Rupert Lane writes about Arthur Samuel's checkers program running on the WAITS operating system. Samuel began developing his checkers program in the late 1940s and 1950s, introducing machine learning techniques like rote learning to the field. The article details the program's history from the IBM 7090 to its porting to the PDP-10 at SAIL, where the 1972 version runs on WAITS. It also covers Samuel's work on a home computer version for the VideoBrain and provides instructions for playing the game on WAITS, including board visualization and command syntax.
- The 1952 checkers program was written in raw machine code as the IBM system lacked an assembler at the time.
- Samuel introduced rote learning to the program on the IBM 704 in 1954, enabling interesting gameplay.
- A 1976 match against Duke University was abandoned due to excessive CPU time, though analysis suggests a draw was possible.
- The VideoBrain home console version operated within 1KB of RAM and offered four difficulty levels.
- Users can visualize the board on WAITS with the `BD` command or observe the AI declare wins based on search depths.
- Oldest surviving source file `CKP2.MAC 2,ALS » ` dates to 1971, while the running binary is from 1972.
- The 1952 checkers program was written in raw machine code as the IBM system lacked an assembler at the time.
- Samuel introduced rote learning to the program on the IBM 704 in 1954, enabling interesting gameplay.
- A 1976 match against Duke University was abandoned due to excessive CPU time, though analysis suggests a draw was possible.
- The VideoBrain home console version operated within 1KB of RAM and offered four difficulty levels.
- Users can visualize the board on WAITS with the `BD` command or observe the AI declare wins based on search depths.
- Oldest surviving source file `CKP2.MAC 2,ALS » ` dates to 1971, while the running binary is from 1972.
The May 2026 Obsolescence Guaranteed newsletter highlights significant progress in recreating historical computing environments, most notably through the Arpanet Reconstruction project which now features a functional 35-node simulated network. Major software and hardware updates have arrived for the PiDP series, including new operating systems like Stanford's WAITS for the PiDP-10 and Unix v4 for the PiDP-11. The community continues to expand with enhanced peripheral support for the PiDP-1, new interactive museum concepts, and a growing library of "paleogaming" classics.
* Arpanet Reconstruction: A simulated 35-node network is now online, allowing users to experience the original topology via MIT and Stanford systems.
* PiDP-10 Update: The addition of Stanford's WAITS operating system brings 600MB of historical data and software for exploration.
* PiDP-1 Advancements: New community mods have introduced magnetic drum storage, light pen support, and a wide array of peripheral options.
* PiDP-11 Milestones: Unix v4 has been successfully recovered and is now bootable on the PiDP-11 platform.
* Enigma Touch: A new cased version featuring high-quality woodworking and historically accurate leather straps and metal clips is available.
* Arpanet Reconstruction: A simulated 35-node network is now online, allowing users to experience the original topology via MIT and Stanford systems.
* PiDP-10 Update: The addition of Stanford's WAITS operating system brings 600MB of historical data and software for exploration.
* PiDP-1 Advancements: New community mods have introduced magnetic drum storage, light pen support, and a wide array of peripheral options.
* PiDP-11 Milestones: Unix v4 has been successfully recovered and is now bootable on the PiDP-11 platform.
* Enigma Touch: A new cased version featuring high-quality woodworking and historically accurate leather straps and metal clips is available.
A discussion about finding pictures of ITS machines, with users sharing links to images and information about PDP-6 and PDP-10 systems.
