Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 April 9

= April 9 =

It's not Eddie
I am trying to remember the name of a historical computer which sounds like  Eddie, but it's not Eddie (obviously not). Unhappily I can only find links to this one. Any hint about which could be?--Scicurious (talk) 23:34, 9 April 2016 (UTC)
 * ERNIE, probs. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:40, 9 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Possibly ENIAC, EDVAC, or EDSAC. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 00:25, 10 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Yes, it was Ernie. --Scicurious (talk) 01:01, 10 April 2016 (UTC)


 * The original ERNIE wasn't a computer at all. Even now, it's not just a computer.  The random number generator part of the system is some weird analog contraption that generates truly random numbers from electrical noise of some kind.  The computer is just a means to conveniently read and display the output of the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment for which it's named. SteveBaker (talk) 20:00, 11 April 2016 (UTC)