Sipping coffee and reminiscing

© Mark Ollig 

Sony announced its first PlayStation game console May 11, 1995, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, CA.

By August of that year, I was in an electronics showroom looking for the latest state-of-the-art notebook computer.

People were checking out Sony’s Watchman FD-210, Sega Saturn, Discman, and the Panasonic Shockwave Portable CD Player.

Many shelves were also lined with computers.

In 1995, I made it a weekly ritual to watch “Computer Chronicles,” a television program hosted by Stewart Cheifet since 1983.

This program served as a gateway to the constantly advancing world of personal computing technology by highlighting the latest innovations.

The show aired during the peak of the personal computing revolution, which many of us were a part of.

Cheifet’s presentations inspired me to learn more about the latest computing technology.

I remember checking out the notebooks on display in the computer showroom, such as the IBM Toshiba Satellite, Apple PowerBook, and Hewlett-Packard OmniBook.

While I was browsing, a salesman approached and asked, “Can I assist you in finding anything?”

“I’m looking to buy a portable notebook computer,” I replied.

The salesman smiled and asked for more details; I could tell he anticipated a big sale.

“I’ll need the Windows 95 operating system, Microsoft Office 95, communication software, a web browser, and a few games,” I told him.

The Microsoft Office 95 bundle was a must-have, as it included Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook email.

After the salesman showed me some of the notebook computers, I decided on the Hewlett-Packard (HP) OmniBook 4000CT, which measured 11.6 by 8.9 by 1.93 inches and weighed 6.7 pounds.

It included the Intel 100 MHz 486DX4 processor, a full keyboard, a 3.5-inch floppy drive, 16 MB of RAM, and a 520 MB hard drive.

There was a 32 MB RAM and an 810 MB hard drive option, but I thought, “Who needs that much?”

At the time, 520MB was substantial, offering more than enough space to store my operating system, office, and utility software, Netscape Navigator web browser, ProComm communications program, documents, photos, and audio files.

I can imagine young people reading this column on their smartphones, smiling at my being impressed with 520 MB of disk storage while sipping their espressos.

The OmniBook had a 10.4-inch diagonal Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) active-matrix display with a vibrant 640 by 480 resolution that was quite impressive when compared to the older laptop screens I had seen. The colors popped; the text was razor-sharp.

It also contained a rechargeable nickel-metal hydride battery that could keep it powered for up to three hours.

The cost of my new notebook computer and software was slightly more than $3,000 (equivalent to $6,100 this year).

Since I am retired with more time on my hands, I decided to test NASA’s 15-pound., 8-by-8-by-7-inch Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) specifically developed for the Apollo missions to the moon, against my OmniBook.

I ran the technical specs of both the OmniBook 4000CT and the AGC through an AI program.

The specialized design of AGC was well-suited for real-time data processing, enabling split-second calculations and adjustments for navigation and control.

Its core rope memory, a form of non-volatile storage, made it remarkably reliable.

The AGC had built-in redundancy, fault-tolerant code, and error detection features, along with software programs intermixed with the Apollo spacecraft guidance systems.

The AGC “Colossus” fixed memory software system processed substantial amounts of mission data and calculated space flight and orbital trajectory information for the Apollo astronauts.

The “Luminary 1-D” also a fixed memory AGC software, calculated the maneuvers, managed navigation and control, and provided crucial information to guide the Apollo lunar module during its descent and landing on the moon.

Despite the resources of my OmniBook 4000CT computer, it could not outperform the overall abilities of NASA’s AGC.

Even with its 1960s components – a 2.048 MHz clock, 2048 words of magnetic-core RAM, magnetic-core rope ROM, integrated circuits, and specialized software – the AI program concluded that the AGC would outpace my OmniBook in calculating trajectories for a moon trip.

The Apollo Guidance Computer’s primary input and output interface used a display and keyboard unit known as a DSKY (pronounced diskey).

