It produced PDP (Programmable Digital Processor) and VAX (Virtual Addressing eXtended).
PDP-8 had limitations, but it was affordable to universities and users.
UCC bought PDP11/70.
Gordon Bell was the architect of VAX.
Microsoft bought a part of DEC.
Khin Maung Zaw wrote :
It’s kind of sad that DEC failed to keep up with their lead beyond PDP.
I don’t know why Ken Olsen was pushed out, my limited understanding was that he was not high on Unix (he had been attributed to calling Unix a ‘snake oil’), for some reason his attempts to push VAX/VMS didn’t take off as he might have liked. I’ve read it somewhere that he didn’t get much support within DEC on the VAX/VMS endeavor.
At the time, there was a talented group of DEC engineers in Seattle area (across the lake from Seattle, matter of fact we here called East Side – Bellevue/Redmond). If I recall correctly, the first Microsoft Data Center at Canyon Park, several miles north of Redmond, was ran by DEC folks in the late 80s, early 90s.
A brilliant OS architect, Dave Cutler, part of a triumvirate led DEC’s Star project, a virtual 32-bit extension on PDP 11/70. Star and its cousin Starlet became precursor to VAX/VMS among others. The triumvirate were working at the DECWEST facilities in Bellevue, next to the city of Redmond.
Around late 1980s, some events – of which I’m no clue whatsoever, Canyon Park Data Center staff as well as many of the DECWEST team became part of Microsoft.
As the saying goes, “The Rest Is History”. Dave Cutler and his team led the development of Windows NT, New Technology” and beyond. Some folks attributed Billg who manged to extract most of the DEC VAX team into MSFT.
[A titbit on VAX and NT] Mark Russinovich, received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon in 1994, wrote series of articles in the Windows magazine, comparing the deep down internals of vms and NT. He even discovered the names of the internal variables have the identical names between them.
He co-founded a company called “Winternals”, developed a set of Windows tools which quickly became a Swiss knife for every Windows engineer. Needless to say, Microsoft bought his company, the tools became part of Windows. Mark became Technical Fellow, and now he is the CTO of Azure.
UCC was founded by Sayas Dr. Chit Swe, U Soe Paing, U Myo Min and U Ko Ko Lay.
They are also known as Saya Chit (ချစ်), Saya Paing (ပိုင်), Saya Myo (မျိုး) and Saya Lay (လေး).
Among the founders, Saya Lay has the longest tenure at UCC, DCS and ICST, but he was the earliest to pass away.
Dr. Chit Swe(GBNF)
Dr. Chit Swe
Pioneer of Computer Systems, Applications & Education in Burma
Founder & Director of UCC
Former Rector, RASU
Taught & Supervised Maths in Rangoon, Mandalay, Bangkok & Sydney
Visiting Professor, Macquarie University, Australia
I have written several posts about Saya. See Posts
U Soe Paing
U Soe Paing
One day, the people on the UCC ferry shouted, “Saya Paing”. To their amazement, ICS U Paing (Saya’s father) came out. U Paing’s spouse Daw Oo Yin is the daughter of Sir Po Tha.
He is the second son of U Paing. He and his siblings Dr. Myo Paing, U Win Paing (Sayadaw U Wara, ChE70) and U Kyaw Paing (Putra Cup Player) are excellent golfers and Champions at RGC (Rangoon Golf Club) and BGC (Burma Golf Club).
Hevmatriculated from SPHS (St. Paul’s High School) in 1956 along with Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF), U Win Htein (PWD, GBNF). Bohmu Percy (Navy), U Richard Than Se (ChE), and U Ba Min (Astronomy & Maths).
He stood 13th in Matriculation and was awarded Collegiate Scholarship.
In 1958, he received two Gold Medals. One was for highest Total Marks in I.Sc exams. Another was for joint highest marks in Maths in I.Sc exams.
He rowed and coxed at RUBC. He won prizes including the Inter-Hall Fours.
He was selected as a States Scholar to attend Stanford University along with U Ko Ko Lay and Bohmu Percy. He received his BS and MS in EE (Electrical Engineering). He did programming for his studies and also worked part-time as computer operator.
Upon his return to Burma, he joined the EE Department as Assistant Lecturer. His sponsor was UBARI (Union of Burma Applied Research Institute).
At a research congress held in the Main Campus, he presented a paper covering Digital Logic and Circuits. Dr. Chit Swe was impressed. Through U Nyi Nyi (EE saya, who moved to the UK), Saya Paing gained contact with Dr. Chit Swe. The rest is history.
