[Gllug] humanclock.com

[john.hearns at framestore.co.uk]

Gabriel Rocha wrote:
> 
> ,----[ On Fri, Aug 10, at 03:22AM, SteveC wrote: ]--------------
> | Does anybody else have difficulty believeing its run on a TRS-80?
> `----[ End Quote ]---------------------------
> 
> No, my TI-82 has more power than the computers on the apollo 11 and THAT
> took three people around the moon. Computational power of course. --gabe

Well, I think that comparison is slightly skewed.

We aren't comparing apples with oranges here.

The computers on the Apollo missions were pre-programmed to
perform trajectory calculations, given specific inputs e.g 
spacecraft position and velocities. I think fuel calculations also.
The computers didn't have much potential for re-programming
(I may be wrong here- but as I read it they had several pre-stored
routines which they could jump to).
It is a good comparison to
compare them with programmable pocket calculators - from my
readings, they were used in the same manner.
On the ground, they had much more powerful computers for trajectory
calcualtions - indeed I read somewhere that NASA wrote teir own 
operating system for IBM mainframes - and are having problems because
the guys who wrote it are now retired.

Anyway, a web server is a different beast.
I would say that a web server generally runs on a general purpose
computer, with a mutli-tasking operating system.
(OK - I'm of course wrong, as people will point to dedicated
matchbox-sized web servers.) But I said generally.

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