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Working Babbage Difference Engine #2 - London Museum of Science
From Wikipedia:
Based on Babbage's original plans, the London Science Museum constructed a working Difference Engine No. 2 from 1989 to 1991, under Doron Swade, the then Curator of Computing. This was to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Babbage's birth. In 2000, the printer which Babbage originally designed for the difference engine was also completed. The conversion of the original design drawings into drawings suitable for engineering manufacturers' use revealed some minor errors in Babbage's design, which had to be corrected. Once completed, both the engine and its printer worked flawlessly, and still do.
the Babbage Difference Engine no. 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Absolute awesomeness. Total nerd porn.
the Babbage Difference Engine no. 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Absolute awesomeness. Total nerd porn.
(Project 365 Day 93, Bonus 2)
I was amused by how much the PDP-11 console's color scheme reminded me of the UI from Stark Trek: The Next Generation. :P (From the Computer History Museum.)
Sur Apple IIC et son écran dédié, l'écran de démarrage d'un jeu de le société mythique Strategic Simulations (SSI)
Celle-ci est une ancienne société de développement et d'édition de jeux vidéo américaine. Elle est fondée en 1979 par Joel Billings qui a alors pour objectif d’adapter son loisir favori, les jeux de guerre, en jeu vidéo.
I am at the TTI/Vanguard Next conference (agenda), with a sophisticated audience of tech executives from around the world. Of the topics I covered, the Q&A interest focused on iterative algorithms that will create an AI that exceeds human intelligence, much like biological evolution. (video)
Here are some of the related bullets from my slides:
Reed's Law applies to combinations of ideas as well as self-forming groups. It's the combinatorial explosion in the mating pool of ideas that creates perpetually accelerating progress.
Evolutionary algorithms allow us to build complex systems that exceed human understanding (synthetic biology, AI, innovative organizations), but there are some limitations to this approach:
• Subsystem Inscrutability
- Black box defined by its interfaces
- No “reverse evolution” (You can't run that algorithm backwards)
• No simple shortcuts across the iterations
- Simulation ~ Reality
- Beauty from irreducibility
• Locus of Learning is Process, not Product
• Robust, within co-evolutionary islands
“The greatest achievement of our technology may well be the creation of tools that allow us to go beyond engineering – that allow us to create more than we can understand.” — Danny Hillis
“We actually think quantum machine learning may provide the most creative
problem-solving process under the known laws of physics.” — Google Blog
AI implications:
• Cut & Paste Portability?
• Locus of learning: Process, not Product
- Would we bother to reverse engineer?
- No hard take off?
•Co-evolutionary islands
- accustomed environment (differential immunity)
• Path dependence
- algorithm survival
- AI = Alien Intelligence defined by sensory I/O
Accelerating Technological Change
- Interdisciplinary Renaissance
- IT innervates $T markets
- More Black Swans
- Perpetual driver of disruption
==> Virtuous cycle for entrepreneurs
==> a great time for the new
Comments from others that followed:
“The majority of financial reports are now compiled by machines, not people.”
“A lot of the great data scientists are born in Russia, and they have the attributes of creativity, tenacity and an ability to code.”
“When we asked 1000 people on Mechanical Turk to flip a coin, we got 65% heads, 28% tails, and 7% typos. Many of them clearly did not actually flip a coin.”
“Imagine the sociological impact of crowdsourcing – what if you could create IBM for an afternoon and then disperse it? We might get cyber-Taylorism if we don’t think about doing it right.”
“Competition will be critical to the wisdom of crowds.”
Combinatorial Creativity: “Combinatorial search spaces are vast and the fastest supercomputers can not penetrate too deeply into them. Nevertheless, they may be able to penetrate several levels deeper than any person can, and thereby find superb creative acts that mankind did not or could not think of.”
Pointer to CHM video on the history of AI.
Photos by Ed Jay
Souris originale livré avec le micro Apple LISA.
Numéro de modèle : A9M0050
En arrière plan un prospectus publicitaire du Lisa au moment de sa commercialisation en France en 1983.
Le site Francais des Apple vintage :
With a terabit of data storage, the IBM Photostore uses an electron beam to write on small plastic cards. A robot stores boxes of cards on shelves.
Even more interesting – this one was built in 1967.
(More info from CHM)
After seeing parts of ENIAC at the Smithsonian eight years ago, I ran into more parts of it at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
The main thing that struck me there was how much of our technology was originally military-related. Heraclitus, who lived 2,500 years ago, must have been right, when he wrote: “Πόλεμος πάντων μὲν πατήρ ἐστι πάντων δὲ βασιλεύς, καὶ τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς ἔδειξε τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μὲν δούλους ἐποίησε τοὺς δὲ ἐλευθέρους.”
the Babbage Difference Engine no. 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Absolute awesomeness. Total nerd porn.
the Babbage Difference Engine no. 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Absolute awesomeness. Total nerd porn.
