LaFarr Stuart
Encyclopedia
LaFarr Stuart now retired, was an early computer music
pioneer, computer engineer and member of the Homebrew Computer Club
.
's CYCLONE
computer (a derivative of the Illiac
) to play simple, recognizable tunes through an amplified speaker that had been attached to the system originally for administrative and diagnostic purposes. A recording of an interview with Stuart and his computer music
was broadcast nationally on the NBC
radio network
program Monitor
on February 10, 1962.
In a subsequent interview with the Harold Journal, Navel Hunsaker, head of the Utah State University
mathematics department, said of Stuart, "He always was a whiz with calculators."
From the late 1970s, Stuart mentored John Carlsen, who later contributed to the rapid growth of PC sound-card maker Media Vision
and to SigmaTel
.
(CDC) -- where Seymour Cray
designed the CDC 6600
, the first commercial supercomputer.
programmable logic devices (PLDs).
s into computers, for which he received royalties until nearly 2000. Stuart jokingly admits contributing to the Year 2000 problem
.
PDP-11
to enter California and often visits the Computer History Museum
in Mountain View, California
.
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
pioneer, computer engineer and member of the Homebrew Computer Club
Homebrew Computer Club
The Homebrew Computer Club was an early computer hobbyist users' group in Silicon Valley, which met from March 5, 1975 to December 1986...
.
Computer music
In 1961, Stuart programmed Iowa State UniversityIowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
's CYCLONE
CYCLONE
The CYCLONE, was an early computer built in 1959 by Iowa State University, was based on the Institute for Advanced Study architecture developed by John von Neumann...
computer (a derivative of the Illiac
ILLIAC
ILLIAC was a series of supercomputers built at a variety of locations, some at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In all, five computers were built in this series between 1951 and 1974...
) to play simple, recognizable tunes through an amplified speaker that had been attached to the system originally for administrative and diagnostic purposes. A recording of an interview with Stuart and his computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
was broadcast nationally on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
program Monitor
Monitor (NBC Radio)
NBC Monitor was an American weekend radio program broadcast from June 12, 1955, until January 26, 1975. Airing live and nationwide on the NBC Radio Network, it originally aired beginning Saturday morning at 8am and continuing through the weekend until 12 midnight on Sunday...
on February 10, 1962.
In a subsequent interview with the Harold Journal, Navel Hunsaker, head of the Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
mathematics department, said of Stuart, "He always was a whiz with calculators."
From the late 1970s, Stuart mentored John Carlsen, who later contributed to the rapid growth of PC sound-card maker Media Vision
Media Vision
Media Vision was an American electronics manufacturer of primarily computer sound cards and CD-ROM kits, operating from 1990 to approximately 1995 in Fremont, California...
and to SigmaTel
SigmaTel
SigmaTel is an electronics company located in Austin, TX, which designs mixed audio signal processors, and controller chips for multifunction peripherals. SigmaTel was Austin's largest IPO as of 2003 when it became publicly traded on NASDAQ...
.
Control Data
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stuart worked for Control Data CorporationControl Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation was a supercomputer firm. For most of the 1960s, it built the fastest computers in the world by far, only losing that crown in the 1970s after Seymour Cray left the company to found Cray Research, Inc....
(CDC) -- where Seymour Cray
Seymour Cray
Seymour Roger Cray was an American electrical engineer and supercomputer architect who designed a series of computers that were the fastest in the world for decades, and founded Cray Research which would build many of these machines. Called "the father of supercomputing," Cray has been credited...
designed the CDC 6600
CDC 6600
The CDC 6600 was a mainframe computer from Control Data Corporation, first delivered in 1964. It is generally considered to be the first successful supercomputer, outperforming its fastest predecessor, IBM 7030 Stretch, by about three times...
, the first commercial supercomputer.
Forth
During the 1970s, Stuart created a version of the Forth programming language called LaFORTH, which is notable for its implementation without an input buffer.Zytrex
In the 1980s, Stuart worked for Zytrex, which manufactured CMOS PALProgrammable Array Logic
The term Programmable Array Logic is used to describe a family of programmable logic device semiconductors used to implement logic functions in digital circuits introduced by Monolithic Memories, Inc. in March 1978. MMI obtained a registered trademark on the term PAL for use in "Programmable...
programmable logic devices (PLDs).
Real-time clocks
Stuart conceived installing battery-operated real-time clockReal-time clock
A real-time clock is a computer clock that keeps track of the current time. Although the term often refers to the devices in personal computers, servers and embedded systems, RTCs are present in almost any electronic device which needs to keep accurate time.-Terminology:The term is used to avoid...
s into computers, for which he received royalties until nearly 2000. Stuart jokingly admits contributing to the Year 2000 problem
Year 2000 problem
The Year 2000 problem was a problem for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits.In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two...
.
Preserving computer history
Stuart owns the first DECDigital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
PDP-11
PDP-11
The PDP-11 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a succession of products in the PDP series. The PDP-11 replaced the PDP-8 in many real-time applications, although both product lines lived in parallel for more than 10 years...
to enter California and often visits the Computer History Museum
Computer History Museum
The Computer History Museum is a museum established in 1996 in Mountain View, California, USA. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the stories and artifacts of the information age, and exploring the computing revolution and its impact on our lives.-History:The museum's origins...
in Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
.