Dr David MillsMay 22, 2024
Stephen Hawking asking Sir Clive Sinclair for some QL computers. #retrocomputing
Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EW

Telephone: Cambridge (0223) 351645

Re-typed + Sent. Cuthy work Sec. 7th March to Dee

2nd February 1984.

23, Поксомь Strea handa SWI

Sir Clive Sinclair, The Stone House, Madingley Road, Cambridge.

Tel. 01-235-9649

Dear Sir Clive,

I have just seen a brochure about your new computer, the Quantum Leap. It sounds very impressive, much better than the B.B.C. machine.

Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024
The Charles River Data Corporation of Boston, Massachusetts, have recently given the Cambridge Relativity Group one of their new "Universe" computers. This is a 68000 based machine with a megabyte of RAM and 35 megabyte of hard disc, with its floating point board and array processing, it is equivalent in computing power to a VAX-750.
Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024
We shall use it to do numerical calculations and symbolic manipulation of equations on black holes and quantum gravity and scientific word- processing. We are planning to connect it to a printer and several personal scientific work-stations with graphic displays. We were thinking of using B.B.C. computers or I.B.M. personal computers for the work-stations.
Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024
However your new computer seems much better: it would allow to have high resolution graphic displays in colour and because it is a 68000 machine we could fairly easily transfer assembler language programmes that we had developed on the Universe computer. One of these programmes that we are working on at the moment is a Tektronix terminal emulation programme to plot graphs of functions in two and three dimensions with hidden line removal.
Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024
Would you consider donating four or five QL computers to the Relativity Group? In this way the Quantum Leap would be making a big contribution to quantum gravity. They would also be highly visible: there have been several TV programmes about the Relativity Group, the most recent being the "Horizon" programme, last October and a number of magazine articles, the most recent in this months "Readers Digest".
Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024

You might also be interested in some of the software that we shall be developing for our own purposes, like the graphics programme mentioned above.

Yours sincerely,

SJ Hawking

Stephen Hawking

Show threadDr David MillsMay 22, 2024
Show threadTommy ÞMay 23, 2024
@Dtl This wonderful bit of history desperately begs the question: "so what happend?" Did ol' Clive dish off a handful of his latest babies to the boffin? Did he even reply?
Show threadGary ParkerJul 4, 2024
@tommythorn @Dtl I was going to ask exactly the same thing! 😀
Show threadTommy Þ
@witewulf @Dtl If the popular media Clive portrayal is accurate then “no & no” but that’s exactly why any yes here would have been interesting.
Jul 4, 2024 at 10:01pmWeb
Show threadDr David MillsJul 4, 2024
@tommythorn @witewulf I do wonder if there's a reply somewhere in the archive waiting to be discovered.
Show threadGary ParkerJul 4, 2024
@tommythorn @Dtl my thoughts, too