[Nottingham] Bletchley Park - FINAL EMAIL

[Martin]

On 11/09/2012, Nick Leverton wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 08:17:09PM +0100, Nick Leverton wrote:
>> I think it was agreed by several of us that we need to go back to see
>> the computers they are all working :-)
>                ^
>               when

Hey! We all got to see them all working! The Colossus is hot stuff...

I've put just a few pics ( ;-) ) up on:

Unravelling an Enigma
http://nottingham.lug.org.uk/2012/09/unravelling-an-enigma/3513

Note the blinken lights! :-) Shame you can't also smell the oil and
ozone, and hear the clicks and clanks and wherrings... The only thing
missing was the ding of a bell for when a code match was found... For
the Bombe, you did at least get a very satisfied clunk and an
immediately deafening silence. Not many 'computers' can also boast an
oil drip tray!

The Colossus has a very real and perhaps the first "Front Panel" of
/any/ computer. No steampunk gimmickry needed... It's all pioneering
lights and switches and patch leads for real, with miles of wiring
that is big enough to see and manually mangle. Reminds me of Meccano
and wire-wrapping... None of this cool new fangled microscopic bits on
sandy-glass stuff that is far too small to see with the human eye.


Comments welcomed,

And where next?

(My vote goes for a daytrip to space in  Leicester ;-) )

Cheers,
Martin