Category:
Computers
Computers
The Moniac
Created by William Phillips in the 1940s, the Moniac was a device that used water flowing through pipes to simulate how money moves around within the economy. From the NY Times:Water flows through a series of clear pipes, mimicking the way that money flows through the economy. It lets you see (literally) what would happen if you lower tax rates or increase the money supply or whatever; just open a valve here or pull a lever there and the machine sloshes away, showing in real time how the water levels rise and fall in various tanks representing the growth in personal savings, tax revenue, and so on. This device was state of the art in the 1950s, but it looks hilarious now, with all its plumbing and noisy pumps.
More info: wikipedia
The Sedalia Democrat - Dec 23, 1951
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 20, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Technology, Computers, 1940s
Blake Reynolds, Early Overdubber
The studio processes of multitracking and overdubbing are commonplace now, a cinch with home digital tech. But in 1952, the notion that a single musician could create a recording where they played every single instrument--a la Prince--was rare and weird.Here's an early pioneer. Listen to his version of "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 13, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Technology, Computers, 1950s
The CGI of 1985
1985 Clio Award winning Television commercial done for Canned Foods Information Council by San Francisco ad agency of Ketchum Communications. [This] spot, "Brilliance," won in Computer Animation category and featured a voice-over by motion picture star, Kathleen Turner.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 06, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Business, Advertising, Food, Robots, Computers, Special Effects, 1980s
Redactron Word Processor
Apparently, if you can believe the ad, this early feminist word-processor had the side-effect of liberating women.
Original ad here.
History here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 06, 2015 -
Comments (14)
Category: Business, Computers, 1970s, Women
The Z-Man, or Brain, Toy
What was so distinctive about this toy? Early pre-silicon programability.
Original article here.
Even more pix and info at this blog.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 04, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Toys, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, Computers, 1950s
Geek Orgasm Day
Windows 10 is now officially released. I've been up since midnight updating PC's.
My hand is getting tired :roll:
It's nice being off work after being in the hospital to enjoy this day.
Posted By: BrokeDad - Wed Jul 29, 2015 -
Comments (22)
Category: Computers
Way Out
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 15, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Technology, Computers, Surrealism
Windows 10 approaching RTM
MS has released the latest build to us on the insider testing fast track (Build 10166). It is do for public release to market on July 29th. Those of us testing will get a free one use RTM PC copy.
While this is not weird news it is something we will all choose or not to upgrade to. So far this build is stable on my PC with no driver issues.
I am gonna wait though to upgrade my phone to Windows 10M. (M=Mobile)
So WUvians .. Who plans on upgrading ?
http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2015/07/09/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-10166
More pictures here:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/windows-10-build-10166-photo-gallery-486615.shtml#sgal_0
Posted By: BrokeDad - Sat Jul 11, 2015 -
Comments (13)
Category: Products, Computers
Windows 10
Is there anyone else here on WU doing the Windows 10 beta testing ? Whether or not post your comments about it.
Windows 8 and 8.1 (thinking of you Expat) are gonna be like ME or Vista. Today they released build 10074.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-releases-windows-10-build-10074/
The link above includes a download URL for anyone who wants the ISO to try it out. AT YOUR OWN RISK !
Posted By: BrokeDad - Sat May 02, 2015 -
Comments (10)
Category: Computers
WU Comments
Fellow WU-vies--thanks to the alertness of several readers, we have been notified of a problem with posting comments. The captcha feature is glitched, working inconsistently. Our Master Hacker Alex (I think he learned all he knows from 1983's WarGames) is working on a fix now.
Thanks for your patience. Without your comments, the blog would be only half what it is.
Update from Alex: I "fixed" the problem by disabling the captcha system. Which may leave us wide open to spammers. We'll see how it goes for a few days.
Update 2: Wow! Allowing comment posting without captchas was like opening wide the floodgates of spam. So that experiment lasted only about 10 minutes. For now I've changed the admin settings so that only logged-in members can post comments. And in the meantime, I'll search for an alternative captcha system that is compatible with our very old blogging software.
Update 3: I found and installed an alternative captcha system. Let's see if it works! The neat thing is that most people won't see a captcha at all. It only shows if it thinks you might be a spammer, and it then asks you to solve a simple math problem.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 16, 2014 -
Comments (10)
Category: Weird Universe, Alex, Reader Recommendation, Computers
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |