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Cyhist Dec 21 1996 C
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Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 14:38:08 -0800
Reply-To: les@cs.stanford.edu
Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU>
From: Les Earnest <les@Steam.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: CM: Station wagon full of tapes.
In-Reply-To: Paul Czyzewski's message of Wed, 18 Dec 1996 22:27:19 -0800
<199612212225.OAA12884@Steam.Stanford.EDU>
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
Paul Czyzewski writes:
In Computer Networks, second edition ('88), by Andrew Tanenbaum, section 2.2.1, "Magnetic Media", has a paragraph starting "A simple calculation makes this point clear," which gives the station wagon example with no attribution to any earlier source. It ends with
"The moral of the story is: Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway."
I presume this is also in the first edition. Does this look like it would be early enough to be the source for this concept?
Very unlikely. While working on the design of the SAGE system in the late 1950s I recall a public discussion of the bandwidth of a cargo jet filled with magnetic tape in which someone computed the value.
On the other hand, I don't really care who first uttered such words -- it is an obvious and trivial observation.
-Les Earnest
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: les@cs.stanford.edu
Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU>
From: Les Earnest <les@Steam.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: CM: Station wagon full of tapes.
In-Reply-To: Paul Czyzewski's message of Wed, 18 Dec 1996 22:27:19 -0800
<199612212225.OAA12884@Steam.Stanford.EDU>
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
Paul Czyzewski writes:
In Computer Networks, second edition ('88), by Andrew Tanenbaum, section 2.2.1, "Magnetic Media", has a paragraph starting "A simple calculation makes this point clear," which gives the station wagon example with no attribution to any earlier source. It ends with
"The moral of the story is: Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway."
I presume this is also in the first edition. Does this look like it would be early enough to be the source for this concept?
Very unlikely. While working on the design of the SAGE system in the late 1950s I recall a public discussion of the bandwidth of a cargo jet filled with magnetic tape in which someone computed the value.
On the other hand, I don't really care who first uttered such words -- it is an obvious and trivial observation.
-Les Earnest
______________________________________________________________________
