CSIRAC: Australia’s First Computer

CSIRAC, short for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer, is considered as Australia’s first programmable computer. It is also the first computer where digital music can be played. In fact, it is the only surviving electronic generation that can still be accessed until today.

 

It all started with Trevor Pearcey, Geoff Hill and Maston Beard. Exhausted with the time and effort needed to manually complete one calculation from the next, the trio decided that an electronic computer is the answer. Unbeknownst to them, similar efforts were also being done in the United States and Europe. They organized a team and went on to pursue this initiative.

 

The machine alone occupied a large room, similar to that of a double garage. Like most computers back in the day, it required a lot of power, almost equivalent to that used by a streetful of houses. It also utilized the mercury acoustic delay line as storage. But CSIRAC was slow. Despite the large amount of power necessary for it to run, the computer takes around two cycles before it can produce an outcome. It was fairly slow but back then, it is considered a triumph and efficient, what with it being compared to manual calculations.

 

Instructions were entered via the punch paper tape and the result is then printed through the punched tape or the teleprinter. CSIRAC used the INTERPROGRAM programming language which works in a slightly similar way to BASIC. Like most computers back then, CSIRAC has no operating system.

 

Being the first digital computer in the country, CSIRAC’s invention became a national phenomenon. Many would travel to the University of Melbourne, the home of CSIRAC for some time, to check it out. They marveled at its simplicity and the fact that it can be used to play music.

The Computer Called Raspberry Pi

In 2013, the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the Raspberry Pi, a series of computers that were introduced to various schools in the hopes of promoting computer science education. Within two years, it has broken a number of records as the fastest selling personal computer.

 

It all started in 2006 when the foundation was troubled with the fact that many children are not invested in learning computer science. This is most prevalent in developing countries. In a world that’s influenced heavily with technology, that’s not ideal. Thus, they came up with the idea to introduce a simple computer that would evoke this enthusiasm. They knew that the problem lies in the cost that comes with most computers thus, they planned on building one that is cheaper yet still effective. To do this, they called in a diverse group of teachers, researchers and computer scientists to design one. They took inspiration from BBC Micro developed by Acorn Computers. It was a series of microcomputers that is also designed around education.

 

Raspberry Pi is run using Linux-kernel-based OS. Its processor is based on the system on a chip design of Broadcom, complete with RAM and VideoCore GPU. By default, it operates on 700MHz with an approximate 0.041 GFLOPS performance. Since this is the case, the computer is not prone to overheating. Thus, a special cooling system is only required when the chip is over-clocked. To maintain a certain level of interest among children, the graphics resembled that of Xbox. It is also equipped with programming languages like BASIC, Scratch and Kids Ruby.

 

When Raspberry Pi was introduced to the market, it was a success. Many deemed it worthy as a supplement not only of learning but also of computers. Many applauded the design and believed that it is enough to entice the interest of children.

TELEX Messaging Network

The Telex messaging network is an innovation that dates back to 1933. It is composed of a network of teleprinters that sends messages. It was the time when teleprinters were all the rage. It was a great improvement from the telegraph systems that have been in use prior to these inventions. But teleprinters, though innovative enough, provided limited use. They could not be used overseas. That’s where the Telex network enters the picture. Telex allowed for possible communications at an international scale. Through Telex, the use of teleprinters took a whole new meaning.

 

It all started in Germany seven years prior to its launch. They were experimenting on the possibility of creating a network for teleprinters when they realized that this could be more than just an idea sitting on the drawing board. And true to form, Telex became a huge hit. Many countries, including the developing nations, were scrambling to get their hands on one. Most were utilized by government postal offices and telegram services.

 

What made this network so special is that it can do a lot of functions. Imagine combining text massaging, faxing and emailing all into one.  The Telex can achieve all these. A user can send a single message to multiple users at the same time, regardless of country. All they have to do is input the country code, the subscriber’s name and number and the message. The Telex also has the feature of answerback which allows the sender and the recipient to converse. This reduces the risk of sending the message to the wrong recipient. When the recipient responds positively, this ensures that the connection is secure and the identity of the recipient is verified before sending.

 

Messages would be prepared using the paper tape. The teleprinters of the Telex would then encode the message through the paper tape reader. Users also have the option to send messages directly using the keyboard but this is more costly. Why? Since this will entail sending messages in real time.

 

The Creation of the ALOHAnet

Aside from the ARPANET, there are other computer networks being built in the latter half of the 20^th century. One of these is the ALOHA network.

The idea of building a computer network began in 1968 when Norman Abramson was motivated to connect all the users across the different Hawaiian islands. Along with a team of engineers, Abramson pushed through the idea by using a cheap radio to connect everyone together. Since they’re from the University of Hawaii, they decided that their Oahu campus will serve as the location for the main server.

The ALOHAnet was designed with a hub device that is connected to all users. There is an outbound and an inbound channel. When the users are sending messages or other data, they will go through the hub by way of the inbound channel and the data will then be sent by the hub to the corresponding users through the outbound channel.

What made ALOHAnet different than its predecessor is that it is equipped with a shared medium for all communications. This means that all users can send have their data transmitted anytime they want as opposed to having a schedule where users have to decide who sends what to whom at what time. Messages are sent without the network first checking whether the channel is busy or not. Users simply just have to click send. During instances where two or more transmissions would collide with one another then, a retransmission mechanism is programmed to fix it. A message will appear that will tell the user to try again or send it later.

This advantage allowed ALOHAnet to be widely accepted. Unlike the ARPANET that is increasingly complicated due to a number of protocols, ALOHAnet is more user-friendly since everyone operates on the same frequency.

ALOHAnet, though smaller in scale, provided the foundation for the development of Ethernet and Wi-Fi.