He promised Saya Chit to recruit his top students to join the UCC Project, but the long delay of the Project to get funded made the task difficult.
He did another Masters (this time in Computer Science) at Southampton University in UK.
For a detailed story of Saya’s life and work at RIT, UCC and overseas as a UN Advisor, read his articles in English and Burmese. They are available in SCRIB_D.
Sayagadaw & Classmate
Saya U Soe Paing in CaliforniaSaya U Soe Paing in New Jersey (2018)Saya U Soe Paing in 2009
Sayagadaw Daw Saw Yu Tint (Alice, T69) was my classmate at RIT.
She and Saya have hosted several UCC mini-gatherings at their house.At one of the gatherings in 2007, Ko Po (U Htin Kyaw, Peter Wun) not only attended the gathering, but gave me a ride back home. He also briefly mentioned about his four-month detention.
After retirement
After retiring from the UN, Saya visited UK and USA to spend time with his children & grandchildren.
During his trips to New Jersey, there would be several UCC-RIT gatherings.
Saya meditates and plays golf (for specific days of the week). He paused both activities when he had a minor ailment (hurting his back and leg).
Per advice of Sayagadaw’s medical friends, Saya had a surgery in Singapore.
Saya has resumed playing golf. He now uses a golf cart ant the Seniors’ Tee.
U Myo Min
U Myo Min
He matriculated from SPHS in 1958. He is a class mate of Dr. Soe Win (Retired Rector, YUFL)
He is the younger brother of Saya U Tin U (C), Saya U Ba Than (M), Dr. Daw Win Hlaing, Daw Myint Thwe, Dr. Myo Tint, U Tin Htoon (A60). He is the elder brother of U Thaung Lwin (EC66) and Daw Cho Cho Hlaing.
He is my cousin. His father is my maternal uncle, who passed away in his fifties. His mother is my paternal aunt, who lived to be 94.
He won medals for standing first in I.Com (Intermediate of Commerce) and B.Com (Bachelor of Commerce). He majored in Accounting.
He completed CA (Chartered Accountant) in the UK and worked as Computer Systems Analyst for IBM UK for 4+ years.
One day, he had a call from his mother. She asked Saya if he wanted to come back to Burma to help Dr. Chit Swe the UCC Project.
Saya was studying and working in UK when his father passed away.
He returned to Burma and joined UCC as Applications Division Manager.
Later, he gracefully allowed U Ko Ko Lay to manage the Scientific Applications Division. He was contented to be the Business Application Manager.
He taught not only at UCC but also at the Institute of Economics and other Departments.
He studied and passed the Abhidhamma “Thingyo” course.
He did his Masters in Systems Engineering at the University of Lancaster in UK.
Life After UCC
He moved to Singapore and US. He retired after working for Seagate Technology and Connor.
He is an avid reader and an accomplished conversationalist.
His spouse is Daw Kin Kin Chit Maung (RIT English, UNESCO, sister of Saya U Tin Htut (M60). They attend several meditation retreats every year (in San Jose, California and at Hse Mile Gone monastery).
Dr. Soe Win wrote :
In addition to being a classmate at matriculation (St Paul’s), Ko Myo Min and his roommate Ko Mya Maung (another Paulian) welcomed me in London and took me to the flat in the same house, which they had kindly rented for me (and Ko Tin Maung Thein, another Paulian and electrical engineer). Ko Mya Maung later became his brother-in-law. Ko Myo Min is a super-likeable person who has now immersed himself in Vipassana practice.
KMZ wrote :
One episode stood out every time I thought about Saya Myo and Ma Ma Kin.
Some point in my life at UCC, I became a Passport expert, a complex process those days. I learned of all the processes including where to go for what, how much ‘tea money’ to pay to who at what point etc. This knowledge was acquired following many friends went through those processes.
Ma Ma Kin was working at UNICEF, and one day Saya Myo summoned me to help with the passport for her as she needed it to go to BKK. Some of you might remember the forms, “ကိုယ် ရေး ရာဇဝင်” to be filled out 7 copies. Saya Myo and Ma Ma Kin came from very large family, so was both sides of their parents. Saya Myo has 9 siblings. Ma Ma Kin has 8 siblings. I do not exactly recall who filled in these forms, it could have been me, 6 sets of all names, work, addresses in 7 copies.