The DSKY screen included a 21-digit display and a 19-button keyboard.

It used a special command language which included two-digit numbers for programs, verb and noun codes, and five-digit numbers represented specific data like location or speed.

Each Apollo Command Module had one AGC and two DSKYs, which, during the early 1960s, resourceful MIT engineers designed, and the Raytheon Company built.

The Apollo Guidance Computer played a vital role in the moon missions, but its success was supported by powerful IBM System/360 mainframe computers.

Located in the Real-Time Computer Complex (RTCC) at the mission control center in Houston, TX, these computers handled complicated calculations and “mission-critical” data.

Sipping my coffee and reminiscing about my old OmniBook made me realize that much of the journey has been more than just comparing megabytes and processors.

The Apollo Guidance Computer
and the DSKY

My Apollo display and keyboard unit aka DSKY

Picture in the HP manual of my
OmniBook 4000CT 

The space shuttle Enterprise

© Mark Ollig  

On Nov. 28, 1968, the Orlando Sentinel newspaper led with the headline: ‘NASA Engineers Study Space Shuttle Plans.’

“The next major thrust in space may be the development of an economical launch vehicle for shuttling between Earth and installations such as space stations in orbit,” the article began.

NASA aimed to develop a reusable spacecraft that could cost-effectively carry up to eight astronauts to and from Earth orbit.

President Richard Nixon approved the space shuttle program in January 1972.

Between 1972 and 1976, the space shuttle design underwent extensive modification and testing of its heat-resistant tile system, reusable rocket boosters, and a complex computer guidance system for navigation and control.

In 1976, hundreds of thousands of letters from “Star Trek” fans (including me) were sent to then President Gerald Ford, asking him to name the prototype space shuttle “Enterprise,” in a grassroots effort to pay homage to the iconic spaceship from the television series.

It appeared President Ford shared our enthusiasm for the name.

On Sept. 8, 1976, at the White House, President Ford recommended the shuttle be named Enterprise during a meeting with NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, saying, “It is a distinguished name in American naval history, with a long tradition of courage and endurance.”

Ford went on, “It is also a name familiar to millions of faithful followers of the science fiction television program Star Trek. To explore the frontiers of space, there is no better ship than the space shuttle, and no better name for that ship than the Enterprise.”

NASA had initially chosen the name Constitution for the prototype shuttle.

The new Enterprise shuttle orbiter was exhibited during a public ceremony Sept. 17, 1976, at its manufacturing plant in Palmdale, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, along with most of the television series’ original cast members, attended the ceremony.

On Aug. 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise, attached atop a modified Boeing 747, took off from California’s Edwards Air Force Base.

While traveling 322 mph at an altitude of 26,400 feet, explosive bolts severed the three mounting struts attaching Enterprise to the 747, releasing the shuttle.

Upon separation, the two onboard shuttle astronauts, Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton, piloted the Enterprise like a glider.

The flight lasted five minutes and twenty-one seconds, ending with a safe landing on the seven-mile-long dry lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base as 40,000 people looked on.

While not designed for spaceflight, Enterprise was crucial in validating the shuttle’s aerodynamics and landing capabilities.

It was equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and control systems for this testing.

I can still vividly recall watching the live broadcast of the Enterprise’s test flight.

On April 12, 1981, the first orbital test flight of the space shuttle Columbia, designated Space Transportation System One (STS-1), launched from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen crewed this historic first flight.

At T-minus four seconds, Columbia’s three main engines ignited, and with a final computer check, the two solid rocket boosters roared to life.

“Liftoff! Liftoff of America’s first space shuttle . . . and the shuttle has cleared the tower.” said NASA’s Hugh Harris, providing launch commentary.

The space shuttle’s solid rocket boosters and main engines combined to generate more than 6.8 million pounds of thrust.

This immense power lifted the 4.5-million-pound launch weight, which was comprised of the external tank, solid rocket boosters, and the orbiter itself, which weighed nearly 109.7 tons.

