The PDP-8 had just 4k 12 bit words, yet it was still possible to run the Focal interpreted language, and do some simple animations.
TheMemberFormerlyKnownAsAWOL:
Semiconductors did, but not transistors.
You are right "cat's whisker" or crystal detectors were semiconductors but not transistors. They were in use as radio detectors from 1894 until around 1920 when valves replaced them. Eventually we got back to using semiconductors again.
In my previous posts wherever I mentioned transistors just substitute semiconductors.
I was also a bit sloppy in describing TecktoniX storage tubes and the raster scan equipment that replaced them as "monitors" and "displays". They were in fact "terminals" normally connected to computers by RS232 serial connections.
Raster scan CRT graphics terminals came to the fore but were quickly caught in a pincer movement between high end graphics workstations such as the Apollo and the upstart PCs. The IBM PC with its open bus architecture was a game changer. Terminals got replaced by PCs with CRT monitors and then the CRTs got replaced by LCD displays.
Aldous was right... I think he meant to say LCD