In 1965, computing history was made when DEC introduced a new computer, called the PDP-8. It was the start of a long series of incrementally improved models, later to be followed by the even more successful and ground-breaking PDP-11 series, and then the VAX. It’s a fascinating story, because so many technological trends of that time have shaped what we now use on a daily base, from laptops, to mobile phones, to watches.
This week’s episode is about the PDP-8 and an amazing replica/kit, called the PiDP-8/i:
Let’s dive right in - as always there will be one article each day this week:
- Inside the PDP-8 hardware - Wed
- Computer peripherals in 1965 - Thu
- Hey PDP-8, meet Raspberry Pi! - Fri
- Some amazing software feats - Sat
The PDP-8 was before my time, although I did play with it once … clunky doesn’t even start to describe it, by today’s measures!