The solid rocket boosters (SRBs) on either side of the space shuttle’s external fuel tank were the primary source of this thrust. Together, the two SRBs generated a combined 5.6 million pounds of thrust.

Additionally, Columbia’s three main liquid-fuel cryogenic RS-25 rocket engines, which burned liquid hydrogen and oxygen, produced around 1.2 million pounds of thrust.

Approximately 8.5 minutes after launch, Columbia achieved Earth orbit.

The astronauts tested onboard systems, including opening and closing the shuttle payload bay doors.

During their 37 orbits around the Earth, they operated the shuttle’s payload bay Canadarm, a Canadian-built robotic arm used to maneuver objects in space.

The space shuttle’s thermal protection system consisted of approximately 25,000 high-temperature reusable surface insulation silica ceramic fiber tiles, protecting it from temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry.

Honeywell Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, was responsible for developing flight controls, computer systems, and other technologies used in the space shuttle.

On April 14, 1981, Columbia returned to Earth, landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California after completing their 54-and-a-half-hour mission.

After the Challenger disaster in 1986, NASA considered using the Enterprise as a replacement.

However, due to cost, time, and design improvements, they instead chose to build a new space shuttle named Endeavour.

The Atlantis orbiter completed the final mission of the space shuttle program, STS-135, when it was launched July 8, 2011, and landed July 21.

NASA’s Enterprise shuttle test flight can be seen at: tinyurl.com/Enterprise1977.

Today, the Enterprise is on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York City: tinyurl.com/1977Enterprise.

My space shuttle I put together and painted Aug. 15, 1982.

My space shuttle Atlantis (orbiter vehicle designation: OV‑104)
with a swatch of its space-flown cargo bay liner.

The personal computer stepping stone

© Mark Ollig  

In 1976, Sol-20 revolutionized personal computing with its self-contained design, making computing accessible to everyone.

While small microcomputers such as the build-it-yourself Altair 8800 were built with switches and blinking lights, a new fully-assembled model with a built-in keyboard and attachable display monitor marked a dynamic shift toward user-friendly home computers.

Lee Felsenstein designed the Sol-20 microcomputer with the help of Bob Marsh and Gordon French.

They were all important figures at the Processor Technology Corporation and members of the Homebrew Computer Club in Menlo Park, CA, where Felsenstein served as the acting president.

The Homebrew Computer Club was active from 1975 to 1986 and included notable members Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft.

The Sol-20 was a personal, independently operating microcomputer, a departure from the era of remote data terminals connected to large mainframe computers like the IBM System/370.

At the 1976 Personal Computing Show in Atlantic City, NJ, the Sol-20 received positive feedback and garnered much attention.

Popular Electronics magazine’s July 1976 cover featured the Sol-20 computer and dubbed it as a “highly intelligent terminal.”

Processor Technology, based in Emeryville, CA, manufactured and sold the Sol-20.

This computer featured a sleek blue metal case, optional walnut side panels, a full-sized keyboard, a power supply, and a cooling fan.

The Sol-20 could be purchased either as a kit for $995 or fully assembled with a monitor for $1,495.

Under the computer’s hood, there was an 8-bit Intel 8080 microprocessor with a clock speed of 2 MHz.

It also included a S-100 bus with five expansion slots (a popular interface used with microcomputers), along with serial, parallel, and cassette ports.

A model called the Sol-10 was available without the S-100.

The Sol-20 reportedly shipped with base configurations ranging from 8 KB to 48 KB of RAM.

While these RAM numbers changed throughout its production run, even a minimal configuration, such as 1 KB to 2 KB, was significant in the late 1970s.

The Sol-20 computer could be expanded to a whopping 64 KB via S-100 printed circuit boards.

The S-100 bus expansion allowed users to add memory, graphics, floppy disk drives, printers, and modems.

