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"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Universal Dictionary | ||
| A machine that provided references to anything known. |
Whenever Mr. Kiku wanted to know something, he'd just check the universal dictionary terminal on his desk.
| The universal dictionary in the British Museum was not more knowledgeable than the one in the Under Secretary's office; its working parts occupied an entire building in another part of the Capital, and its staff of cyberneticists, semanticians and encyclopedists endlessly fed its hunger for facts. |
| From The Star Beast,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1954 Additional resources -
|
This entry gives a very clear picture of what a massive computer installation looked like in the 1950's; it was very large and required a large staff to keep it running. Here's an example of a mid-1950's computer - the IBM 704:
The IBM 704 was considered the world's first super-computer and the first machine to incorporate floating-point hardware. The 704 used magnetic core memory that was faster and more reliable than the magnetic drum storage found in the 701.
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and Technology from The Star Beast
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Tech news articles related to The Star Beast
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
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news articles:
- Encyclopedia Googleactica - Google To Put All Human Knowledge Online
- WolframAlpha Is Not A Search Engine
| Lizard Squad, Nihilistic Technofetishists For Hire |
| CoBots - Collaborative Robots Ask Humans For Help |
| Neuromorphic Brain-Chip Takes Flight |
| 'Hello, Computer!' Intel's Core M Catches Up To Scotty |
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