Cyclocomputers: a dumb comment.

[RonSonic]

Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're speedometers
with a clock, if that.

You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some actual
computing. But electronic speedometers were being called computers long before
those things were invented.

Just a random, misfiring synapse.

Ron

 

[Doug Huffman]

No, I agree. Cyclometer does just fine. And they - computers - have a
'clock'.


"RonSonic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're
> speedometers
> with a clock, if that.
>
> You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some actual
> computing. But electronic speedometers were being called computers long
> before
> those things were invented.
>
> Just a random, misfiring synapse.
>
> Ron

 

[[email protected]]

RonSonic wrote:
> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're
speedometers
> with a clock, if that.
>
>
> Ron

Bicycle speedometer (plastic) = $50
Cyclocomputers (polycarbonate) = $100

Cam

 

[cc011]

RonSonic wrote:
> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're speedometers
> with a clock, if that.
>
> You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some actual
> computing. But electronic speedometers were being called computers long before
> those things were invented.
>

All of them have a little CPU that does some computing in order to
accommodate any wheel sizes and to be able to compute average speed.

I actually have an old electronic speedometer that only allows for 3 or
4 wheel sizes and no avg speed or clock. Since it has no cpu, the
battery can last almost forever.
GH

 

[Per Elmsäter]

cc011 wrote:
> RonSonic wrote:
>> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're
>> speedometers with a clock, if that.
>>
>> You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some
>> actual computing. But electronic speedometers were being called
>> computers long before those things were invented.
>>
>
> All of them have a little CPU that does some computing in order to
> accommodate any wheel sizes and to be able to compute average speed.
>
> I actually have an old electronic speedometer that only allows for 3
> or 4 wheel sizes and no avg speed or clock. Since it has no cpu, the
> battery can last almost forever.
> GH

So what does that make my washing machine then? A WashoComputer
Actually my moms dishwasher started acting up once and wouldn't run the
cycles she programmed it to do. I did a cold boot by pulling the plug and
restarting it. This enabled the CPU to reset from Zero and everything worked
just fine again

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

 

[RonSonic]

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 09:24:54 -0400, cc011 <[email protected]> wrote:

>RonSonic wrote:
>> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're speedometers
>> with a clock, if that.
>>
>> You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some actual
>> computing. But electronic speedometers were being called computers long before
>> those things were invented.
>>
>
>All of them have a little CPU that does some computing in order to
>accommodate any wheel sizes and to be able to compute average speed.

Yeah, there's a processor. Does that really make it a computer. I dunno. In this
world where near everything's got a CPU, even for jobs that can be handled by
dumb logic, it's a stretch. Like another fellow pointed out even dishwashers
have replaced rotary motorized timers with digital.

>I actually have an old electronic speedometer that only allows for 3 or
>4 wheel sizes and no avg speed or clock. Since it has no cpu, the
>battery can last almost forever.

I guess so. Just for geekiness sake, how's it do it? Charge an RC circuit?

Ron

 

[Michael]

RonSonic wrote:
(snip)
> Yeah, there's a processor. Does that really make it a computer.
(snip)

IBM developed and marketed "processors", what the rest of the world
called as computers.
So yes, when there's a processor under the hood (so to speak) then the
complete assembly is a computer ... and then some.

 

[gwhite]

Michael wrote:
>
> RonSonic wrote:
> (snip)
> > Yeah, there's a processor. Does that really make it a computer.
> (snip)
>
> IBM developed and marketed "processors", what the rest of the world
> called as computers.
> So yes, when there's a processor under the hood (so to speak) then the
> complete assembly is a computer ... and then some.


If they have "something like" an 8051, then I don't know. That is called a
"microcontroller," rather than a "microprocessor." It has an instruction set,
as does something like an 8086. I don't know. Does it matter?

 

[Patrick Lamb]

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 09:24:54 -0400, cc011 <[email protected]>
wrote:

>RonSonic wrote:
>> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're speedometers
>> with a clock, if that.
>>
>> You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some actual
>> computing. But electronic speedometers were being called computers long before
>> those things were invented.
>>
>
>All of them have a little CPU that does some computing in order to
>accommodate any wheel sizes and to be able to compute average speed.

By that logic, I should be balancing my checkbook with a
"calcucomputer." HP put some of Intel's earliest CPUs into their
early hand-held calculators.

Pat

Email address works as is.

 

[Jim Smith]

Patrick Lamb <[email protected]> writes:

> On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 09:24:54 -0400, cc011 <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >RonSonic wrote:
> >> Why on earth do we call these things "computers?" Mostly they're speedometers
> >> with a clock, if that.
> >>
> >> You could make a case for the ergo brain and flight deck doing some actual
> >> computing. But electronic speedometers were being called computers long before
> >> those things were invented.
> >>
> >
> >All of them have a little CPU that does some computing in order to
> >accommodate any wheel sizes and to be able to compute average speed.
>
> By that logic, I should be balancing my checkbook with a
> "calcucomputer." HP put some of Intel's earliest CPUs into their
> early hand-held calculators.

As a big fan of HP calculators until the monstrosity that is the hp49,
I must say: Are you sure about that?

A quick perusal of
hppt://www.hpmuseum.org
shows no reference to intel cpus in any of the calculators. Some of
the early models did use intel memory chips.

 

[Artur Yelchishchev]

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 19:07:11 GMT, Michael <[email protected]> wrote:

>RonSonic wrote:
>(snip)
>> Yeah, there's a processor. Does that really make it a computer.
>(snip)
>
>IBM developed and marketed "processors", what the rest of the world
>called as computers.

Are you sure? In fact, the very first IBM's "consumer-market" thingie
was called IBM PC - or, in other words, Personal Computer!

