[Gllug] humanclock.com

[David Freeman]

 --- john.hearns at framestore.co.uk wrote: > 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.

I thought the apollo's had 8K of memory and once in orbit the next part
of the program was uploaded?

> 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.

I think if you do a search you will find that the smallest qeb server
has been implemented on a single chip with a single diode (I think
there may be a cap and resister as well) the chip is only 8 pins and
the whole thing is smaller than a pound coin!

Thanks

D
 
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