How to make BART go faster

Mark & Wes, in Orinda, CA at Yu Sushi.

Click here to listen to the official audio show

Wes isn't ready for the G1 phone yet, but is thinking about getting one once other carriers start offering their own Android phones. Mark doesn't think that the T-Mobile network is all that good, so holding off on the purchase of a G1 specifically may be wise. Was UNIX originally a public domain operating system from Bell Labs? Mark ponders the question of what device may have been made to emulate another, in the 1800's? Some guy hooks up electrodes to his face to move facial muscles based on the sound of music. Mark invented a device for a psychology lab to analyze thinking patterns. We end the show with an update on Al Bernay and the discoveries found at Al's place.

Sites of Interest:

• Ancient Rome layer added to Google Earth.
  
  
• Google G1 phone is gaining momentum?
  
  
• IBM 7090 - first computer to be used for animation.
  
  
• More on the history of early computer animation.
  
  
• Tron was pretty early, but not the first computer generated film.
  
  
• Blade Runner - the last analog sci-fi film.
  
  
• Dark Star - another famous analog sci-fi film.
  
  
• Unix history chart and First Unix manual with 60 commands, 11/3/71
  
  
• CP/M - Operating System by Digital Research.
  
  
• History of MS/DOS and speculation on why IBM used it instead of CP/M for the PC.
  
  
• The first timeshare system Mark used was CP/CMS and he evaluated a VM/PC.
  
  
• How to emulate VM/370, the successor to CP/CMS, on any modern PC!
  
  
• Apple's DOS Compatibility Boards.
  
  
• Microsoft's CP/M card for the Apple II.
  
  
• DOSBox - An x86 emulator with DOS.
  
  
• Univac computer first to predict elections, Eisenhower/Stevenson
  
  
• How to turn a human into a remote-controlled robot. Watch the video!
  
  
• Eye-tracking technology is useful for testing usability of software and websites.
  
  
• Google uses searches to track the spread of flu.
  
  
• Frankie helping Mark go through Al Bernay's things:
  
  
  
  
• Picture of Al in "the basement" in late 1960's. Note the homemade circuit cards hanging from the walls:
  
  
  
  
• A couple of these circuit cards that survived:
  
  
  
  
• The homemade switchboard that Al used to control his phone lines:
  
  
  
  
• Cherry-brand slide matrix switch that Al labeled to install into his equipment, but not sure if he ever used it:
  
  
  
  
  
  

Wes' iTouch Applications of the week:

• FieldRunners
  
  
• iDrum

Mark's iPhone Applications of the week:

• SiAX - SIP and IAX2 VOIP app, install from Cydia for jail-broken phones only
  
  
• iSkream - Stupid, but fun, audio app.
  
  
• iOscilloscope - Draws oscilloscope display from iPhone microphone sounds.