Of course, Guinness has every right to have his say. I just have this old-fashioned idea that you don't knock people who've written very large checks with your name on them. You nod, say thanks, and keep your views to yourself. I'm well aware that others don't feel this way, and there's something to be said for the opposite point of view. So...I guess it's just me.
...in Sir Alec. He's a wonderful writer (check out his memoirs), a superb actor, and by all accounts a thoroughly decent human being. But Star Wars made him very rich indeed, and out of sheer courtesy he should not be speaking ill of the films that ensured he'd never have to work again.
Surely he's right in what he said. The dialog in Star Wars films is hardly Restoration comedy. But it's kind of rude of Sir Alec to be so blunt about it. He has every right, of course, but I kind of wish he hadn't...
I love these sorts of stories myself, but I don't care for the idea of nerds mocking ordinary folks. People who don't spend their lives learning the ins and outs of computers are not stupid; they just don't know. In many cases, they really shouldn't have to understand the intricacies of a system; if the system were better designed, it'd be self-explanatory. The fact that so many ordinary folks are mystified by computers speaks not to their stupidity, but the crudity of the technology and the limitations of the designers.
Sounds like many others here have heard that the British Colossus beat ENIAC by a mile. So why isn't it even mentioned in the ENIAC book? Shall we write snarky letters to the author, or just shrug it off?
I've read tne new book on ENIAC. Quite good. The author makes a persuasive case that Eckert and Mauchly deserve the credit for creating the first modern computer. The book also does a good job of questioning the claims made on behalf of John Von Neumann and Dr. Atanosoff of Iowa State University. The one thing I was left wondering about was the claim I've heard that the real number one was built in Britain to help with cracking German codes. They had a project called Colossus which some claim was the first real computer. The ENIAC book doesn't even mention it. Anybody know about the Colossus project--and no, I don't mean the Forbin Project...;-)
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Har-de-har-har! I was waiting for someone to whip out that gag!
Of course, Guinness has every right to have his say. I just have this old-fashioned idea that you don't knock people who've written very large checks with your name on them. You nod, say thanks, and keep your views to yourself. I'm well aware that others don't feel this way, and there's something to be said for the opposite point of view. So...I guess it's just me.
Surely he's right in what he said. The dialog in Star Wars films is hardly Restoration comedy. But it's kind of rude of Sir Alec to be so blunt about it. He has every right, of course, but I kind of wish he hadn't...
Accipiter has a point. I should have mentioned the fact that SMP support for Linux does exist, but is regarded as still pretty shaky.
I love these sorts of stories myself, but I don't care for the idea of nerds mocking ordinary folks. People who don't spend their lives learning the ins and outs of computers are not stupid; they just don't know. In many cases, they really shouldn't have to understand the intricacies of a system; if the system were better designed, it'd be self-explanatory. The fact that so many ordinary folks are mystified by computers speaks not to their stupidity, but the crudity of the technology and the limitations of the designers.
Sounds like many others here have heard that the British Colossus beat ENIAC by a mile. So why isn't it even mentioned in the ENIAC book? Shall we write snarky letters to the author, or just shrug it off?
I've read tne new book on ENIAC. Quite good. The author makes a persuasive case that Eckert and Mauchly deserve the credit for creating the first modern computer. The book also does a good job of questioning the claims made on behalf of John Von Neumann and Dr. Atanosoff of Iowa State University. The one thing I was left wondering about was the claim I've heard that the real number one was built in Britain to help with cracking German codes. They had a project called Colossus which some claim was the first real computer. The ENIAC book doesn't even mention it. Anybody know about the Colossus project--and no, I don't mean the Forbin Project...;-)