2026-03-29 17:11 UTC
Replies (5)
-
@kenshirriff@oldbytes.space 2026-03-29 17:30
I forgot to explain the 4 Pi name. IBM's System/360 mainframes got their name because they supported a full 360º circle of applications, from business to scientific. The 4 Pi aerospace computers, however, were designed for the 3-D world, a "sphere" of applications. While a circle has 360º, a sphere has 4π steradians of solid angle.
-
@count_01@mastodon.social 2026-03-29 17:54
@kenshirriff I can say from experience those things are not great for toting up a ladder, but they did their job, more often than not.
-
@penguin42@mastodon.org.uk 2026-03-29 18:41
@kenshirriff It's quite amazing the weight of systems they got to fly!
-
@PenguinToot@twit.social 2026-03-29 18:52
@kenshirriff Thanks, great article & a part of computer history unknown to a non-defense software engineer. Started my career in military communications, was one of the first users of ARPANET in 1976, but had no idea what flight computers were in use at the time. Now I do 🙂
-
@dhobern@scicomm.xyz 2026-03-29 23:56
@kenshirriff The monocle is a fancy touch ...