Progress Continues On Recreating the Babbage Programmable Computer

Long-time Slashdot reader RockDoctor writes: A project to create a working example of [english mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage’s] original “steampunk computer,” referred to by Babbage as the “Analytical Engine 30,” is continuing. The update comes via a “Spring 2021 report” to the Computer Conservation Society. The main news is that a new series of plans, dating from about 1857 have been found and are being examined for incorporation into the final design. “One remarkable feature is the extension of the Store to 1000 registers, and most intriguingly various methods of mechanically addressing the store contents,” reads the update. This would compare well with electronic processor design… not that anyone is expecting this machine, when built, to be blisteringly fast. Could a steam-powered Analytical Engine support backup DNS services in a post-apocalyptic world’ Is this Cloudflare’s ultimate plan’Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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