Currently reading ....

[SupremeSpod]

Finished that. Excellent story well told albeit not a very staisfying ending. But that's Auster for you.
Now reading an Ambler for light reading, "The Mask of Demetrious".
For serious reading still ploughing through Algorithmics which makes CS as interesting as it can be.

Will you please learn to spell? I'm sure somewhere in your ramblings there may be a gem of intelligence lying somewhere in the middle of the dross you normally post but to be honest I can't be arsed decoding your sh!te.

[sasguru]

Will you please learn to spell? I'm sure somewhere in your ramblings there may be a gem of intelligence lying somewhere in the middle of the dross you normally post but to be honest I'm too thick to understand what you post as my education has been rather inadequate..

FTFY.

[SupremeSpod]

FTFY.

Oh come now. That's wearing a bit thin and was hardly original material on your part. Obviously.

"The Mask of Demetrious" - No such book, if you're going to post such pretentious cack then at least research the correct title.

[sasguru]

"The Mask of Demetrious" - No such book, if you're going to post such pretentious cack then at least research the correct title.

1. I'm not Greek and there's no reason I should be able to spell in Greek. The book would be obvious from a quick Google search.

2. It's what used to be called an "entertainment". Hardly pretentious then.

See what I mean about lack of education? Its obvious to those who have had one, unlike yourself. Now stop digging.*

*Or on second thoughts carry on

[SupremeSpod]

1. I'm not Greek and there's no reason I should be able to spell in Greek. The book would be obvious from a quick Google search.

2. It's what used to be called an "entertainment". Hardly pretentious then.

See what I mean about lack of education? Its obvious to those who have had one, unlike yourself. Now stop digging.*

*Or on second thoughts carry on

Your spelling betrays your lack of intellect, your hatred for others who're successful is prevalant in most of your posts. TBH you're a poisonous individual.

[sasguru]

Your spelling betrays your lack of intellect, your hatred for others who're successful is prevalant in most of your posts. TBH you're a poisonous individual.

Oh the irony!

[oldcomputerbooks]

Giant Brains book and a bit more

I'd like to read this:

oldcomputerbooks.com

but I'm not prepared to spend $90 for the privilege.

Hello to all readers and members, and to Zeitghost for his link back to our website and specifically Edmund Berkeley's book, Giant Brains or Machines That Think. A specific note about that book is at the end of this rather long introductory post!

Just wanted to thank you for your (unsolicited) recognition -- the readers of this Forum have been visiting and inquriing! Our site is very much under construction, and we presently have only a small fraction of our books and journals catalogued online, so we invite you and your readers back to visit anytime.

We'd like to say 'Thank You' to Zeitghost and the other readers of forums.contractoruk.com, so we are offering a discount of 20% off any order referred by you or your readers, good any time for the remainder of 2010. Use the code (contractoruk2010) and if the check-out or coupon section of the website acts a bit buggy (we are still configuring payment methods etc), just send us an email at [email protected], noting this code, and we'll apply the discount before charging the order. (We accept VISA, MasterCard, AmeX by telephone and soon securely on the website); also, Paypal and international money orders.

I will also accept choice chocolate recipes and offers of left-handed relief pitchers, but these cannot be used in lieu of payment for any of our old computer books and materials.

Just FYI, we have been bookdealers since the early 1980's and have been buying and selling older computing material for about 10 years. It's amazing to me how many people are interested in learning about, and preserving, the computer artifacts which they (or their parents) grew up using.

When I get the Links page online, I will add a link back to the forums here. Thanks again, and Cheers from the States,

Anne
oldcomputerbooks.com

p.s. Edmund Berkeley's book, Giant Brains or Machines That Think, was the first popular book on electronic computers; when it was published, computers were virtually unknown to the general public. UNIVAC was still only in the early stages of development, and apart from a few magazine and newspaper articles for the general reader, most 'computer' information at that time was contained only in specialist technical publications and government-sponsored reports. Berkeley's book was intended to explain these concepts to a nonspecialist audience.

It also contains the earliest description of Berkeley's own 'Simon' machine - 'a miniature mechanical brain containing 129 relays,a stepping switch, and a five-hole paper tape feed' The first Simon was built in 1950, and by 1959 over 400 Simon plans or kits had been sold. (my reference in this case is Hook & Norman's, The Origins of Cyberspace)

The copy of the book to which Zeitghost linked, is a first edition (1949) in the bright yellow and black dustjacket. Other copies are available, lacking the jacket; later editions are also available.

As bookdealers, we are mindful of condition, edition, availability, and demand; it is in our own interests to provide our customers with the help they need to make an informed purchasing decision. Please contact me if you have any questions about this book or any other aspect of the history of computing. Cheers again!

[Bunk]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Have you lot been on a summer holiday or what?

Nope Zeity, this one is all your doing.

[sasguru]

offers of left-handed relief ...

We call them pot noodles here.

[shaunbhoy]

For serious reading still ploughing through Algorithmics which makes CS as interesting as it can be.

Jesus suffering Fook!! You must be a riot at dinner parties!
Why not just go back to the Beano, and give the Rice Krispie that is passing for a brain a bit of well-earned respite?