newbie building a scratch-built computer

[Tony Duell]

> > That sort of thing tends to not have very much use in today's job  
> > market,
> > unfortunately.
> 
>    That's absolutely correct, because most HR drones don't actually  
> look for people who know anything about computers.  If Joe wants to  
> learn something about computers, as opposed to learning only what's  
> guaranteed to get him a job in a suitly company, then I very strongly  
> recommend that he pursue the path that he discussed above.

The problem comes from the fact that there are only a finite number of 
seconds in a day :-). If you're not careful you can end up in my 
position, knwoing a bit about things that nobody seems to want, but not 
having the right buzzwords on your resume to actually get a job. 


> 
>    Joe...As for your not being hopeful about building a TTL-based  
> computer from scratch...The knowledge required to do it is readily  
> available.  If you REALLY want to do it, you can.  Your father's

I will second that. I am living (?) proof that it's possible to 
understand this stuff. It didn't take me _that_ long either.
  
> assertion that he couldn't do it after six years of college is really  
> irrelevant here...not many college EE programs teach anything about  
> low-level computer architecture, and sadly, even fewer CS programs  
> do.  Learn about boolean algebra, learn about Karnaugh maps and other  
> minimization techniques, learn about combinatorial and sequential 

And learn to do it 'by hand', not just using CAD tools. The latter are 
undoubtedly very useful, but knowing how to do things by hand will let 
you know when said CAD systems have made a right mess of your design. 
 
> logic...not only will you be able to design and build a TTL-based  
> computer, but you'll end up knowing more about *computers* (as  
> opposed to "how to install Microsoft products on PCs") than most  
> anyone churned out by today's colleges.

It's a great pity the latter is all most people care about. It is, 
perhaps, a little worrying that I am classed as computer-illiterate....

[I choose not to use Microsoft products, or much commercial software at 
all for that matter, for what I consider to be good reasons _for my own 
situation_. Yes I could learn how to install and use such programs, 
probably in a couple of afternoons. And I'd like to see any of the 
so-called PC experts understand a microcode source listing in the same 
length of time :-)]


> 
>    Further (also directed at Joe)...As you already very obviously  
> know, it's actually possible for one to learn something without it  
> being spoon-fed in a school.

Very much so! Now, how do you convince droids of that? Both the sort that 
try to enforce bogus safety regulations ('No, we can't sell you that 
spare part, you're not trained to fit it' when actually I could _make_ 
said part in an hour or so...) and those that work in HR departments 'No, 
Dr Duell, you don't have the right qualfiications for this job' meaning I 
don't have some bit of paper saying I know how to turn on a PC, even 
though I routinely design such things...)

-tony