A few years earlier, Lee Felsenstein designed the PennyWhistle 103, which was one of the first modems designed for computer hobbyists.

It was a 1200-baud acoustic coupler modem that could connect to other computers or community dial-up computer bulletin board services.

The PennyWhistle 103 transmitted and received data over telephone lines using a standard telephone handset and was priced at $109.95 plus $2.50 for postage and handling.

Before affordable hard drives and modern operating systems, early Sol-20 versions relied on non-volatile memory (NVM) read-only memory (ROM) plug-in modules.

NVM ROM is a type of computer memory that stores data permanently on a chip using binary code containing firmware or software that the user can’t modify.

These modules retain data permanently, even when the power is off, unlike volatile memory.

They also contain programming that initiates a computer’s startup process every time it is turned on (analogous to a boot-up).

These modules provided necessary instructions for starting the computer and controlling the keyboard, display, and cassette interface.

The Sol-20 computer also relied on cassette tapes for program input and data storage.

It utilized the Kansas City Standard (KCS) for encoding, a design intended to store digital data on inexpensive cassette tapes for early microcomputers.

People connected a regular cassette tape recorder to the computer’s cassette port to save data and load programs.

The Sol-20 computer’s five S-100 bus slots were used for expansion options like memory, graphics, audio, storage and memory devices, and printers.

Storage formats included eight-inch disk floppies and the smaller 5.25-inch minifloppies, as they were called then.

One popular peripheral expansion option for the Sol-20 was the Helios II Disk Memory System, which features dual eight-inch drives.

The Helios II Disk Memory System typically uses single-sided, double-density (SSDD) eight-inch diskettes, with each holding an average of 384 KB of data.

The Sol-20 computer’s cassette interface supported both the KCS 300-baud rate and the Computer Users Tape Standard (CUTS), with its optional 1200-baud mode (note: in this instance, the baud rate is equivalent to bits per second).

Games for the Sol-20 included a race-driving game, the action game Target, backgammon, Trek-80 (a text-based space adventure inspired by Star Trek), and GAMEPAC 1, an arcade compilation featuring Pong, chess, and checkers.

Users would input programs into the Sol-20 by loading it from pre-coded cassette tapes, purchasing commercial modules, or manually typing in programming code usually found in computing magazines.

Although nearly 12,000 Sol-20 computers were sold from 1976 to 1979, Processor Technology ended its production in May 1979 due to increased competition in the rapidly-evolving computer industry.

The Sol-20 microcomputer model served as a stepping-stone for the new personal computing enthusiasts, programmers, and engineers.

The Sol-20 microcomputer (PC) from 1976.

Text-to-video: OpenAI’s Sora

© Mark Ollig  

OpenAI, a US-based research organization, has developed Sora, a text-to-video technology.

The name Sora means ‘sky’ in Japanese, hinting at its “the sky is the limit” possibilities.

Sora is an advanced program that uses algorithms and extensive training data to transform written text into high-quality videos.

Its technology allows you to generate professional-grade videos with multiple moving characters and diverse visual styles simply by writing your statements.

Sora can even take still images and transform them into videos, extend existing videos, and fill in missing film segments.

Frames from an AI-generated video based off of Mark Ollig programming his ZX81 Sinclair computer using BASIC.

OpenAI’s Sora software was released in February of this year to cybersecurity professionals known as “red teamers.”

The software will undergo susceptibility testing to address any vulnerabilities that malware or hackers could exploit.

OpenAI is still improving Sora’s performance along with coding to prevent the creation of unethical video content.

After viewing some of the Sora AI-generated videos available on their website, I came away impressed by their realism. The movements, lighting, and textures were strikingly lifelike.

I installed the Sora app (last updated March 27, 2024) and made two AI videos, one from my text description and the other from a 1982 photo of me with added movements based on brief text input.

In addition to Sora, OpenAI has developed a suite of well-known AI applications.

