17 Jun
1998
17 Jun
'98
5:26 a.m.
John Higginbotham (or someone) wrote:
:-) Someone has mentioned Jacquard, I think. He didn't invent punched
cards, afaik, he got the idea from a Brit. I'll try and find out more,
but I don't think either was a computer. The Jacquard loom doesn't run
a program - it transfers data from cards to fabric. Full stop.
I'd give the honours of 1st computer to the Zuse Z1 - a relay machine
between the Wars, I think. But some mechanical calculators at that date
were quite sophisticated. Comments, anyone??
They may have done, but the Manchester SSEM (Small Scale Experimental
Machine) was the first computer to STORE ITS PROGRAM IN MAIN MEMORY,
i.e. answer 4.
Again, Konrad Zuse's pre-war relay computers were digital. Go and watch
them running the Z4 in Munich...
Philip.
2) First human
made computer (program given for input, so abbacus doesn't
count, output given)
I think there was an automated loom that was invented in the 17th century
that wove a pattern based on a template, but I don't recall if this was a
hole punch reader, a specially shaped gear, or other apparatus. It did
exist though. Although most definitely not a computer as we see them
today, it did take a program for input, process it, and output it in the
form of fabric. (I think this was right before CGA was made a standard...) 5) First
digital computer
Didn't someone just post a link about the "first digital computer" turning
50 years old? It was on the BBC website, I believe. 
17 Jun
17 Jun
4:43 a.m.
At 05:26 PM 6/17/98 GMT, you wrote:
but I don't think either was a computer. The
Jacquard loom doesn't run
a program - it transfers data from cards to fabric. Full stop.
It reads a set of instructions off the punch card, the gears or what have
you interprets the pattern, and finally displays the output on the fabric.
Sounds like a computer, in the broadest sense. The purists would say that
it's not a computer unless it computes. I'm sure you could do math on it
with a few simple modifications though.
I'd give the honours of 1st computer to the Zuse Z1
- a relay machine
between the Wars, I think. But some mechanical calculators at that date
were quite sophisticated. Comments, anyone??
Didn't that have something to do with RADAR? Or was it cryptography?
________________________________________
john higginbotham limbo.netpath.net -
webmaster, http://www.pntprinting.com -
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5:04 a.m.
It reads a set of instructions off the punch card, the
gears or what have
you interprets the pattern, and finally displays the output on the fabric.
Sounds like a computer, in the broadest sense. The purists would say that
it's not a computer unless it computes. I'm sure you could do math on it
with a few simple modifications though.
The line is always grey...
Didn't that have something to do with RADAR? Or
was it cryptography?
No, not radar.
Radar, incidently, was just about the first use of digital electonics.
Although there was no computation at the digital level*, vacuum tube
flip-flops and counters were used in the timing circuits, as well in IFF
codes (The NRL even tried out a pre-1940 IFF box that used a real binary
word for the codes, with the hope that encryption would follow. It turned
out to just be a lab rat, however, and most of the war years saw the
horrible British MkIII system in use.).
*The mechanical fire control computers, on the other hand, are truely
awesome devices. They would accept a bunch of real time input data (some
from the radars, some from the ships' gyros, some
from the gun pointers
(sailors), and even internal data like how many times the gun
was
fired (wear on the barrels)) - and output a bunch of data to set up the
shot. It worked well - incredibly well - 20 mile hits on the first shot
were not uncommon. It took YEARS before an electronic computer could rival
them.
Tons of metal, but built like a Swiss watch.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
7:39 a.m.
On Wed, 17 Jun 1998, William Donzelli wrote:
Ah yes! The (then) ubiquitous Mark 1A (One Able) fire control computer.
Probably the only greater marvel were the fire controlmen who were able
to keep them in operation when repairs were necessary.
- don
It reads a set
of instructions off the punch card, the gears or what have
you interprets the pattern, and finally displays the output on the fabric.
Sounds like a computer, in the broadest sense. The purists would say that
it's not a computer unless it computes. I'm sure you could do math on it
with a few simple modifications though.
The line is always grey...
Didn't that have something to do with RADAR?
Or was it cryptography?
No, not radar.
Radar, incidently, was just about the first use of digital electonics.
Although there was no computation at the digital level*, vacuum tube
flip-flops and counters were used in the timing circuits, as well in IFF
codes (The NRL even tried out a pre-1940 IFF box that used a real binary
word for the codes, with the hope that encryption would follow. It turned
out to just be a lab rat, however, and most of the war years saw the
horrible British MkIII system in use.).
*The mechanical fire control computers, on the other hand, are truely
awesome devices. They would accept a bunch of real time input data (some
from the radars, some from the ships' gyros, some from the gun pointers
(sailors), and even internal data like how many times the gun was
fired (wear on the barrels)) - and output a bunch of data to set up the
shot. It worked well - incredibly well - 20 mile hits on the first shot
were not uncommon. It took YEARS before an electronic computer could rival
them. Tons of metal, but built like a Swiss watch.
Precisely! Pun intended.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
donm(a)cts.com
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7:51 a.m.
Ah yes! The (then) ubiquitous Mark 1A (One Able) fire
control computer.
Probably the only greater marvel were the fire controlmen who were able
to keep them in operation when repairs were necessary.
Most of the computers were very hardy things and rarely broke down. When
they did, these highly trained technicians would be called in to do the
repairs, using all sorts of special tools (like really thin wrenches and
other "not-at-Home-Depot" type things.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net
9689
days inactive
9689
days old
4 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
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donm＠cts.com -
higginbo＠netpath.net -
Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk -
william＠ans.net