Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
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Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#2[flagged]
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#3The TLDR version is this:
> Karpiński’s computer could be so small and resilient because it used Western components. Even though they were vital to the functioning of the K-202, [...] they were elements imported from beyond the Iron Curtain and used in the sensitive field of information processing.
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#4Not that I want to be Debbie downer but as always in case of Polish (which I am also are) overexaggerated and having that strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower.
Its enough to go the wiki (both about the computer and the inventor) to see that the situation was not that clear. The performance was greatly overstated, it depended on the import of the component from the west etc.
Moreover the guy was cooperating with the Polish version of the FBI so it's not like it was a story of lonely genius vs the governament....
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#5Not that I want to be Debbie downer but as always in case of Polish (which I am also are) overexaggerated and having that strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower. Its enough to go the wiki (both about the computer and the inventor) to see that the situation was not that clear. The performance was greatly overstated, it depended on the import of the component from the west etc. M…
> strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower
I think it's fair to consider Poland the birthplace of the modern computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomba_(cryptography)
Maybe not a global superpower, but it is very easy to me to imagine a Poland not destroyed by Nazi then communist rule being an innovation center of the world.
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#6Not that I want to be Debbie downer but as always in case of Polish (which I am also are) overexaggerated and having that strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower. Its enough to go the wiki (both about the computer and the inventor) to see that the situation was not that clear. The performance was greatly overstated, it depended on the import of the component from the west etc. M…
> strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower I think it's fair to consider Poland the birthplace of the modern computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomba_(cryptography) Maybe not a global superpower, but it is very easy to me to imagine a Poland not destroyed by Nazi then communist rule being an innovation center of the world.
According to that link, The Martians were Hungarian :-P
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#7[flagged]
Man you really should have read the article to understand that the main competitor to the K-202 had ties to the Communist government and was able to get production shut down.
There was also some concern over the number of western parts inside of the K-202, so a modern equivalent would be closer to the U.S. banning of Huawei hardware in U.S. cell networks, where the hardware is cheaper and superior, but we ban it because we want to protect our own domestic hardware suppliers, and avoid letting too many Chinese-made parts into our country's critical digital infrastructure.
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#8Not that I want to be Debbie downer but as always in case of Polish (which I am also are) overexaggerated and having that strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower. Its enough to go the wiki (both about the computer and the inventor) to see that the situation was not that clear. The performance was greatly overstated, it depended on the import of the component from the west etc. M…
Communism certainly didn't help.
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#9The TLDR version is this: > Karpiński’s computer could be so small and resilient because it used Western components. Even though they were vital to the functioning of the K-202, [...] they were elements imported from beyond the Iron Curtain and used in the sensitive field of information processing.
Lets not gloss over this:
>The manufacturer of Odra, the Elwro company, was, however, better connected with the regime than Karpiński. Instead of improving its product to catch up with the competition Elwro began to subvert Karpiński’s position in any way they could, not shying away from slander.
Re: Jacek Karpińśki, the computer genius the communists couldn't stand (2017)
#10Not that I want to be Debbie downer but as always in case of Polish (which I am also are) overexaggerated and having that strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower. Its enough to go the wiki (both about the computer and the inventor) to see that the situation was not that clear. The performance was greatly overstated, it depended on the import of the component from the west etc. M…
> strange believe that if not the communists Poland would be a global superpower I think it's fair to consider Poland the birthplace of the modern computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomba_(cryptography) Maybe not a global superpower, but it is very easy to me to imagine a Poland not destroyed by Nazi then communist rule being an innovation center of the world.
Prewar Poland was a military dictatorship(mild but was) in the permanent state of crisis, on a brink of a civil war with all of its minorities. And it is a wild take to blame communists for the nazi atrocities.
But communist solved most of the problems that prewar Poland would have problem of solving. Yeah Polish tech was amazing especially if you consider the resources