These include GPT-4, a powerful language AI assistant model, and ChatGPT, a resourceful AI interactive chatbot.

OpenAI also created DALL-E, an AI system that generates realistic images and artwork from simple text descriptions.

The name playfully combines artist Salvador Dalí and Pixar’s animated robot Wall-E.

Another notable OpenAI application is Codex, which can translate natural language instructions into computer code.

As an AI-based tool, Sora generates videos from text input by analyzing its vast amounts of stored data.

Sora has various potential applications across different fields.

For instance, educators can use it to enhance their lessons with interactive simulations, which can assist students in comprehending intricate concepts.

Marketers can also leverage Sora’s capabilities to create visually appealing and engaging campaigns that can grab the attention of their target audience.

Designers of various specialties, including product, UX/UI (user experience/user interface) graphics, and motion graphics.

Sora can also be used to create videos that complement music.

Fashion and interior designers can use Sora’s high level of accuracy to create precise prototypes, which can help them refine their designs more efficiently.

Sora’s ability to generate videos in various styles – from photorealistic to imaginative animation – opens up a world of creative possibilities.

In the 1970s, the telecommunications industry used specialized programming languages like Protel (Procedure Oriented Type Enforcing Language) to manage their complex systems.

Developed by Bell-Northern Research, Protel drew inspiration from structured programming language models like PASCAL, created by Niklaus Wirth in 1970.

PASCAL’s emphasis on readable code and well-defined data structures made it a powerful tool for building reliable software for both educational and industry settings.

My experience with Protel dates back to 1986 when I worked at Winsted Telephone Company.

I used a text-based command-line interpreter to program and maintain a Nortel DMS-10 digital voice-switching platform using Protel. I would later use it with the larger DMS-100, 250, and 500 switches.

PASCAL is named after Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century mathematician.

Although PASCAL’s influence is noticeable in modern programming design principles, AI systems like Sora demand more specialized tools.

Today’s AI developers use programming languages like Python, a versatile and widely used language to analyze complex data and build intelligent systems that can learn from that data.

Sora’s core modeling software is proprietary, but it leverages powerful programming languages and AI frameworks for efficiency and adaptability.

It reportedly uses C++, a high-performance language, to optimize video generation speeds, and Python.

Additionally, Sora employs deep learning framework technologies like PyTorch or TensorFlow.

These and other high-level programming technologies are used for building and deploying complex neural networks used in AI applications.

Sora utilizes a transformer architecture known for its versatility in tasks like language processing and image generation, which allows it to excel in video creation, demonstrating capabilities beyond its original design.

Early AI video-generating systems faced challenges in accurately depicting spatial details, generating realistic interactions, and fully understanding cause and effect within scenes.

For example, in an AI-generated video, a person might take a bite of a cookie, yet the cookie would remain whole afterward.

This simple error highlights the AI model’s limitation in understanding object permanence.

Sora’s ability to track and understand object states (object consistency) is a notable step towards human-like reasoning for AI systems.

Its ability to generate highly detailed characters and landscapes and its natural language comprehension are impressive.

This type of technology is another step into AI’s future potential to better understand and interact with us and our increasingly complex world.

To learn about and see some Sora AI-generated videos, visit (openai.com/sora).

Its AI-generated technical details can be seen at (tinyurl.com/SoraTechnical).

(Below is the AI-generated video of me taken in 1982)

Click twice to play!

Photo of me from 1982 that the
 AI generated the video from

Below is the AI-generated video based on my text description of a man in his mid-60s with a white beard sitting at a table in a coffee shop reading the newspaper.

Below is a AI-Generated video I created from a 1976 photo I took of my Dad proudly maneuvering his Kayot pontoon on Gull Lake, near Brainerd, MN. Dad loved having all of us on the pontoon, and we had access to seven sperate lakes. Many happy times and good memories for me. 

Below is the photo I took: