Discussion:
Signetics 25120 WOM
(too old to reply)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-20 22:10:29 UTC
Permalink
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a “Write-Only
Memory” chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be simply thrown
away, and attempts to read from the chip would never return anything. They
were surprised to get a few serious queries from prospective customers
wanting to make use of this component.

Bitsavers has just included a multi-page ad that the company put in an
issue of “Electronic Design” from 1973, for a competition where entrants
would submit a description of the most creative use for a WOM they could
think of, with the winner being featured in upcoming ads. The ad even
included the data sheet.

Even entrants that did not win (a limited number, obviously) would receive
a “WOM Kit” containing a set of Groucho Marx fake glasses, a bumper
sticker, a button and a fortune cookie. But no mention of an actual 25120
WOM chip ...
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-20 22:31:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a “Write-Only
Memory” chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be simply thrown
away,
Why throw the data away? Write it.
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
and attempts to read from the chip would never return anything.
Right. Cannot read it, but it stores data anyway? lol. ;^D
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
They
were surprised to get a few serious queries from prospective customers
wanting to make use of this component.
Bitsavers has just included a multi-page ad that the company put in an
issue of “Electronic Design” from 1973, for a competition where entrants
would submit a description of the most creative use for a WOM they could
think of, with the winner being featured in upcoming ads. The ad even
included the data sheet.
Even entrants that did not win (a limited number, obviously) would receive
a “WOM Kit” containing a set of Groucho Marx fake glasses, a bumper
sticker, a button and a fortune cookie. But no mention of an actual 25120
WOM chip ...
Mike Spencer
2024-11-20 23:38:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a "Write-Only
Memory" chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be simply thrown
away,
Why throw the data away? Write it.
and attempts to read from the chip would never return anything.
Right. Cannot read it, but it stores data anyway? lol. ;^D
Deleted data or data missing where it is expected to be is suspicious.

Data that is there where it should be is reassuring. That it cannot
be read potentially arouses suspicion only when someone explicitly
targets a specific unreadable datum for reading.

William Gibson loosely described this use of WOM in his novel, Zero
History. Archived serial data from surveillance cams is all there but
when the system tries to read certain frames, they come up null or
something. "Ugliest tee shirt in the world."

The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 but given the volume of bloviation,
advertizing and similar data generated in today's world that no one
ever wants to read/hear/see anyhow , petabyte WOM installations in
temperate and subarctic zones might provide domestic heating for whole
communities, justifying the cost of 6' fans..
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
They were surprised to get a few serious queries from prospective
customers wanting to make use of this component.
Bitsavers has just included a multi-page ad that the company put in an
issue of "Electronic Design" from 1973, for a competition where entrants
would submit a description of the most creative use for a WOM they could
think of, with the winner being featured in upcoming ads. The ad even
included the data sheet.
Even entrants that did not win (a limited number, obviously) would receive
a "WOM Kit" containing a set of Groucho Marx fake glasses, a bumper
sticker, a button and a fortune cookie. But no mention of an actual 25120
WOM chip ...
--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-20 23:55:39 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-21 01:04:28 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter? Like a run away thread in a loop
doing nothing by running at full speed?
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-21 01:05:47 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter? Like a run away thread in a loop
doing nothing by running at full speed?
|memory|


|system|

store to memory = nothing
load from memory = nothing


No way to even reach it.
MitchAlsup1
2024-11-21 03:07:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter? Like a run away thread in a loop
doing nothing by running at full speed?
|memory|
|system|
store to memory = nothing
load from memory = nothing
How are you getting the 6ft hurricane fan within ½" of the system ??
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
No way to even reach it.
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-21 03:14:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by MitchAlsup1
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter? Like a run away thread in a loop
doing nothing by running at full speed?
|memory|
|system|
store to memory = nothing
load from memory = nothing
How are you getting the 6ft hurricane fan within ½" of the system ??
Don't know. Shit happens? We have a memory that tosses out all writes,
and reading from from is denied. Like in a dream?



;^o Sorry, but shit happens. Humm...
Post by MitchAlsup1
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
No way to even reach it.
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-21 04:57:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by MitchAlsup1
How are you getting the 6ft hurricane fan within ½" of the system ??
Very ... carefully.
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-21 02:18:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter?
Discarding information is not “doing nothing”.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing>
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-21 03:04:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter?
Discarding information is not “doing nothing”.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing>
So, request denied can be plotted?
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-21 03:08:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter?
Discarding information is not “doing nothing”.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing>
So, request denied can be plotted?
A dynamic heat map of the processor?
Charlie Gibbs
2024-11-21 05:27:27 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter?
Discarding information is not “doing nothing”.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing>
So, request denied can be plotted?
Sure. Check your local government for a file of
Freedom of Information requests.
--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <***@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-23 21:35:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by Charlie Gibbs
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Chris M. Thomasson
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Doing nothing makes things hotter?
Discarding information is not “doing nothing”.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing>
So, request denied can be plotted?
Sure. Check your local government for a file of
Freedom of Information requests.
No shit! lol. ;^)
MitchAlsup1
2024-11-21 03:06:33 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Mike Spencer
The requirement for "a six foot fan 1/2 inch from the package" is a
potential downside of the 25120 ...
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Depends on how one chucks it away.

If one chucks it away efficiently, then it wastes no energy.

