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The Wonderful World of Early Computing

neatorama.com — The history of computing spans thousands of years - from the primitive notched bones found in Africa, to the invention of abacus in 2400 BC, to Charles Babbage ’s Difference Engine in 1883, to the rise of the popularity of Personal Computers (PCs) in the 1970s.

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  • bianconeri4ever, on 01/26/2008, -6/+23Can I install Linux on those? :P
  • cxzsaq, on 01/26/2008, -2/+8Caption: Diggs' mainframe.
  • OLDIBMMAN, on 01/26/2008, -2/+35I started working with computers in 1962. I met Grace Hopper at a seminar.(Navy dress and neat hat) Good job on this story.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 01/26/2008, -1/+6You must be like 70 years old.
      • sleeknerve, on 01/26/2008, -0/+15his name is OLD IBM MAN after all
    • ufee, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4That is beyond awesome.
    • bludragn0, on 01/26/2008, -3/+1Do you by any chance know Geriatric1927 from youtube? It's cool to see senior citizens taking interest in the internet.
      • androothebear, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3because all old people know one another.
  • xsquirrel378x, on 01/26/2008, -3/+7man screw these yuppie ultraportable notebooks. the ENIAC is the colossus of cool
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 01/26/2008, -0/+12The ENIAC totally fits inside a manilla envelope.
    • wibambau, on 01/26/2008, -0/+6Something interesting about the reliability regarding the ENIAC's vacuum tubes: (source: wikipedia)

      Some electronics experts predicted that tube failures would occur so frequently that the machine would never be useful. This prediction turned out to be partially correct: several tubes burned out almost every day, leaving it nonfunctional about half the time. Special high-reliability tubes were not available until 1948. Most of these failures, however, occurred during the warm-up and cool-down periods, when the tube heaters and cathodes were under the most thermal stress. By the simple (if expensive) expedient of never turning the machine off, the engineers reduced ENIAC's tube failures to the more acceptable rate of one tube every two days. According to a 1989 interview with Eckert the continuously failing tubes story was therefore mostly a myth: "We had a tube fail about every two days and we could locate the problem within 15 minutes."

      In 1954, the longest continuous period of operation without a failure was 116 hours (close to five days).

      ... just amazing what level of reliability we now take for granted.
      • Philbert, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2I've hardly turned my computer off since I built it in August. It's good to keep those days in perspective.
  • msaleem, on 01/26/2008, -14/+10One thing we've learned from all the innovators (and them putting their foots in their mouth) is that computing changes so fast (hardware and software) that the bleeding edge is that only for a month or so. This is old to us, but give it a month or two and the sweet machine you have will start to feel dated.
    • Carret, on 01/26/2008, -0/+7What is fascinating is the exact opposite is true also . . . as you learn more about the core concepts of computing you realize it is nothing new at all, these ideas have been around years. Boolean algebra? The discrete math behind an algorithm? We aren't doing a lot of inventing, we are just implementing it in new ways. We stand on the shoulders of those giants, those innovators, as you said.
    • Philbert, on 01/26/2008, -2/+1I don't know about that, I built this computer 6 months ago and it still feels top of the line to me. And I actually use all of it's processing power. Not like people who get a high end machine for using Word and IE.
  • segiterrus, on 01/26/2008, -9/+1and thats y smaller and faster is better.
  • mal1964, on 01/26/2008, -1/+7Wireless has been around a long time.
  • Foodeater133, on 01/26/2008, -8/+1Prehistoric laptops much?
  • Damien79, on 01/26/2008, -17/+8MrBabyMan on the frontpage as usual, buried you for your little bitchfest, bitch.
    http://digg.com/tech_news/Digg_CEO_Jay_Adelson_s_T ...
  • tsevis, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4Very nice article. It's great to see people interested in the history of computing.
  • madwh, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3"When they were building the machine, Mauchly and Eckert knew that mice would be a problem" My mouse has always been a problem, piece of garbage.
  • Sphike, on 01/26/2008, -1/+1I wonder what unimaginable thing could be waiting in the year 3000...

