Hi all,

I am not sure why this discussion thread seems to be going out of its way to degrade the importance of the ABC machine.  The computer was conceived in the late 1930s and became operational in 1942.  Granted, it was not a general purpose machine, as some of the other machines on the list.  However, it is generally acknowledged to be the first electronic special purpose computer.  Furthermore, in the protracted court case with the ENIAC on the patent of the computer, the ABC prevailed.  It may be worthwhile to visit the URL http://jva.cs.iastate.edu/operation.php , and see the birthplace of the ABC. 

Thanks for your consideration. 

John

John Impagliazzo, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus, Hofstra University

IEEE Life Fellow; ACM Distinguished Educator

Editor-in-Chief, ACM Inroads

From: members-bounces@sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Info @ IT History Society
Sent: 15 November, 2012 10:38
To: members@sigcis.org
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Older computers (1940-1950)

Thank you all for your many suggestions.

IT History Society One Blackfield Drive – Suite 331 Tiburon, CA 94920 (415) 435-2263   info@ITHistory.org www.ITHistory.org   Ensuring the Future by Preserving the Past  

-----Original Message----- From: members-bounces@sigcis.org [members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Evan Koblentz Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 5:29 AM To: members@sigcis.org Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Older computers (1940-1950)

If we include the ABC, we may as well add Couffignal's computer, an

electronic, parallel calculator programmed from an external disk.

I agree about ABC being of a different, lesser class than the others on the list. Hadn't heard of Couffignal, very interesting! _____________________________________________ This email is relayed from members@sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members