#361 – An Interview with Ken Shirriff

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Welcome Ken Shirriff from Righto.com!

• Ken uses a metallugical microscope and the hyugens software package to stitch together the images.
• Inside fake RAM chips
• Armour etch will remove the top layer of oxide
• Analyzing a vintage 8008
• Mining bitcoin with pencil and paper. Ken made a video of this as well.
• Mining bitcoin on a Xerox Alto!
• Xerox Alto , precursor to (all computers, but also the) Xerox Star
• Alan Kay
• yCombinator contacted Ken to rebuild theirs.
• The IBM 1401 demo lab
• Living computer museum in Seattle
• Smalltalk –
• BCPL
• The 76477 sound chip 
• Integrated Injection Logic
• Day 31 of restoration
• The Alto had the first version of tons of modern computer peripherals:
  • Mouse
  • Laser Printer
  • Ethernet
• Ken displayed his work at the recent VCF
• They found a disk with an early version of Voice over IP!
• Bell Labs discovering big bang (microwave background radiation)
• Sinclair calculator simulator
• Ken was inspired by the Visual 6502
• CuriousMarc is a YouTube channel that followed the Alto rebuild
• TI Calculator simulator
• Ken uses lots of patents like this one from TI
• There are interesting things happening in Mac chargers (and the ripoffs)
• DS2413 1-Wire switch
• iPad chargers were interesting as well
• Sprite_tm talking about FTDI parts
• Ken also tears down vintage parts like the 555
• Figured out transistors on die from books, LT Spice
• Transfluxors – core memory
• Read more on righto.com or follow Ken on Twitter as @KenShirriff