Stickybuffalo.com

Apparently a film about the World War II codebreaking machine, Colossus, has prompted a bit of celebration about Britain’s contribution to early computer development, along with a report by Mark Ward over at the BBC web site. And that’s lovely, and it’s a compelling story. But Ward’s report, unfortunately, gets a bit carried away with British pride. And in the process fudges one or two small but very important points. Repeatedly.

Ward writes: “Colossus is regarded as being the world’s first digital, electronic computer…”

And quotes Phil Hayes, the chief engineer at the National Museum of Computing, as saying “…it’s the first electronic computer.”

Neither of these statements is really accurate. In the same story, Ward repeats the assertion but with a key disclaimer: “…was the first electronic, digital programmable computer.” The word “programmable” has been added, though unfortunately all three of these claims are dropped into the same story without any comment on the difference between them, or which one is in fact accurate, and Ward therefore gives the impression that they’re all interchangeable and that, essentially, the Colossus was just “the first computer” regardless of whatever qualifiers you add.

Except that is not true, sir.

Yes, Colossus was the first electronic digital programmable computer. It was not the first electronic computer, or the first electronic digital computer. We have a computer museum here in the United States, too, perhaps a bit less “national” in character; if you visit its web site you’ll find information about not only American contributions to computer technology but the work of other pioneers, as well, including the Colossus. It also, however, includes information about another device conceived in 1937, and up and running one year before Colossus. Some of you may have heard of it, probably. (more…)

I didn’t pay much attention to the ISU-OSU game, last night. I looked at the score once, around 10:30 EST, and saw ISU trailing 7-17. Which was relatively pleasing, given that my aspirations for the team consisted solely of losing by fewer than 30 points.

After that, having gotten up at 6:30 all week as part of this end-of-year deathmarch I’m working on, I called it a night. Then I got up and saw this:

Oh, baby

(more…)

Have you thought about going to a high school reunion? Good news: I attended one just a week ago, and you can share the benefit of my experience as you consider the prospect.

Note that I grew up in small-town Iowa, and graduated in a class of about 70, so your results may vary. That said, here’s a guide to who might, and might not, be at your reunion:

PEOPLE TO LOOK FOR:

Three near-interchangeable guys. Relatively different types 15 years ago, they seem to have converged since, like the tree of evolution in reverse. Now they’re all fairly mellow, affable suburban dads, with one or two little kids. They work middling white-collar office jobs; two of them even work for the same company. They live in a suburb of either the nearby city (e.g. Cedar Rapids) or the state’s other major city (e.g. Des Moines), but think about moving further out to someplace smaller, because the urban congestion of Clive makes them a little uncomfortable.

The girl you can barely even recognize. She’s put on some weight, but it’s more how her face has filled out; in combination with completely different hair and a lot of makeup, she wouldn’t have triggered the least notion of recognition outside of this context. As-is, you were only sure of her identity when someone  addressed her by name. If someone else told you, now, that “no, she wasn’t there, you must have mis-heard, that was so-and-so,” you’d think they might well be serious.

The girl who has not changed. Maybe Peggy Sue Got Married wasn’t quite that unrealistic, after all. After 15 years, this girl looks to have aged about a week; had her 33-year-old self shown up at graduation day, you aren’t sure anyone would have noticed. She also talks exactly as much as she did in high school, too, so you only heard her say about 25 words over the course of two-and-a-half hours.

The girl who shows every year and then some. By coincidence, she’s the sister of the preceding character, and you can’t help imagining some sort of Picture of Dorian Gray relationship whereby one sister does all of the aging for both. Though the fact that she has a 14-year-old daughter, already, and sits through the reunion with a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other, may play some role as well. (more…)