2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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grind crank
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. , // A mythical accessory to a terminal. A crank on the side of a
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monitor, which when operated makes a zizzing noise and causes the computer
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to run faster. Usually one does not refer to a grind crank out loud, but
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merely makes the appropriate gesture and noise. See grind. Historical note:
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At least one real machine actually had a grind crank the R1, a research
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machine built toward the end of the days of the great vacuum tube computers,
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in 1959. R1 (also known as The Rice Institute Computer (TRIC) and later as
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The Rice University Computer (TRUC)) had a single-step/free-run switch for
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use when debugging programs. Since single-stepping through a large program
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was rather tedious, there was also a crank with a cam and gear arrangement
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that repeatedly pushed the single-step button. This allowed one to crank
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through a lot of code, then slow down to single-step for a bit when you got
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near the code of interest, poke at some registers using the console
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typewriter, and then keep on cranking. See
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http://www.cs.rice.edu/History/R1/.
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