Jeu video pour la famille des Apple II : Southern Command.
Ecran des premiers combats entre les forces blindés Israélienne et égyptienne.
• Editeur : Strategic Simulations Inc. (S.S.I.) U.SA.
• Présentation : En coffret contenant une disquette, une carte, un résumé des règles et un manuel de 8 pages en anglais.
• Descriptif : Wargame stratégique et tactique simulant la guerre du Kippour dans le désert du Sinaï en 1973. (Israël contre Egypte).
Pour deux joueurs ou en solitaire contre l'ordinateur qui tient le camp Egyptien. Wargame sur cases hexagonales avec deux niveaux (stratégique et tactique). Vous disposez de la panoplie complète de la guerre moderne : chars, missiles, infanterie, artillerie, génie, aviation, etc.
Les possibilités de l'ordinateur sont exploitées au maximum dans ce wargame de très haut niveau : pièces cachées, mouvements retardés, etc.
Face arrière de la souris originale livré avec le micro Apple LISA.
Numéro de modèle : A9M0050
A noter que celle-ci possède le numéro de série 000247...
Le site Francais des Apple vintage :
the Babbage Difference Engine no. 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Absolute awesomeness. Total nerd porn.
the Babbage Difference Engine no. 2 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Absolute awesomeness. Total nerd porn.
Juin 2010, une partie de ma collection de "vieux' micros Apple et produits divers ...
Dans la partie centrale de la photo :
- LC
- Mac II VI
- LC 630
- Power Mac 7100 / 80
- 6100 / 66
- Mac II SI
- 6100 / 66 X2
- Power Mac 7200 / 90
Ma collection de micros Apple :
www.apple-collection.com/Collecmacinto.htm
Le site Francais des Apple vintage :
Jeu vidéo pour la famille des Apple II : Six-Gun Shootout (1985)
" Gunfights of the wild west "
Ici le scenario " Raid indien" !
• Avec se wargame vous incarnez une des grandes figures de l’Ouest Américain, Billy the Kid, The Dalton gang, wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday … Chaque personnage ayant des caractéristiques unique.
• Vous pourrez choisir un scénario basé sur l’histoire de l’Ouest ou sur des légendes populaires. Vos armes, un colt six coups, mais aussi le couteau ou le bâton de dynamite !
• Jouable en solitaire ou à deux joueurs.
C'est un intéressant mélange de stratégie et d'éléments de RPG , un peu similaire à Computer Ambush un autre wargame de SSI. En résumé, se jeu ne ressemblait à aucun autre !
• Editeur : Strategic Simulations Inc. (S.S.I.) U.SA.
• Présentation : En coffret contenant une disquette et un manuel de 21 pages en anglais.
Same robot arm: overview, detail.
I didn't get a picture of the placard, but I thought it just said "Minsky's Robot Arm".
After a bit of Googling for Minsky and robots, the only reference I seem to be turning up is what generally gets referred to as the Tentacle Arm, or what he referred to as 1967's "Serpentine Hydraulic Robot Arm".
The description from www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=rai&year=1968 is typical:
Marvin Minsky developed the Tentacle Arm, which moved like an octopus. It had twelve joints designed to reach around obstacles. A PDP-6 computer controlled the arm, powered by hydraulic fluids. Mounted on a wall, it could lift the weight of a person.
There's slightly more info at Ed Thelen's site:
The Tentacle Arm (1968)
This arm was developed by Marvin Minsky at MIT in 1968. Since it moved like an octopus, this early robot arm was called the Tentacle Arm. It had twelve joints and was designed to reach around obstacles. The arm was controlled by a PDP-6 computer and was powered by hydraulic fluids. It was designed to be mounted on a wall and could lift the weight of a person.
The one problem here is that the arm I saw at the MIT Museum didn't look strong enough to lift a person. I suppose it was possible, but it looks like a spindly little serpentine thing.
Still, it does match the description and photos at places like the Computer History Museum (different view), so I guess it's the same one.
Odd that it doesn't have a Wikipedia page though. Should rectify that, eh?
* * * *
Seen on Shapeshifting blog.
Pour Apple IIc, câble du fabricant "le chat mauve" qui permet de brancher une télévision muni d'une prise péritel au IIc.
La vérité... je ne me rappelle pas (voir ci-dessous le pourquoi de la chose) s'il s'agit d'un 128 K ou 512 k !
Le site Francais des Apple vintage :
Boîte livré avec le Mac 128 k et contenant les livrets et Manuels, les disquettes système ainsi qu’une cassette audio. A noter la planche d’autocollants Apple.