Philosophy
The oldest original working computer in the U.K., which has been in storage for nearly 30 years, is getting restored to its former glory.
The Harwell computer, also known as WITCH, is getting a second lease on life at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. The machine is the oldest surviving computer whose programs, as well as data, are stored electronically, according to the museum.
The Harwell WITCH is a relay-based machine that used 900 Dekatron gas-filled tubes, each of which could hold a single digit in memory. It has paper tape for both data input and program storage. The computer was used in the design of Britain’s first nuclear reactors.
“Its promises for reliability over speed were certainly met – it was definitely the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare fable,” says Kevin Murrell, a director and trustee of The National Museum of Computing. “In a race with a human mathematician using a mechanical calculator, the human kept pace for 30 minutes, but then had to retire exhausted as the machine carried on remorselessly. The machine once ran for ten days unattended over a Christmas and New Year holiday period.”
It was a feat for its time. Harwell was operational until 1957 and was then used in computer education until 1973. After that it was disassembled and put in storage–only to be revived now.
The Harwell will be housed alongside the rebuild of the earlier, code-breaking Colossus Mark II, the world’s first electronic computer.
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Philosophy
Reboot the ole "WITCH"
"Britain’s Oldest Working Computer Roars to Life"
by
Priya Ganapati
September 4th, 2009
Wired
by
Priya Ganapati
September 4th, 2009
Wired
The oldest original working computer in the U.K., which has been in storage for nearly 30 years, is getting restored to its former glory.
The Harwell computer, also known as WITCH, is getting a second lease on life at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. The machine is the oldest surviving computer whose programs, as well as data, are stored electronically, according to the museum.
The Harwell WITCH is a relay-based machine that used 900 Dekatron gas-filled tubes, each of which could hold a single digit in memory. It has paper tape for both data input and program storage. The computer was used in the design of Britain’s first nuclear reactors.
“Its promises for reliability over speed were certainly met – it was definitely the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare fable,” says Kevin Murrell, a director and trustee of The National Museum of Computing. “In a race with a human mathematician using a mechanical calculator, the human kept pace for 30 minutes, but then had to retire exhausted as the machine carried on remorselessly. The machine once ran for ten days unattended over a Christmas and New Year holiday period.”
It was a feat for its time. Harwell was operational until 1957 and was then used in computer education until 1973. After that it was disassembled and put in storage–only to be revived now.
The Harwell will be housed alongside the rebuild of the earlier, code-breaking Colossus Mark II, the world’s first electronic computer.
- Comedy And The Turing Test
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists everywhere, This week, good brother 71 sent me a link to this article, "Computers Crack Jokes in Unusual Artificial Intelligence Test." Alan Turing used as a sufficient condition for artificial intelligence...
- 5mb Hard Drive...ramac
"Tech Time Warp of the Week: The World’s First Hard Drive, 1956" by Daniela Hernandez January 3rd, 2014 Wired IBM unleashed the world’s first computer hard disk drive in 1956. It was bigger than a refrigerator. It weighed more than a ton. And...
- An Early Computer?--charles Babbage's "punch Cards"
"It Started Digital Wheels Turning" by John Markoff November 7th, 2011 The New York Times Researchers in Britain are about to embark on a 10-year, multimillion-dollar project to build a computer — but their goal is neither dazzling analytical power...
- Quantum Computer To Usc
Once all of unit's bugs are fixed, this will be a revolution in computing "USC receives first quantum computer" by Rachel Bracker October 30th, 2011 Daily Trojan USC on Friday became the first academic institution to house an operational quantum...
- Your Precious Data...poof--gone
There was a recent The New York Times article in the "technology" section regarding a serious issue that has been around for a long time and is quite frustrating--a reliable method of storing information. What startled me was the following: "The life...