Munich, April 27-28, 2012 13.0 Vintage Computer Festival Europe U NIVERSITY OF P ISA Hacking the Smaller Machine Hackerando la Macchina Ridotta – hmr.di.unipi.it Rebuilding the Smaller Machine The first step in any research that is concerned with the technologies of early computers has to investigate the surviving design documentation . Teaching Computer Science at the Museum As for HMR, this process brought to light two different versions of the MR. The first one dates back to July 1956 and it remained at design stage. The other one was fully operational one year later. A replica of the first hw component (a 6 bits adder tested in early 1956) has been rebuilt in cooperation with the Computer Museum of Novara and the Pisa Labs of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics . For both MRs the HMR project has implemented a simulator. In order to let people understand the early technologies and live the feelings of the computer pioneers, a musem has to exhibit working machines that can be experienced by modern users. Both the hardware replica and the MR simulators are now used at the Museum of Computing Instruments in Pisa to offer students, as well as all-age visitors, a travel into the mid-Fifties computer science. 1. The 6 bits adder. A practical exercise in binary arithmetics. 2. The MR57 simulator. A working session for college students. 2 1

Hacking the Smaller Machinehmr.di.unipi.it/HMR/HMR-Monaco2.pdf · Hacking the Smaller Machine Hackerando la Macchina Ridotta – hmr.di.unipi.it Rebuilding the Smaller Machine The

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Page 1: Hacking the Smaller Machinehmr.di.unipi.it/HMR/HMR-Monaco2.pdf · Hacking the Smaller Machine Hackerando la Macchina Ridotta – hmr.di.unipi.it Rebuilding the Smaller Machine The

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UNIVERSITYOF PISA

Hackingthe Smaller MachineHackerando la Macchina Ridotta – hmr.di.unipi.it

Rebuilding the Smaller Machine

The first step in any research that is concerned with the technologies of early computers has to investigatethe surviving design documentation.

Teaching Computer Science at the Museum

As for HMR, this process broughtto light two different versions ofthe MR. The first one dates back to July 1956 and it remained at design stage. The other one wasfully operational one year later.

A replica of the first hw component (a 6 bits adder tested in early 1956) has been rebuilt in cooperation with the Computer Museum of Novaraand the Pisa Labs of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics.

For both MRs the HMR projecthas implemented a simulator.

In order to let people understand the early technologies and live thefeelings of the computer pioneers, a musem has to exhibit workingmachines that can be experienced by modern users.

Both the hardware replica and the MR simulators are now used at the Museum of Computing Instruments in Pisa to offer students, as wellas all-age visitors, a travel into the mid-Fifties computer science.

1. The 6 bits adder. A practical exercise in binary arithmetics.

2. The MR57 simulator. A working session for college students.