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The World's Oldest Original Digital Computer Springs Back Into Action At TNMOC
New submitter prpplague writes "After a three-year restoration project at The National Museum of Computing, the Harwell Dekatron (aka WITCH) computer will rebooted on 20 November 2012 to become the world's oldest original working digital computer. Now in its seventh decade and in its fifth home, the computer with its flashing lights and clattering printers and readers provides an awe-inspiring display for visiting school groups and the general public keen to learn about our rich computer heritage."
With 828 dekaton counter tubes I reckon it's not a digital computer (2 base) but a decimal computer (10 base).
There are 10 kinds of people who understand binary...
It is still a digital computer (as opposed to an analogue computer), as were other non-binary false starts like the Setun which used balanced ternary.
And yet even more people who have problems with English.
Digital, as opposed to analogue, refers to the data being in discrete chunks.
You may be correct in it being a decimal computer, as opposed to a binary computer, but it is still a digital computer.
However the Dekatron valves could be made in effective binary mode (9 anodes to 1 pin) so it could still be a binary computer.
"digital" comes from "digit" (number), which in turn comes from the latin "digitus" (finger). It has nothing to do with binary, other than binary being digital too. Any number based computer is digital. There are analog computers which use continuous currents or voltages to calculate. Those are not digital.