[stayscrisp]

So I was in the Science Museum in London checking out the Computing section and got some pics, thought some people would be interested to see them

This is The Pegasus Computer, developed in the 50's in London. Its register set architecture is used in most modern computers, this one still works and is the oldest working digital computer in the world.






This is the delay line, an equivalent to RAM



This is another computer called Electric Random Number Indicator Equipment(ERNIE)





It's pretty cool to see these old computers and read about how they worked.

[Patrunjel]

Wow, I always liked stuff like that.
What are the binocular-like things in image 4? (above the what homo habilis would call "keyboard")
Can you please come with some stats on the computer? (memory, processing power, stuff like that).

This kinda stuff is awsome...can't wait to see how technology would look like when I would be 90 (but I guess I would just go back in time and tell me... )

[stayscrisp]

Those circles are basic monitors, they are cathode ray tubes(CRT). Underneath those are the programmers switches.

The only specs I can remember are that the size of a word is 39 bits and that it had the equivalent of 25 KBytes of storage across 40 different tracks. You will have to google for the rest

This post has been edited by stayscrisp: 08 May 2011 - 10:04 AM

[NeoTifa]

Vacuum tubes. mmmm Nice find.

I saw a link that said basically the original computer programmers and projectile physicists for WWII were women. This made me really proud until at the end the women said they were presenting the information to the generals and stuff and the generals were all like "lol where you get these models at? That's cute, women talking maths...". They thought they were hired to present the computers, but they were the ones who made/programmed it. Because, you know, women belong in the kitchen. Needless to say, I was furious.

[v0rtex]

Wow thats really cool, I read up about old machines like this and read about them in the novel: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution.

Quote

25 KBytes of storage across 40 different tracks.

Its scary to think that now home pc's can have 2 Terra-bytes of Main Store!

This post has been edited by v0rtex: 08 May 2011 - 11:27 AM

[dorknexus]

very awesome! would love to be able to see this kind of stuff in person.

[stayscrisp]

Here's the programming manual.

I spent a while in the museum reading about the computer and taking some snaps, really worth the visit.

This post has been edited by stayscrisp: 08 May 2011 - 11:53 AM

[SixOfEleven]

Nice find. I've always wanted to go to the computer museum in Boston. You are right about how far computers have come. Even in the home computer field they've come a long way.

[codeprada]

I heard about this in class but never knew there was still one out there. The oldest computer I ever used was a Macintosh computer. Crazy stuff...

[CTphpnwb]

codeprada, on 08 May 2011 - 04:23 PM, said:

I heard about this in class but never knew there was still one out there. The oldest computer I ever used was a Macintosh computer. Crazy stuff...

I hope you mean the original 128K Mac, because they do still make Macs! Plus, if you meant a newer model I'm going to feel really old.

It's amazing that the little 128K Mac had more than 5 times as much memory as a machine that took up an entire room. With 8 GB of RAM quickly becoming the norm on new machines we really are spoiled!

[codeprada]

I never knew the model because I was too young to be bothered with such lol but it was a computers that was just the CRT monitor with everything inside.

Something like this...

[CTphpnwb]

That could be the original 128K, the 512k or 512ke, or the Mac Plus. The Plus was discontinued in 1990, which to me doesn't seem that long ago! It feels weird to talk about those in the same way as something from the 1950s, but I guess we'll look back at today's computers twenty years from now and wonder how anyone got anything done with them!

[Fuingurth]

Is it just me or does that first one look like it belongs in a 1950's kitchen?

In case anyone missed it, here is a link to another page on this site about the Raspberry Pi computer. I figured it would be a good reference of how far computers really have come since the pics shown above.m The Pic is below

This post has been edited by Fuingurth: 08 May 2011 - 08:16 PM

[Sethro117]

I would love to go to museums that have this kind of stuff. The oldest computer I ever used was the Apple IIe.

[Happyhour]

C64, with a disk drive, connected to a small TV set via coax. I suddenly have the urge to play Zork again...