Existing comment:
First Computers:
These first electronic devices used thousands of vacuum tubes and took hours to program a single task.
Digital Dawning:
Deciphering Enigma's trillions of combinations couldn't be done by hand. A fast, efficient number-crunching machine would be required -- and the bombe was that machine. Like many early attempts at automation, the bombe could be programmed to do only one thing. But these machines were sophisticated for their time. Devices like the original bombe and the Colossus used at Bletchley Park were important milestones in the history of computing.
The urgent need to crack wartime codes brought funding and attention to new technologies. After the war, breakthroughs in computer science ushered in a new era. |