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By Paul Biba

witch-lowres-540x540.jpgThis is from the Inquirer. Go over there to see some really interesting pictures.

THE HARWELL COMPUTER will become the oldest functioning electronic stored program device in the world if Bletchley Park boffins can raise the funds to get it fixed. …

The machine was designed in 1949 and was intended to take some of the slog out of scientific calculations that previously were being done using the kind of clackety-clackety-kerchunk mechanical calculators you see in old movies. The team of human calculators involved apparently were so bored with the whole process that they were making mistakes and having to start all over again.

… TNMOC spokesboffin Kevin Murrell told us, “The machine was a relay-based computer using 900 Dekatron gas-filled tubes that could each hold a single digit in memory – similar to RAM in a modern computer – and paper tape for both input and program storage.

 
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