The "way back" computer

Charles Babbage’s Proto-Brain Comes to America

Excerpt:

The Science Museum in London has built two replicas of Charles Babbage’s original design for the Difference Engine No. 2. Originally planned between 1847 and 1849, the five-ton, 8,000- part system for calculating polynomials was finally completed in 2002 by a team of engineers who took 17 years to complete the entire project. Difference Engine No. 2 includes a remarkable printing component that almost certainly would have been the world’s first automated typesetter, had Babbage completed his original design during his lifetime.

The all-mechanical Difference Engine adds with numbers that are 31 digits long and it can calculate polynomials up to the seventh order. However, it is the printer that appears to be even more strikingly modern. It will produce an ink printout, but also has the capability of producing a mold for a printing plate. It automatically typesets results in columns as well as employing two separate font sizes.

Comment: Be sure to view the video in the NYTime article. Also consider these helpful links: Charles Babbage and Difference engine