10 Feb
2015
10 Feb
'15
10:24 a.m.
> > misconceptions and misinformation out
there.
> > OK, my only comment to that is the stuff that says "Turing was THE
> > father of the computer, period, full stop."
> > Note the singular.
> > What about Charles Babbage and (Augusta) Ada Byron? How can you leave
> > them out?
> How about John Antansaoff? From Wikip, to refresh your memory:
Or Zuse?
Paternity will always remain disputed.
Since we can't even ever fully agree on the meanings of "COMPUTER",
or even "FIRST", eventually it will end up as arguments about whether
it was Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.
And most writers don't care much about what was around before they
got into it. Most end up saying something on the order of, "Although
there were some predecessors, the first really USABLE computer . . . "
PC? (sometimes acknowledging the prior existence of CP/M)
PC/AT? (acknowledging existence of PC)
Mac? (acknowledging existence of Apple][+)
And truth and accuracy will always get short shrift.
The schools still teach that Columbus heroically discovered America
in order to prove that the earth is round, ignoring Leif, and asian
immigrants (who were there to greet Columbus and whom he said would
make a good source of slaves)
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com