Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 April 9
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April 9
[edit]It's not Eddie
[edit]I am trying to remember the name of a historical computer which sounds like Eddie, but it's not Eddie (obviously not). Unhappily I can only find links to this one. Any hint about which could be?--Scicurious (talk) 23:34, 9 April 2016 (UTC)
- ERNIE, probs. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:40, 9 April 2016 (UTC)
- Possibly ENIAC, EDVAC, or EDSAC. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 00:25, 10 April 2016 (UTC)
- Yes, it was Ernie. --Scicurious (talk) 01:01, 10 April 2016 (UTC)
- The original ERNIE wasn't a computer at all. Even now, it's not just a computer. The random number generator part of the system is some weird analog contraption that generates truly random numbers from electrical noise of some kind. The computer is just a means to conveniently read and display the output of the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment for which it's named. SteveBaker (talk) 20:00, 11 April 2016 (UTC)