Computing Pioneer Dies

[Brent Hilpert]

On 2017-Nov-10, at 9:35 AM, Dave Wade via cctalk wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Brian L. Stuart [mailto:blstuart at bellsouth.net]
>> Sent: 10 November 2017 15:45
>> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
>> <cctalk at classiccmp.org>; Dave Wade <dave.g4ugm at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: Computing Pioneer Dies
>> 
>> On Fri, 11/10/17, Dave Wade via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/nov/08/geoff-tootill-obituary
>> 
> 
> I should point out there is a technical error in the Guardian. The Baby was the first Electronically Stored Program in what today we would call RAM. ENIAC had been configured in stored program mode earlier in the year and had run a program stored in the function switches, e.g. ROM a couple of months before baby. Despite the fact that when running stored programs ENIAC's parallel processing features were not available, it was exclusively in this mode from 1948 onwards. Note both machines are theoretically "Turing Complete" but having only 32 words of 32 bits the Baby was not of any practical use for a further 18 months whilst major surgery was carried out to add extra store and instructions to the machine leading the emergence of the Manchester MK1. 

Funny, I didn't see a "technical error" in the article.

The best that can be said for your position is that you (and the ENIAC/Mauchlyite crowd) have a particular opinion and definition regarding 'stored-program computer'.