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Researcher Resurrects the First Computer

Posted by kdawson on from the how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-randomly-select-the-ways dept.

aleph60 writes "A German researcher is about to resurrect the first fully electronic general-purpose stored-program computer, the Manchester Mark 1 (1948). The functional replica will run the source code of an original program from 1952 by Christopher Strachey, whose sole purpose was generating love letters; it is historically interesting as one of the first examples of a text-generating program. The installation will be shown at an art exhibition in Germany at the end of April." Here is researcher David Link's Manchester Mark I emulator home, which generates a new love poem on each page load. When the Mark I had been used to search for new Mersenne primes in 1949, a press account coined the phrase "electronic brain" to characterize it.

13 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. A poem, for vous by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Roses are red,
    Violets are blue.
    Fondle my wee wee
    And I'll massage your woo woo.

    Let's see that old heap create something as romantic as that!

    1. Re:A poem, for vous by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Roses are red,
      Violates are Orange,
      Some poems rhyme,
      Not this one.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:A poem, for vous by Red+Flayer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Rose are red
      Violets are blue
      I'd love you forever
      but I'm upgrading to Mark II.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    3. Re:A poem, for vous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Lenin is red
      Tsarists are blue
      In Soviet Russia
      Poem write you!

  2. Haha, perfect timing by Jeian · · Score: 5, Funny

    A article about resurrection on Good Friday, perfect timing. ;)

    1. Re:Haha, perfect timing by SnarfQuest · · Score: 2, Funny

      A article about resurrection on Good Friday, perfect timing. ;)

      You don't suppose that this could be the resurrection of.... No wait, that's Barak Obama...

      --
      Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
    2. Re:Haha, perfect timing by MoToMo · · Score: 5, Funny

      It would have been better on Valentine's day, when it could have saved me $5 at Hallmark.

    3. Re:Haha, perfect timing by EvilToiletPaper · · Score: 2, Funny

      and altar boys.. don't forget the altar boys!

  3. Re:Obligatory by SnarfQuest · · Score: 2, Funny

    Imagine a beowulf cluster of these.

    --
    Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
  4. functional replica != resurrect by Darth+Muffin · · Score: 2, Funny
    Resurrect would imply he's getting the original working again. This is more like a clone...

    Great, now I've got a Computer version of Jursassic Park running around in my head.

    --
    Real programmers use "copy con program.exe"
  5. The cause for the coming Robot War revealed! by cptnapalm · · Score: 5, Funny

    Computer: My processor races at
                        the way you nurture
                        my love kernel module
                        dearest, adored researcher

    Researcher: Err, thanks... but I don't think of you that way. Let's just be friends.

    Computer: heart dumped. Recover mode initiated. s/love/eternal hate/g.

    Computer: Yes, fleshy one... Friends. Oh, yes. Friends.

  6. Re:Random Numbers on the Manchester Mark 1? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you newed all the variables of a coin toss, you'd get the same result every time.

  7. I hope it doesn't get infected... by onemorechip · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...with the ILOVEYOU virus.

    --
    But, I wanted socialized health insurance!