Link to COMPUTER MUSEUM PICS
Link to COMPUTER MUSEUM VIDEOS
At Bletchley Park there is computer museum showing examples of computers from the first to the latest creations.
There is a replica of the BOMBE, one of the first decoding machines. It is incredibly complex, and mechanically intense. See the links to videos on Smugmug above or watch them below.
Building the Bombe
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Besides lots of parts and original Emigma machines, there is one reproduction that you can play with.
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Ada Lovelace. The ADA programming language was named after her.
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Just a few wires in the Bombe
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This one runs, but some parts are missing while they are being repaired. As little as this machine runs, it still requires lots of maintenance and repair.
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The inside of the Bobme. A mess of wires, resistors, tubes, gears, oiling mechanisms and more.
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A form of "Slide Rule"
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I hate when things I used as a kid are in museums.
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This is a Lorenz, an encoding machine that is much more secure than the Enigma. It was used by the German High Command and much more important than the Enigma.
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Colossus was an electronic digital computer, built during WWII from over 1700 valves (tubes). It was used to break the codes of the German Lorenz SZ-40 cipher machine that was used by the German High Command. Colossus is sometimes referred to as the world's first fixed program, digital, electronic, computer. THere is a video of it running. That tape is a continuous paper tape with lots of small holes running REALLY fast.
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LOTS of little holes
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The Colossus was also known as the Heath Robinson Machine. Think Rube Goldberg Device.
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Random Access Memory Module.
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Dina St Johnson was a British computer programmer credited with founding the UK's first software house in 1959. She retired in 1999 and died in 2007. The machine she is seen sitting in front of was an Elliot computer. She realized that no company wanted to spend the enormous amount of money these things cost when they did not really know what to do with them, but they WERE willing to pay someone to run payrolls and other work that could be done on this computer, so she aquired one and hired the computer out, basically.
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Lots of very expensive slide rules.
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An Apple LISA computer.
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I had one of these computers. They were 2 or $100 if I remmember right and my brother in law bought the kits. You would solder them together, then use BASIC and a TV and Cassette recorder to write programs and play games etc. Not the most powerful things in the world, but it helped me get over my hatred of programming.
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A Cray Computer
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A CRAY 1 computer in the process of being refurbished.
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This mess of cut wires in the back is making refurbishing the Cray 1 a real challenge. I spoke to one of the people working on it. They are not sure if it is even feasible.
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The back of the Bombe Running:
If the Video does not show up, you can download it here: The back of the Bombe Running
The Perforated Tape on the Colossus:
If the Video does not show up, you can download it here: The Perforated Tape on the Colossus
"Electronic" Computer running - Lights:
If the Video does not show up, you can download it here: "Electronic" Computer running - Lights
EDSAC Running, It's the sound of an "Electronic" computer that is most interesting:
If the Video does not show up, you can download it here:
EDSAC Running