    ...Stone age
    • samssf, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1If only I could be alive to see :'(

      Aubrey De Grey, please hurry.
    • Akraz, on 01/26/2008, -0/+250 Petahertz processor?
  • mattcoady, on 01/26/2008, -0/+10The real benchmark is how fast we can get these to run doom.
  • LastDitchHero, on 01/26/2008, -2/+13But can they run Crysis on high?
    • Smills, on 01/26/2008, -2/+6Only on medium with shaders on low and at 18fps. So not really, no.
  • lohphat, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3How could they for get the mechanical Curta calculator? It was *the* device of choice apart from a slide rule before electronic calculators emerged.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta_calculator
  • 0260, on 01/26/2008, -1/+4I predict that within 100 years computers will be twice as powerful, 10,000 times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings in Europe will own them! -Frink
  • silentdragoon, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4You can see Babbage's Difference Engine at the London Science Museum, where it has been completely rebuilt using Victorian methods. Another one is currently under construction, and you can watch it being built in the museum -- very cool. There's also a CRAY super computer.
  • donkeySays, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2The ENIAC looks like a mega super computer. What was it computing power?
    • superspud, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4it could calculate 5,000 additions, 357 multiplications or 38 divisions in one second - a thousand time faster than any other calculating machines of the time.

  • warlokaz2004, on 01/26/2008, -0/+5The Abacus was probably the greatest quantum leap of its time, resulting in a leapfrog in Math, science and engineering. Todays its a childrens toy. Make you think, eh?
  • bliz, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1ah.. those heady days.. no wait, i wasn't born yet..
  • rento, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3Bletchley Park rules!!!!!
  • rodgerdodger5, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2Dugg.
    Another great archive of history here; with some awesome and I do mean awsome old IBM iron!
    http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/
    example pic of excellent IBM Blinkenlights panel: http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/model91.html
    "The operators used to turn off the room lights and stare it at all night, waiting for the yellow "loop mode" light came on (executing a loop in the pipeline without accessing core memory); this was the sign of a well-crafted program. "
    http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/#360/91
    "Achtung! Alle touristen und non-technischen lookenpeepers! Das machine is nicht fur fingerpoken und mittengrabben. Is easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken mit spitzen sparken. Das machine is diggen by experten only. Is nicht fur gerwerken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken sightseeren keepen das cottenpicken hands in das pockets. Relaxen und watchen das blinkenlights."
  • daxsymbiont, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1OVERDONE subject. when you're an old fart and kids laugh at you for the technology of today you wouldn't laugh.
  • HonoredMule, on 01/26/2008, -0/+7"Interesting fact: one of the reasons that Babbage never completed his Difference Engine was that he couldn’t help but to continuously tinker with and improve the design (he came up with the idea for the Analytical Engine even before he could build the Difference Engine). This was probably the first recorded instance of feature creep."
  • DeusNova, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2Woah the Antikythera Mechanism is cool and surreal.
  • Pct1theory, on 01/26/2008, -4/+1B.C.E. not BC
  • Flummoxer, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2"The Antikythera Mechanism, as the device was named, was dated from around 100 BC. It would take about another 1,000 years for the appearance of similar levels of technical sophistication in the West."

    Europe, where Greece just so happens to be, isn't considered "the West?"
  • Prombar, on 01/27/2008, -0/+1today - Mac book air
  • alphaterminus, on 01/28/2008, -0/+1I agree with the "Before Eniac and After Eniac" division in computing history. However, I also think that the transistor was an even more important invention, in historical terms. In fact, I think it was the most important invention in the 20th century.
  • barrista, on 01/28/2008, -0/+0Articles like this are good reading but the facts should be checked really. Sentences like" just prior to the outbreak of world war II in 1943" or some thing to that effect - make me fairly sure that this was written by someone from USA. World war II didn't start with the bombing of Pearl Harbour guys it was already going for years! - therefore factually this article is questionable..... anyway..... interesting
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