I was having quite a bit of fun fiddling with the MX-909 and its microprocessor. The primitive user interface of entering commands and parameters with a keypad reminded me of something I was reading about recently, the Apollo Guidance computer.
The pilots would type a two digit verb and then type some parameters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
I like this replica of the DSKY.
What a far cry from a mouse and GUI, but it got the job done.
Can you imagine what it was like having errors show up on this computer during the mission? And all you've got is a bunch of lights and numbers to look at on the display.
http://www.doneyles.com/LM/Tales.html
and there's a javascript AGC simulator Moonjs at http://svtsim.com/moonjs/agc.html
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