TX-0

TX-0 computer circuitry used Philco surface-barrier transistors, which were encapsulated in plug-in vacuum tubes for testing and easy removal.
Philco surface-barrier transistor advertisement for the first high-frequency transistors, which were used in the TX-0 transistorized computer

The TX-0, for Transistorized Experimental computer zero, but affectionately referred to as tixo (pronounced "tix oh"), was an early fully transistorized computer and contained a then-huge 64K of 18-bit words of magnetic-core memory. Construction of the TX-0 began in 1955[1] and ended in 1956.[2][3][4] It was used continually through the 1960s at MIT. The TX-0 incorporated around 3,600 Philco high-frequency surface-barrier transistors, the first transistor suitable for high-speed computers.[5] The TX-0 and its direct descendant, the original PDP-1, were platforms for pioneering computer research and the development of what would later be called computer "hacker" culture. For MIT, this was the first computer to provide a system console which allowed for direct interaction, as opposed to previous computers, which required the use of punched card as a primary interface for programmers debugging their programs.[6] Members of MIT's Tech Model Railroad Club, "the very first hackers at MIT", reveled in the interactivity afforded by the console, and were recruited by Marvin Minsky to work on this and other systems used by Minsky's AI group.[7]

  1. ^ November, Joseph A. (2012-04-23). Biomedical Computing: Digitizing Life in the United States. JHU Press. p. 133. ISBN 9781421404684. Archived from the original on 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  2. ^ Ryan, Johnny (2010-09-15). A History of the Internet and the Digital Future. Reaktion Books. p. 48. ISBN 9781861898357. Archived from the original on 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  3. ^ Ceruzzi, Paul E. (2003). A History of Modern Computing. MIT Press. p. 127. ISBN 9780262532037. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  4. ^ "Highlights from The Computer Museum Report Number 8" (PDF). The Computer Museum, Boston. Spring 1984. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2010-02-19 – via Ed Thelen's Web Site.
  5. ^ Saul Rosen (June 1991). PHILCO: Some Recollections of the PHILCO TRANSAC S-2000 (Computer Science Technical Reports / Purdue e-Pubs). Purdue University. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-19. Here: page 2
  6. ^ Chiou, Stefanie; Music, Craig; Sprague, Kara; Wahba, Rebekah (2001), A Marriage of Convenience: The Founding of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (PDF), AI Lab at MIT, p. 6, archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-08-05
  7. ^ Chiou, Stefanie; Music, Craig; Sprague, Kara; Wahba, Rebekah (2001), A Marriage of Convenience: The Founding of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (PDF), AI Lab at MIT, pp. 7–8, archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-08-05