Tube computer?

[burmashave]

early macbook

 

[mhardy6647]

Tube computer (analog).
Heathkit analog computer by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I actually had one of these for a while when I was an UG. Should've kept it, but it was huge and heavy.

 

[burmashave]

Debugging refers to getting moths out of the vacuum tubes from those early tube based computers

 

[CopperWizard]

Steam engine

 

[Retrovert]

Debugging refers to getting moths out of the vacuum tubes from those early tube based computers

That's actually an urban legend oft-repeated on the interwebs of a thousand lies.

The term goes back to Thomas Edison, circa 1873, and he has plenty of prior use of it. What Hopper did in 1947 was to tape the remnants of a moth trapped in the Harvard Mark II into the operator log book with a note “First actual case of bug being found”.

It happened once, and it was not a common occurrence as it is not elsewhere documented.

Here's a thorough debunking: http://theinstitute.ieee.org/tech-history/technology-history/did-you-know-edison-coined-the-term-bug

Google will turn up plenty more.

 

[burmashave]

Wow. My mom was a mainframe programmer for the Navy in the 60’s. Very early in the trade. She is the one who told me that. Thanks

 

[petehall347]

my uncle built a large one to run parts of a paper mill .

 

[K2SA]

Tube computer (analog).
Heathkit analog computer by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I actually had one of these for a while when I was an UG. Should've kept it, but it was huge and heavy.

I have some of the manuals for this old Heathkit computer. Copyright from the late 1950's.

 

[WmartinB]

That's actually an urban legend oft-repeated on the interwebs of a thousand lies.

Found a couple of these in a barn a few years ago, they sure took some "debugging"

 

[Retrovert]

Found a couple of these in a barn a few years ago, they sure took some "debugging"

But those insects did not arise in the course of ordinary, daily operation.