British Comedy Guide

Status report Page 4,547

Quote: billwill @ June 14 2012, 3:19 PM BST

Do you want to know where the phrase: "Booting a computer" comes from?

Cool

:)

Quote: Rob H @ June 14 2012, 3:40 PM BST

:)

As usual nowadays, someone has already written it up on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booting

The computer term boot is short for bootstrap or bootstrap load and derives from the phrase to "pull oneself up by one's bootstraps".
[1] The usage calls attention to the paradox that a computer cannot run without first loading software but some software must run before any software can be loaded.
[2] Early computers used a variety of ad-hoc methods to get a fragment of software into memory to solve this problem. The invention of integrated circuit Read-only memory (ROM) of various types solved the paradox by allowing computers to be shipped with a start up program that could not be erased, but growth in the size of ROM has allowed ever more elaborate start up procedures to be implemented.

But that is by-no-means-complete, maybe I ought to have a go at editing that Wiki page myself. It ought to emphasise the fun & frustration of trying to start a computer which has NO permanent memory so no inbuilt startup program.

Here for instance is the front-panel of a PDP11 mini-computer; to start it from scratch you had to key in, (using that row of switches at the bottom) about 14 raw machine-code instructions in binary and force them one-at-a-time into the magnetic core memory. Then you could start the computer at the first of those instructions. Those bootstrap instructions were sufficient to read more program from paper-tape or magnetic tape

Image

Here's the bootstrap panel for a CDC6600 (the computer we used at the University of London Computer Centre 1968-1980+ ). CDC called it a DEADSTART panel. It consists of 144 little toggle switches on which you can set-up 12 machine instructions. Fortunately the switches did not move or clear themselves so once set up they would stay like that unless the maintenance engineers changed the panel switches for test programs instead. The panel is about 3 foot high & the usual 19 inches wide (I think). One of the extra switches at the bottom actually triggered the computer to run the program set on the panel.

Image

Imagine having either of those two systems on your mobile phone to switch it on in the morning.

:O :O

Laughing out loud :D Laughing out loud :D Laughing out loud

Billwill has made a wooden horse from parts of his former kitchen cabinets.

Ooh, I love wooden horses, any pics yet?

Quote: billwill @ June 14 2012, 11:15 PM BST

Billwill has made a wooden horse from parts of his former kitchen cabinets.

Is there room for people inside it?

Quote: keewik @ June 14 2012, 11:21 PM BST

Is there room for people inside it?

Room for a little one.

:D

Quote: billwill @ June 14 2012, 11:15 PM BST

Billwill has made a wooden horse from parts of his former kitchen cabinets.

Gonna Trojan up rhe meetup?

But it's probably not quite what you were expecting.

:) :) :)

Image

It' a saw horse.

Cool Cool

Nay it's not.

Kill me now.

That didn't behoof you well, Nat.

Quote: billwill @ June 14 2012, 11:15 PM BST

Billwill has made a wooden horse from parts of his former kitchen cabinets.

When I look at your avatar I think this is the sort of thing you should be doing between now and next Christmas Eve to ensure Santa's sleigh is ready.

The tip of Chip's finger hurts. So much so he might have to rethink his one fingered typing style.

Quote: billwill @ June 14 2012, 11:15 PM BST

Billwill has made a wooden horse from parts of his former kitchen cabinets.

Are you going to Greece to help them out of their latest crisis?

Quote: chipolata @ June 15 2012, 11:06 AM BST

The tip of Chip's finger hurts. So much so he might have to rethink his one fingered typing style.

When they told you to pull your finger out Chip... you didn't have to take everything so literally!!!

Quote: Marc P @ June 15 2012, 11:09 AM BST

When they told you to pull your finger out Chip... you didn't have to take everything so literally!!!

I'd come back at you with a witty retort but it's too painful typing it out!

Get your PA to do it for you, that's what I would! :)

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