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2022-08-26
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In the US, computer history hailed
the ENIAC as the first fully
operational computer. Sadly -- at
least for good old American Pride --
this is not exactly true. Since major
computer development was during the
Second World War, everything was quite
hush-hush. Three other computing
machines were designed and built well
before ENIAC succeeded.
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Konrad Zuse (pronounced "Conrud
Tsoosay") of Germany built a series of
electro-magnetic computers between
1935 and 1941. The last of the series
-- the Z3 -- was fully programmable
and "Turing-Complete." In 1945, he
devised the first high-level
programming language.
After the war, Zuse founded the
world's first computer start-up
company -- Zuse-Ingenieurburo Hopferau
-- and marketed his machines. The Z4
was completed in 1950 and at the time
was the only working computer in
Europe. It was also the first computer
to be sold -- beating the Ferrenti
Mark I by five months and the UNIVAC
by ten months.
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In 1967, Zuse sold his company and
"retired." That year, he wrote a paper
that suggested that the entire
universe is being computed on a
computer, possibly a cellular
automaton (CA). He referred to this as
"Rechnender Raum" or Computing Space
or Computing Cosmos.
Contrary to a widely spread
misunderstanding, quantum physics,
quantum computation, Heisenberg's
uncertainty principle, and Bell's
inequality do not provide any physical
evidence to refute Zuse's thesis.
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Welcome to the Matrix...
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1910 - 1995
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"Before Colossus, the bombes sounded
like a room full of women knitting."
Will McMayhem
"Which was certainly better than a
room full of women calculating."
Phil McMayhem
"Anything is better than a room full
of calculating women."
Will McMayhem
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NOTE: No one has officially admitted
that the McMayhem twins were ever at
Bletchly Park or had anything to do
with breaking the Enigma code.
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Colossus Mark I was the first
functional, somewhat programmable
electronic computer -- finished and
installed at Bletchly Park in January
1944. Six months later, Mark II was
completed, and ten of the later model
were eventually used to break Nazi
cyphers.
Though Colossus was not "Turing
Complete," it was very, very fast at
accomplishing its purpose. A 2004 PC
programmed to do the same thing would
just keep up with Colossus.
Designed by a team headed by Max
Newman, Colossus was a well kept
secret and had no influence on the
ENIAC being designed in the US.
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It is said that after hostilities
ceased, Winston Churchill ordered the
Colossi to be reduced to pieces no
larger than a man's hand. However, two
machines continued in use after the
war at the British Government
Communications Headquarters until
being destroyed in 1960.
Information about the Colossus and
recognition for Newman and others who
built it remained a secret until 1970.
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1897 - 1984
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