By the way, in Russian language we're still calling device for
measuring bicycle speed "speedometer"...

Cheers,
Artur

 

[Wannabe Ironman]

> As a big fan of HP calculators until the monstrosity that is the hp49,
> I must say: Are you sure about that?

Don't go dissin' the pimp HP-49. I only bought one because they quit
making the HP-48GX, and I like it a lot. Too bad they quit making
calculators altogether... <insert frownie emoticon here>.

Matt

More cowbell + /_\

 

[Jim Smith]

[email protected] (Wannabe Ironman) writes:

> Don't go dissin' the pimp HP-49. I only bought one because they quit
> making the HP-48GX, and I like it a lot. Too bad they quit making
> calculators altogether... <insert frownie emoticon here>.

Yeah, the calculator division should have gone with Agilent when HP split.

 

[Weisse Luft]

My Polar S720i has a 9600 baud IR transceiver which conforms to the IRDA standard. Show me a "speedometer" with that function.

It also has a bit of memory as it can store 99 hours of exercise data and compute the power from chain tension and speed. And ALL input sensors (cadence, speed, chain speed and chain tension) communicate through 2 conductors so the system is probably 2 computers.

 

[[email protected]]

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 03:50:47 +1000, Weisse Luft
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>My Polar S720i has a 9600 baud IR transceiver which conforms to the IRDA
>standard. Show me a "speedometer" with that function.
>
>It also has a bit of memory as it can store 99 hours of exercise data
>and compute the power from chain tension and speed. And ALL input
>sensors (cadence, speed, chain speed and chain tension) communicate
>through 2 conductors so the system is probably 2 computers.

Dear Weisse,

Did it store the data from that high-speed downhill ride
that you were going to post a few weeks ago?

http://groups.google.com/[email protected]&output=gplain

or

http://tinyurl.com/6bkcr

Carl Fogel

 

[Weisse Luft]

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 03:50:47 +1000, Weisse Luft
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>My Polar S720i has a 9600 baud IR transceiver which conforms to the IRDA
>standard. Show me a "speedometer" with that function.
>
>It also has a bit of memory as it can store 99 hours of exercise data
>and compute the power from chain tension and speed. And ALL input
>sensors (cadence, speed, chain speed and chain tension) communicate
>through 2 conductors so the system is probably 2 computers.

Dear Weisse,

Did it store the data from that high-speed downhill ride
that you were going to post a few weeks ago?

http://groups.google.com/[email protected]&output=gplain

or

http://tinyurl.com/6bkcr

Carl Fogel

Not yet...I have a broken rib from a dog encounter while off-roading on the Scapel I've been riding but at normal velocities on level pavement.

 

[[email protected]]

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 05:14:26 +1000, Weisse Luft
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>[email protected] Wrote:
>> On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 03:50:47 +1000, Weisse Luft
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >My Polar S720i has a 9600 baud IR transceiver which conforms to the
>> IRDA
>> >standard. Show me a "speedometer" with that function.
>> >
>> >It also has a bit of memory as it can store 99 hours of exercise data
>> >and compute the power from chain tension and speed. And ALL input
>> >sensors (cadence, speed, chain speed and chain tension) communicate
>> >through 2 conductors so the system is probably 2 computers.
>>
>> Dear Weisse,
>>
>> Did it store the data from that high-speed downhill ride
>> that you were going to post a few weeks ago?
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/6bkcr
>>
>> or
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/6bkcr
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>Not yet...I have a broken rib from a dog encounter while off-roading on
>the Scapel I've been riding but at normal velocities on level
>pavement.

Dear Weisse,

Ouch!

Sorry to hear this, but glad that it was no worse.

Carl Fogel

 

[qtq]

[email protected] (Wannabe Ironman) wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>> As a big fan of HP calculators until the monstrosity that is the hp49,
>> I must say: Are you sure about that?
>
> Don't go dissin' the pimp HP-49. I only bought one because they quit
> making the HP-48GX, and I like it a lot. Too bad they quit making
> calculators altogether... <insert frownie emoticon here>.

They did? EEEEP! I must make sure my 48GX never breaks down, then.

-A

--
to email me, run my email address through /usr/bin/caesar
(or rotate by -4)

 

[RonSonic]

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 05:14:26 +1000, Weisse Luft
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>[email protected] Wrote:
>> On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 03:50:47 +1000, Weisse Luft
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >My Polar S720i has a 9600 baud IR transceiver which conforms to the
>> IRDA
>> >standard. Show me a "speedometer" with that function.
>> >
>> >It also has a bit of memory as it can store 99 hours of exercise data
>> >and compute the power from chain tension and speed. And ALL input
>> >sensors (cadence, speed, chain speed and chain tension) communicate
>> >through 2 conductors so the system is probably 2 computers.
>>
>> Dear Weisse,
>>
>> Did it store the data from that high-speed downhill ride
>> that you were going to post a few weeks ago?
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/6bkcr
>>
>> or
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/6bkcr
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>Not yet...I have a broken rib from a dog encounter while off-roading on
>the Scapel I've been riding but at normal velocities on level
>pavement.

The one injury that really does hurt worst when you laugh.

Ron

 

[Tom Sherman]

Wannabe Ironman wrote:

>>As a big fan of HP calculators until the monstrosity that is the hp49,
>>I must say: Are you sure about that?
>
>
> Don't go dissin' the pimp HP-49. I only bought one because they quit
> making the HP-48GX, and I like it a lot. Too bad they quit making
> calculators altogether... <insert frownie emoticon here>.

Does that make my HP-48G+ a collector's item?

--
Tom Sherman