Class of 1965 50th Anniversary

Computing from 1964 to today

Size & Speed, Usage, Impact

John S. McGeachie D’65 T’75 P’88

What computing was like before 1964

Dartmouth Time-Sharing and BASIC

What is Time-Sharing?– Many users share one computer system– Input, output, thinking occupy most of a user’s time– Computer usually idle

Why?– Typical computer system 1963 ~ $ 1 million– Equivalent to $ 6.9 million in 2015– Not your average PC.

Size and Speed, 1965

Dartmouth Time-Sharing System (DTSS)- Data: 14 million bytes ... for ALL users- Speed: ~ 65,000 instructions per second

DISC

GE-235

(40 users)

DN-30

Size and Speed, 1965

Time-line – we beat the estimates!

1963 Fall – learn to program, grasp strategy 1964:

– Winter – code execs, debug Basic– Spring – success! Three teletypes.– Summer – 20 teletypes, Algol– Fall – background; system replicated at GE

1965:– Summer – GE begins commercial service in Phoenix & NYC– Fall – 40 teletypes

Suddenly, a large user population

(Dartmouth Time-Sharing, Kemeny and Kurtz, Science, 11 Oct 1968. Volume 162, pp. 223-228)

Then and Now

Dartmouth Time-Sharing System•14 million bytes ... for ALL users•~ 65,000 instructions per second

Apple Watch•8 billion bytes ... on your wrist!•> 10,000 times faster

Size and Speed ...

Use and Impact of Technology

From mostly engineering and economics ...

to everyday life:

• Your car• Your home (tv, thermostat, fridge, stereo …)• Your books (the Kindle reader)• Your doctor• Your finances• Your pills ... (!)• Your communications (the Internet)• Your social life• Your privacy!• Exploration: Robotic, space, hazardous environments• Easy of use …

The early players

Kemeny & Kurtz – select hardware, develop strategy, create Basic

Busch ’66 (DN-30) & McGeachie ’65 (GE-235) – design and code execs, devise overall tactics, be impatient

Bellairs ’65 – Basic (JGK on sabbatical) Moore ’65 – Symmaint, Fortran Froehbose ’65 – Edit Garland ’63, O’Gorman ’64 – Algol Jim Brackett (GE) – keep hardware running, get

modifications approved

How did it affect me?

page 4, paragraph 2

Citation by Kemeny

How did it affect me? Computer technology career ...

1965-1977: Programmer, IT consultant, manager.• Computer consulting firm startup.• Helped Dartmouth with next generation DTSS. Became

head of computing at Dartmouth.• Attended Tuck School, graduated in 1975.

1977-1997: Technology consulting US and abroad.• Intelligent thermostat company startup.

1998-2005: “Retired”– back to hands-on …• Involved in our kids’high-tech startups.• Person-to-person connection-finding startup with two Tuck

classmates. Company sold to WSJ.

2006 - ? software engineering, now at Oracle.

Going forward - some thoughts

• “Big Data”– enormous amounts of data being collected across the board – ethical issues.

• “Cloud” computing replacing local PCs.• Combination of computing power and data have

potential to make huge changes in healthcare, including genetically engineered medications.

• Internet a concern as it is now becoming increasingly vulnerable to hackers.

YouTube Video

• Search for “Birth of Basic” – a 30-minute video created for the 50th anniversary of BASIC in May 2014.