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Workings of Ancient Calculating Device Deciphered
palegray.net writes "Scientists have discovered new meaning behind the functions of the Antikythera Mechanism, which has been referred to as the oldest known analog computing device. In addition to providing a means to calculate the dates for solar eclipses, the device apparently tracked the four-year cycles of the Olympiad. From the New York Times article: 'Only now, applying high-resolution imaging systems and three-dimensional X-ray tomography, have experts been able to decipher inscriptions and reconstruct functions of the bronze gears on the mechanism. The latest research has revealed details of dials on the instrument's back side, including the names of all 12 months of an ancient calendar.'"
Does it run Linux?
it was about time...
Ever to excel
when they found it, it was flashing 12.
... also the first known example of "feature creep"
Isn't this the eighth or ninth time this year that they've "discovered" the inner workings of this damn thing?
It's hard to say. They're also using the device to keep count... They think.
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
...or maybe the Antikythera Mechanism is actually a time machine!
No sig for the moment.
But some idiot lost the boot cog and it won't work with any known version of GRUB, LILO, SYSLINUX or LOADLIN :(
Historians speculate that if someone could get it to boot up, it would run faster than a modern PC running Vista!
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
With your bronze gears and such tomfoolery. Back in my day we sisn't even have abacuses. We had to count everything by hand, do the math in our heads, and remember it!
Now get off my lawn, and take your newfangled gizmo with you!
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Don't let the patent trolls know any of this. I am sure they each have ten patents on the operation of this device.
You hook it up to the Baghdad Battery.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
Okay, it computes dates. So does it also end on December 21, 2012?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Me too. And the first thing I'd do is turn it upside down and try to spell BOOBIES.
>I don't even want to imagine a computer with the developers' manual carved on it!
One of the Corinthian Letters mentioned in the bible actually was named "Read me first!" (in Corinthian Bold Condensed), but since they didn't understand what it was about, it was not included in the bible.
The Church Father known as "Pillar of Faith" who had Hypatia killed was the same man who had Mary mother of Jesus proclaimed as an "eternal virgin".
Eternal virgin? If that was true, then to heck with this "saint Mary" stuff... Joseph was more of a saint than she was!
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
And how do you know these "Dark ages" weren't caused on purpose by aliens or humans from the future to stop us from achiving an even worse future? How do you know???
Getting serious, imagine what our future generations will say about these days: Patriot act, Trusted computing, DRM, Intellectual copyright, HD TV bit flag, etc, etc, etc. All of them setting us back, maybe, thousands of years. And what do we do? We keep buying iPods and other closed-source stuff and software. It's all about preserving Status Quo...
He was still an asshole.
And he can't have been open-source -- he was too popular.
I'm sure Galilei would agree.
This space up for sale.