WOW - GUI Circuit Simulation in 1968

[EEVblog]

WOW!
GUI circuit simulation and filter response plotting in 1968! 

The Incredible Machine

[Zbig]

Fascinating! And it even features the original computer-synthesized performance of "Daisy Bell" - the "dying HAL 9000 song" that apparently was the Stanley Kubrick's original inspiration: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/little__known_sci_fi_fact

It turns out that in 1961, the IBM 7094, among the earliest and largest mainframe machines developed by the computing giant, became the first computer to sing, and the tune it warbled was—you guessed it—"Daisy Bell." The vocals were programmed by John Kelly and Carol Lockbaum, while the musical accompaniment was programmed by Max Mathews. It seems certain that Kubrick used this as the inspiration for HAL's signoff in his movie.

[wilfred]

Tell me it's not a coincidence that 2001 ASO was on TV today.

[nardev]

WOW WOW WOW  

Not the first time that i realize how much all this tech around us is just "improvements" of old ideas but this one was really amazing : )

[rstofer]

The IBM 2250 Graphics Display Unit was released in 1964.  It could be used on a System 360 or even on the MUCH smaller IBM1130, released in 1965.

http://ibm1130.org/hw/2250/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_2250

We had one (or more) where I worked and it was used for aircraft design.  I spent a LOT of time with the IBM1130 beginning in '70 but the machines I used didn't have the Display Unit. 

What the machines did have was a IBM 1627 Plotter and The IBM Electronic Circuit Analysis Program - a precursor to today's spice programs.  Very handy when studying active circuits or even just making Bode' Plots for filters.

https://www.ithistory.org/db/hardware/ibm/ibm-1627-plotter

Here's a decent photo of a complete machine with the plotter:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_1130  <=== a REALLY GOOD description of the machine and its internals

So I built the machine using an FPGA and it runs all of the IBM software unchanged.  For a plotter, I send the output to a LaserJet.  Works well...

It would be kind of fun to implement the Graphics Display Unit using some kind of touch screen technology, convert it to whatever the IBM1130 wants to see and use it as an IO device but it also seems like a lot of work.

[schmitt trigger]

I also used ECAP circa 1978.

Anyone who complains about how difficult  Ltspice is, should have to complete an ECAP analysis, with punch cards and fanfold paper for I/O.