Re: Who Pioneered the Computer??

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Martin Owen (t.m.owen@bangor.ac.uk)
Fri, 24 Sep 1999 11:54:38 +0000 

Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 11:54:38 +0000
From: Martin Owen <t.m.owen@bangor.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Who Pioneered the Computer??

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I am late in here too.

We come down to questions of what is a computer? A machine to do binary
artihmatic: I don't think so.
Key words for me are "stored program"... anything else is just a
calculating machine.

The world's first stored-program electronic digital computer successfully
executed its first program on
21st June 1948. That program was written by Tom Kilburn who, along with the
late F.C. (Freddie)
Williams designed and built the machine. It was called the "Small Scale
Experimental Machine", but
was soon nicknamed the "Baby". It is also sometimes (unhelpfully?) known as
the "Mark 1 prototype".

see http://www.computer50.org/mark1/new.baby.html

Stored Program meant that instructions could be read successively at
electronic speed, and
that running a different program only involved resetting part of the memory
using a simple keyboard
rather than reconfiguring the electronic circuitry (this could take days on
ENIAC) This sounds like a computer to me.

So if a computer is a device that changes according to the software you use
rather than dedicating hardware to a task... BABY was first.

there is a replica in the Manchester Museum of Science, Industry and
Manufacture (but no photos on the website... I will scan and post if anyone
wants.)

Sorry if this seems chauvanistic... Manchester is my Alma Mater.

Martin

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