Computer pioneer Sir Maurice Wilkes: vision and vacuum tubes

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
> Date: November 19, 2009 6:08:06 AM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Computer pioneer Sir Maurice Wilkes: vision and vacuum tubes

> Hi Davie:
>
> There's a nice piece in today's (UK) Guardian, about a visit by  
> Maurice Wilkes to Bletchley Park - for IP if you like.
>
> cheers
>
> Brian
>
> ----
>
>
> Computer pioneer Sir Maurice Wilkes: vision and vacuum tubes
>
> Sir Maurice Wilkes, 96, one of the pioneers of British computing,  
> strolls through the history the he helped create
>
> Walk round the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park and  
> sooner or later you'll hear a cry of recognition and someone will  
> say: "I remember using one of those." It probably doesn't happen  
> often to The Millionaire, a mechanical calculator that went into  
> production in 1893, but Sir Maurice Wilkes spotted it, adding: "We  
> used to have one in the lab. I hope it's still there."
>
> In this case, "the lab" was what became the Cambridge University  
> Computer Lab, which Wilkes headed from 1945 until 1980. It was where  
> he built Edsac, one of the world's first electronic computers, using  
> sound beams traversing baths of mercury for the memory units. Edsac  
> (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) first ran in May  
> 1949, so this year a dinner was held to celebrate its 60th birthday.  
> And, of course, to celebrate Wilkes himself, who is a bright, sharp  
> 96 years of age, and has seen most of the history of computing at  
> first hand.
> <snip>
>
> Full story at:
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/18/maurice-wilkes-computing-witch
>
> --
> School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon  
> Tyne,
> NE1 7RU, UK
> EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
> FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell



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