10 Mar
2003
10 Mar
'03
11:28 a.m.
Hmm... Doesn't think this is a computer, eh?
Wonder what it *is* then? It
calculates, and provides a results of those calculations into some kind of
output -- usually on paper.
Calling an Enigma a computer is really stretching the definition. They
are incredibly simple machines - the internal circuitry consists of not
much more than a battery, wires, the wheels (fancy rotary switches,
basically), a plugboard, and a bunch of lightbulbs.
For a previous question - the number of Enigmas in private hands is well
over 100 units. They are really not all that rare, but the price ($20,000
is not unusual) is high because of the extreme demand.
It is the U.S. crypto gear that is truely rare...
William Donzelli
aw288(a)osfn.org