The History of Computing

What happened with THOCP? 

The original THOCP project started in 1984 on a few printed pages that became a few hundred pages the following years. By then distributed on a 3.5" floppy disk.  In 1998 the first web version was published on the Dutch Computer museum site and in 2000 THOCP created its own website. At times there were over a million hits per day! Also number 1 on Google on this subject. In 2018 the project went into hibernation, still on line but editing or adding new info came to a screeching stop. Even though there were still a few thousand hits per day, we sincerely thought the information available on the History of Computing  is all over the internet, readily available. So we might as well stop the project. Do other things, goal achieved. After a few years of hibernation though, a new idea popped up. To create Computing History on Demand. A site that reacts on a visitor's request and prepare a reader quasi real time. Anticipating on how the visitor reacts and ask questions on the subject. Generate more material, gather information... The project will continue finding info on Computing History subjects in the widest meaning of the word. 

The new project outlines are at least neither solid nor well defined, it will take some more time to find point Zero. In other words, the departure point of the THOCP project 2nd generation.  This means we are still working out ideas and discovering technology that could support the idea of History on Demand. Of course we kept the material gathered so far in almost 40 years. Just what was gathered seems not enough to even make a beginning with a History on Demand site. Apart from that a new team will have to assembled before a new start can be made. One person can ask more than a bunch of editors can answer... but the idea has been born and there is work to be done.

With this I hope some of your questions are answered. And I hope a new team of editors and volunteers can be formed. I invite anyone, how little he or she thinks can contribute,  to participate in the project: THOCP second generation.

Cornelis Robat, editor in chief THOCP
editorsthocp@gmail.com

Updates

20230803

This morning I had a long discussion with Ralph. Making it clear to me that it would be nice to have a first draft: what is meant by HOD?  Next thing to do.