Ship's computers

> Why do you need a supercomputer in your pocket?  Why isn't the pocket
> computer just another "cell" of a larger computer that uses many cells
> working in parallel in a cooperative network?  Why do Traveller computers
> resemble 1970's mainframes running MVS?  By the way, I beleive that 'bis'
> is a signifier from IBM mainframes (from the '70s) that means "enhanced".

There was a WWII Italian fighter, the Fiat G50, which had a "bis" variant.
"Bis" was around long before computers.

As for pocket supercomputers, wait till someone puts a small LCD display and
keyboard onto a transputer board! 1MB in your pocket - you can keep your 1 ton
Model 1 bis!

Seriously though, if that sort of computing power becomes available and cheap,
big machines may become obsolete. Who needs a room full of computer when you
can do all your work on your lap-top, then send it via a modem by telephone,
radio, laser or meson communicator to whoever you want. To reverse the emphasis
above, "larger" computers may become nothing more than a lot of portable
machines networked together. Or, as I said in an earlier article, suppose
someone on the ship has a pocket model 1. The ship's main computer gets blown
away by a critical hit. So the pocket model gets linked to the ship's systems,
and the ship can at least jump again.

> If the chips were completely enclosed in a conductive, grounded shield, the
> EMP could not reach them.  With fibre-optic cables entering the shield, the
> chips inside would be relatively safe.

Are you sure? If so, why is EMP a problem? Most machines have earthed, metal
shells, mainly to prevent them from causing radio interference.

Back to the real world. My statement about pocket computers having 32K has
just gone out of date. There's a new one out with 64K. We're getting there!

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  [email removed]
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   [email removed]