FPGA in future installments."

7 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. Blue Screen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    On the CARDIAC the "Blue Screen" STOP error is actually implemented as an ARREST.

    1. Re:Blue Screen by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

      On the CARDIAC the "Blue Screen" STOP error is actually implemented as an ARREST.

      You've only evoked half-hearted laughter from your audience with this.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. Re:BARDIAC by wbr1 · · Score: 2

    on decreate componants

    This is what happens when old computers go to die...

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  3. Re:BARDIAC by HybridST · · Score: 3, Funny

    A Beowulf cluster of old times? No I can't imagine how that would work.. I might soon be able to simulate a beowulf cluster of BARDIAC on phone-level hardware though.

    --
    Ever notice that Cobra Commander sounds an awful lot like Star scream?
  4. FPGA? by Joce640k · · Score: 2

    Never mind FPGA, we want a PDF version!

    --
    No sig today...
    1. Re:FPGA? by dissy · · Score: 2

      No problem!

      Here is the PDF pieces of CARDIAC:
      http://web.mit.edu/kmill/www/hardware/hardware.html

      Additionally, you can purchase an original kit for $15 from:
      http://www.scientificsonline.com/cardiac-illustrated-computation-aid.html

      I still have mine on a bookshelf at home. It was an amazing little kit to me when I was 15, and still no less impressive today.

      Enjoy!

  5. The mind boggles by MrLogic17 · · Score: 2

    Lemme get this straight: Dr. Dobb's is computer simulating a paper simulation of a computer.

    Put another way, it's easier to learn about computers using a spreadsheet model of a paper model of a computer, than just a mere paper model of a computer.

    Cool, yes. Circular logic loops, yes.