If one actually tries to write it into a cell that is not there
it definitely wastes energy:: decoder energy, word line energy,
bit line energy, non-addressed cell energy.)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-21 04:57:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by MitchAlsup1
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Chucking away data does increase entropy. This makes things hotter.
Depends on how one chucks it away.
If one chucks it away efficiently, then it wastes no energy.
But chucking it away means achieving nothing with it, which is always
going to be 0% efficient. QED.
Charlie Gibbs
2024-11-21 05:27:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Spencer
William Gibson loosely described this use of WOM in his novel, Zero
History. Archived serial data from surveillance cams is all there but
when the system tries to read certain frames, they come up null or
something. "Ugliest tee shirt in the world."
I think I once read a science fiction story where a mechanized
confession box utilized a WOM.
--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <***@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey
MitchAlsup1
2024-11-21 00:03:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a “Write-Only
Memory” chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be simply thrown
away, and attempts to read from the chip would never return anything. They
were surprised to get a few serious queries from prospective customers
wanting to make use of this component.
Bitsavers has just included a multi-page ad that the company put in an
issue of “Electronic Design” from 1973, for a competition where entrants
would submit a description of the most creative use for a WOM they could
think of, with the winner being featured in upcoming ads. The ad even
included the data sheet.
Even entrants that did not win (a limited number, obviously) would receive
a “WOM Kit” containing a set of Groucho Marx fake glasses, a bumper
sticker, a button and a fortune cookie. But no mention of an actual 25120
WOM chip ...
The best part was the complement chip-destruct pin.

I remember reading this in school n an engineering magazine.
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-23 00:59:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by MitchAlsup1
The best part was the complement chip-destruct pin.
Complement, even.

Did they ship pre-destructed from the factory?

I just noticed the little chart of “number of socket insertions”
versus “number of remaining pins” ...

<https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/magazines/Electronic_Design/Electronic_Design_V21_N13_19730621_WOM.pdf>
MitchAlsup1
2024-11-23 01:59:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by MitchAlsup1
The best part was the complement chip-destruct pin.
Complement, even.
Yes, I often wondered if the chip would pre-destruct itself when powered
down, too.

Then there was the 6.3V AC heater elements.
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Did they ship pre-destructed from the factory?
Based on the functional description, it would be hard to tell.
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
I just noticed the little chart of “number of socket insertions”
versus “number of remaining pins” ...
Works on modern CPUs, too.
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
<https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/magazines/Electronic_Design/Electronic_Design_V21_N13_19730621_WOM.pdf>
Lynn Wheeler
2024-11-21 03:02:24 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a “Write-Only
Memory” chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be simply thrown
away, and attempts to read from the chip would never return anything. They
were surprised to get a few serious queries from prospective customers
wanting to make use of this component.
i have some vague memory from the period using it (or something similar)
for optimal compression
--
virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-21 04:58:46 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lynn Wheeler
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a
“Write-Only Memory” chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be
simply thrown away, and attempts to read from the chip would never
return anything. They were surprised to get a few serious queries from
prospective customers wanting to make use of this component.
i have some vague memory from the period using it (or something similar)
for optimal compression
I’m sure it works very well for deleted data.
Chris M. Thomasson
2024-11-21 05:01:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by Lynn Wheeler
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a
“Write-Only Memory” chip. Basically any data you sent to it would be
simply thrown away, and attempts to read from the chip would never
return anything. They were surprised to get a few serious queries from
prospective customers wanting to make use of this component.
i have some vague memory from the period using it (or something similar)
for optimal compression
I’m sure it works very well for deleted data.
lol.
John Levine
2024-11-24 19:30:36 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a “Write-Only
Memory” chip. ...
It was all the rage. When I was a grad students in the 1970s some wag put
a sign over the door to the break room saying

SIGWOM HQ
--
Regards,
John Levine, ***@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly
Lawrence D'Oliveiro
2024-11-24 20:28:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by John Levine
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a
“Write-Only Memory” chip. ...
It was all the rage. When I was a grad students in the 1970s some wag
put a sign over the door to the break room saying
SIGWOM HQ
I assume the “SIG” part was a nod to the various “Special Interest Groups”
that were part of the Association for Computing Machinery, a group
responsible for several Comp Sci research periodicals, like
“Communications of the ACM” and “Journal of the ACM”.

The SIGs did their own publications. As a student, I was a regular reader
of “SIGPLAN Notices”, the periodical of the SIG on Programming Languages.
It was one of the less formal ones.
John Levine
2024-11-24 20:40:27 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Post by John Levine
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Back in the 1970s, Signetics put out a joke data sheet for a
“Write-Only Memory” chip. ...
It was all the rage. When I was a grad students in the 1970s some wag
put a sign over the door to the break room saying
SIGWOM HQ
I assume the “SIG” part was a nod to the various “Special Interest Groups”
that were part of the Association for Computing Machinery, a group
responsible for several Comp Sci research periodicals, like
“Communications of the ACM” and “Journal of the ACM”.
Of course it was.
Post by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
The SIGs did their own publications. As a student, I was a regular reader
of “SIGPLAN Notices”, the periodical of the SIG on Programming Languages.
It was one of the less formal ones.
I published a few notes in SIGPLAN back in the day.
--
Regards,
John Levine, ***@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly
wolfgang kern
2024-11-24 07:52:22 UTC
Permalink
On 20/11/2024 23:10, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
...about WOM...
I missed this contest back then.

But I could sell my own creation of 14-pin DIL Never-Nor gates to fellow
students in 1966 five times for about 50 cent each.
fully made of black painted wood and flat hammered wires.
AND this things work as expected :)
__
wolfgang
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