# It's 1965, you're POTUS, I give you a 2013 MacBook Air **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037 "2013-04-18T15:19:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/41 "2013-04-20T17:34:05Z")
I’d notice that it was made in China and hit the big red button. An immediate nuclear attack is the only chance we’d have against the technological superiority of a country that could make such a device. A little while later the unit would overheat and I’d realize I shouldn’t have reacted so quickly. Then I’d toss it out the window. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/42 "2013-04-21T07:18:39Z")
Check how the letters LBJ look in San Serif fonts. Play a lot of solitaire during meetings. Design slacks that leave more room for the bunghole. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/43 "2013-04-21T23:27:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’d almost guarantee that in 1965, it would become a top secret posession of the Department of Energy and end up at Los Alamos or Lawrence Livermore working on nuclear weapon research. Didn’t President Carter create the Department of Energy in the 1970s? I assume the Department of Defense was in charge of Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos in 1965. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/44 "2013-04-22T03:22:34Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Didn’t President Carter create the Department of Energy in the 1970s? I assume the Department of Defense was in charge of Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos in 1965. Yeah, it would have been the Atomic Energy Commission in 1965. Either way, the nuke boys would have been using it to do atomic weapon calculations, considering that a MacBook Air is probably on par with an early supercomputer in processing power, and well above anything available in 1965. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/45 "2013-04-22T03:36:59Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > A fun question occurs to me: what is the most advanced computer you could bring back that they’d be able to reverse-engineer? That is a pretty interesting question. The first microprocessors were invented in 1970-71, so once you pass that date you’re looking at having the 1965 team trying to get a jump start on an invention to come about merely 6 years in the future. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about all the types of mainframes, terminals, etc that were around in the early-mid 1970’s to give you an answer. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/46 "2013-04-22T04:07:57Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > A fun question occurs to me: what is the most advanced computer you could bring back that they’d be able to reverse-engineer? The hardware is mainly a matter of scale. They’ll need a long time to understand how the chips work at a very basic level, especially if they don’t want to break the thing they only have one of. Even if they destroy the machine to analyze it faster it would still take years of development to be able to use most of what they can learn. Reverse engineering the software is much easier because they can work on that using slower computers as they go. For software all general purpose computers are at approximately the same level of complexity, and reverse engineering most of it will take years. Parallel development based on what’s learned from initial reverse engineering will exceed the reverse engineering effort before it’s completed. There may be some advanced hardware that has massive parallel processing through many core cpus that could be called more advanced, but it’s really just multiplying the same type of components. Some of the techniques for constuction of the hardware and integration of the software might be useful though. There are some advanced concept computers being experimented with including quantum computers, neural network computers, and biological computers, but these are still rudimentary examples of the technologies. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/47 "2013-04-22T04:10:56Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Be sure to also give him this [snazzy, super-fast 56K modem](http://www.lazylaces.com/56Kmodem/)! > > BTW, click on the little “connect” button and you can hear the modem connect…brings back the old days…I actually had that modem back when it was considered cutting edge! I miss the song of the modem. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/48 "2013-04-22T04:15:02Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’d almost guarantee that in 1965, it would become a top secret posession of the Department of Energy and end up at Los Alamos or Lawrence Livermore working on nuclear weapon research. I know a guy who was working at Livermore making bombs back then (or thenabouts; it’s a time travel story, after all). They would have had fun with it, but yeah, reverse-engineering a microchip would be a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/49 "2013-04-22T04:28:58Z")
Withdraw from Vietnam and not run again for President. Use the airbook as a doorstop. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/50 "2013-04-22T07:13:04Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I think it’s more interesting if you send them two. One to keep functioning, one to inspect. Concur - these are both very interesting and productive things to do, but you can’t do both without two devices - in fact, supplying only one of them may ensure that neither thing happens - the single device gets locked away in a vault while everyone argues whether it’s best to try to use it or to take it apart. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/51 "2013-04-22T07:21:50Z")
> [@For You](#): > > If you have ever touched one of those, the button has become kind of non-obvious. It is now completely hidden under the posterior region of the trackpad, so that it functions like their USB trackpad things. Apple seems to hate buttons in general. It’s great. Left and and right click works like a traditional PC mouse but you can also swipe your fingers over it for various gesture commands. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/52 "2013-04-22T14:08:11Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I miss the song of the modem. You should get that sound file to play on boot up. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037/53 "2013-04-22T18:04:35Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Given that there’s no internet and no Apple server, there’s no way to register and setup this computer! You do not need an internet connection to set up a new Apple computer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1965-youre-potus-i-give-you-a-2013-macbook-air/656037.md?page=2)