**Testing one of the World's First Embedded Systems (1968)**
Raytheon test engineer *Robert Zagrodnick* running diagnostics on a pair of **Apollo Guidance Computers**¹ (AGC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Instrumentation Laboratory (I-Lab)². The MIT designed 2.048 MHz **16-bit computer** was 10 years ahead of its time and used integrated circuits to run a real-time multitasking³ operating system that enabled astronauts to **control an Apollo spacecraft** by typing simple commands on the DSKY keyboard interface in pairs of nouns and verbs. It had 2048 words of erasable magnetic-core memory and 36,864 words of read-only core rope memory⁴ with cycle time of 11.72 µs. It was designed to be fault-tolerant and was able to run several subprograms in priority order. Each of these processes was given a time slot to use the computer’s sparse resources. The computer interfaced to these onboard systems: DSKY(display and keyboard), IMU, Hand Controller, Command Module Rendezvous Radar, Lunar Module Landing Radar, Telemetry Receiver, Engine Command, and Reaction Control System.
References
1.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
1.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draper_Laboratory
1.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_multitasking
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_rope_memory
**AGC Specifications**
* **2,048 words** of 15-bit ferrite core RAM
* **36,864 words** of read-only memory
* **85,000** instructions/second
* Dimensions: 61 cm × 32 cm × 17 cm
* Weight: **31.8 kg**
* Power supply: **28 VDC, 55 W, 2.5 A**
IIn 1949: The Netherlands first Volkswagen importer Ben Pon (left in photo) loaded a Beetle aboard the Holland America ship Westerdam at the port of Rotterdam on 8 January for export to the United States. The Westerdam (1946 – 1965) arrived in New York Harbor nine days later on January 17.
Bernardus "Ben" Pon, Sr. (April 27, 1904 – May 15, 1968) was a Dutch businessman and former racing car driver. On August 8, 1947, he founded Pon's Automobielhandel ("Pon's Car Dealership") in his home town of Amersfoort and became Volkswagen's general importer for the Netherlands. During their first year they received 51 Volkswagen Beetles from Wolfsburg. Pon’s was the first dealer outside of Germany to sell vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen.
In 1949, Pon shipped a Beetle to the United States with a plan to start a dealer network. He met with dealers up and down the East Coast, all of whom turned him down. He ended up selling the Volkswagen and its spare parts to pay for his room at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York and returned to VW headquarters in Germany. However, his car dealerships at home made him a multimillionaire and one of the richest people in the Netherlands.
Others followed Pon’s path, including New York car dealer Max Hoffman who was successful in establishing a sales network in the United States in 1950. By 1960, half a million Volkswagens had been sold in America and two years later there were one million Beetles in the country.
It has not been ascertained that Ben Pon was significantly involved in this success story, even though he was among the first to export the legendary Beetle into the U.S. which eventually went on to achieve sales in America of around 5 million between 1950 and 1979.
Texas, 1939...
Farmer's family in town, Saturday afternoon, San Augustine, Texas...
Source
Farm Security Administration Russell Lee photographer