LaFarr Stuart

LaFarr Stuart (born July 6, 1934 in Clarkston, Utah), was an early computer music pioneer, computer engineer and member of the Homebrew Computer Club.

Career[]

Computer music[]

In 1961, Stuart programmed Iowa State University's Cyclone computer, a derivative of the ILLIAC, to play simple, recognizable tunes through an amplified speaker that had been attached to the system originally for administrative and diagnostic purposes. A recording of an interview with Stuart and his computer music was broadcast nationally on the National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network program Monitor on February 10, 1962.

In a subsequent interview with the Harold Journal, Navel Hunsaker, head of the Utah State University mathematics department, said of Stuart, "He always was a whiz with calculators."

From the late 1970s, Stuart mentored John Carlsen, who later contributed to the rapid growth of personal computer (PC) sound-card maker Media Vision and to SigmaTel.

Control Data[]

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stuart worked for Control Data Corporation (CDC), where Seymour Cray designed the CDC 6600, the first commercial supercomputer.

Forth[]

During the 1970s, Stuart created a version of the programming language Forth, which became known as LaFORTH.^[1] It is notable for its implementation without an input buffer.^[2]

Zytrex[]

In the 1980s, Stuart worked for Zytrex, which manufactured complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) Programmable Array Logic (PAL) programmable logic devices (PLDs).

Real-time clocks[]

Stuart conceived installing battery-operated real-time clocks into computers, for which he received royalty payments until nearly 2000. Stuart jokingly admits contributing to the Year 2000 problem.

Preserving computer history[]

Stuart owns the first Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-11 to enter California and often visits the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

See also[]

• E-mu Systems
• Robert Moog

References[]

External links[]

• Official website