ORACLE (computer) ORACLE (computer) The ORACLE or "Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine", an early computer built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was based on the IAS architecture developed by John von Neumann. The "Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review" states: [Oak Ridge National] Laboratory engineers assisted Argonne [National Laboratory] during the early 1950s in design and fabrication of the Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine. Its name was selected with reference to a lyrical acronym from Greek mythology—ORACLE, defined as 'a shrine in which a deity reveals hidden knowledge.' Assembled before the development of transistors and microchips, the ORACLE was
Computer-assisted reporting including NICAR-L, CARR-L and JAGIS-L. Computer-assisted reporting Computer-assisted reporting describes the use of computers to gather and analyze the data necessary to write news stories. The spread of computers, software and the Internet changed how reporters work. Reporters routinely collect information in databases, analyze public records with spreadsheets and statistical programs, study political and demographic change with geographic information system mapping, conduct interviews by e-mail, and research background for articles on the Web. Collectively this has become known as computer-assisted reporting, or CAR. It is closely tied to "precision" or analytic journalism, which refer specifically to the use of techniques