U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF)
Saya U Ko Ko Lay
He matriculated from SPHS in 1956 along with U Soe Paing, U Win Htein, Bohmu Percy Maung Maung, U Ba Min and U Than Se (Richard).
He is the elder brother of U Than Htut (M67, RUBC Gold), Maw and Zaw (RUBC Gold, GBNF).
He studied BSCE and MSCE at Stanford University in the US.
Upon his return to Burma, he joined PWD as Assistant Engineer.
He was recruited by his friend U Soe Paing to help with the UCC Project in general and the design and implementation of UCC Building in particular.
He transferred to UCC as Operations Division Manager and later served as Scientific Applications Division Manager.
At UCC, he is fondly called as Saya Lay.
He studied Systems Engineering at the University of Lancaster in the UK.
He was Professor at the Department of Computer Science.
He was Professor of Information Systems at the Institute of Computer Science and Technology (ICST).
In this part of the world, three companies collect and monitor data to determine if a person is credit worthy. They provide a FICO score that is used by companies and institutions to determine the risk level of a person applying for a loan (e.g to buy a house).
Sad to say, one company was presumably STINGY or not technologically savvy to provide multiple line of defense against intruders. Even after two of its subsidiaries were hacked, the company did NOT report the intrusion to its customers and the general public, most of whom now have to figure what lies ahead with their precious private data (such as social security number, credit cards …) stolen.
Could this incident have been prevented?
Personal Experience
Many years ago, I had to use a Smart Card to enter the office building and to access computers. We were told NOT to use SSN and sensitive information in e-mails. We had to refrain from printing documents heedlessly, and to shred them (or put in special bins for shredding later).
We had to take courses about
handling different types of data — private, sensitive, classified …
secure communication channels and/or secure data
integrity
One company developed software to encrypt or replace sensitive data from e-mails, files, database. The test environment has to ensure that no sensitive data is leaked. A subtle assumption is that insiders may explicitly or implicitly be partners in crime.
Some Incidents
the backup tape for personnel data went missing; The affected personnel had great pains to correct their profile
lap tops containing sensitive information were stolen; The information are not encrypted, or encryption with weak keys
a professor posted SSNs along with the grades; A few students started identity theft
without a unique national ID, many companies and institutions use SSN for storing/access records;
Phishing attacks or malicious companies set up with the intention of getting credit reports from unwary job seekers
a credit card was used in rapid succession at a different state or outside the country; Some credit card companies are good in sending alerts about fraudulent uses.
A bug fix made by a professor was NOT properly reviewed and validated
Rationale
I have touched only the surface of the security problem.
Professor Dr. Than Tun was asked “Why should we learn History?”
He replied, “To ensure that one is not stupid or dumb”.
To paraphrase, “Why should we learn about Computer & Data Security?”
“To save countless people from having sleepless nights. Losing one’s identity, assets … is intolerable”.
U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76) wrote :
One of the first work items on the Data Security is the classification of the data, it depends on what kind (or items) of data is collected/stored in a given application, At some point, it is termed ‘Data Asset’ and have several categories as below.
HBI – High Business Impact
MBI – Medium Business Impact
LBI – Low Business Impact
PII – Personally Identifiable Information
HSPII – Highly Sensitive PII
Of course, the above is not the exhaustive list, and is UN, HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, has one of the strictest regulatory requirements.
Value of a number in positional notation depends upon the Base or Radix.
In the Decimal system (Base Ten), 1001 has a value of a thousand and one.
In the Binary system (Base Two), 1001 has a value of 9.
Folklore
“One Thousand and One Nights” (also known as Arabian Nights) is from the Arabic Folklore.
Scheherazade told 1001 stories to defer her death.
Numerical Palindrome
A palindrome reads the same forward and backward.
101, 1001 and 123454321 are numerical Palindromes.
Ramanujan and the Beauty of numbers
Ramanujan was highly interested in Mathematics and ignored other subjects in College.
Ended up as an employee in a post office. Bold enough to send his handwritten notes to Professor Hardy (Cambridge University), who sponsored him.
Ramanujan later fell gravely ill. Professor Hardy went to see him in a hospital. He supposedly told Ramanujan that he rode a taxi cab with 1729 on its license.
Ramanujan replied, “That is an interesting number. It is the smallest number that can be represented as the sum of two cubes in two ways.”
1729 = 729 + 1000 = 9*9*9 + 10*10*10
1729 = 1 + 1728 = 1*1*1 + 12*12*12
Ramanujan’s works are still being studied and refined by Mathematicians.
