# Episode 161 - The IAS Machine

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/advent-of-computing-497186/episode-161-the-ias-machine
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/advent-of-computing-497186/episode-161-the-ias-machine.md
Podcast: [Advent of Computing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/advent-of-computing-497186)
Published: 2025-07-13T22:04:00+00:00
Episode link: https://adventofcomputing.libsyn.com/episode-161-the-ias-machine
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/adventofcomputing/ep161_ias_machine.mp3?dest-id=1206722
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/advent-of-computing-497186/episodes/episode-161-the-ias-machine
Duration seconds: 3798

## Resource

The first batch of digital computers emerge directly following WWII. The hallmark of this generation is uniqueness: no two computers are the same. However, there is a machine that bucks that trend. The IAS Machine, built in Princeton in the late 1940s, served as the inspiration for at least a dozen later computers. But how similar were these Princeton-class computers? What exactly was so special about the IAS Machine? And how does good 'ol Johnny von Neumann get tied up in all of this? The Eastern Boarder map fundraiser Selected Sources: Bigelow Oral History - https://www.si.edu/media/NMAH/NMAH-AC0196_bige710120.pdf Prelin IAS Machine Report - https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/library/Prelim_Disc_Logical_Design.pdf

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## Transcript

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