Speaking of museums, if you are ever in Bonn Germany or nearby (it's a
20 minute train trip from Cologne) don't miss the Arithmeum, a
remarkable collection of mechanical calculators. They let you
play with a lot of them.

There's also a little more modern computer stuff but the emphasis is
on mechanical, both digitial calculators and analog such as the many
kinds of slide rules and dividers.

https://www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de/en/arithmeum.html

--
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote in news:uov69v$1fbc$1@gal.iecc.com:

> Speaking of museums, if you are ever in Bonn Germany or nearby (it's a
> 20 minute train trip from Cologne) don't miss the Arithmeum, a
> remarkable collection of mechanical calculators. They let you
> play with a lot of them.
>
> There's also a little more modern computer stuff but the emphasis is
> on mechanical, both digitial calculators and analog such as the many
> kinds of slide rules and dividers.
>
> https://www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de/en/arithmeum.html
>

The ABC was dismantled, lost, and later rebuilt. It is currently housed at
the Durham Center of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The ABC was
later credited as the first digital computer with all the components of a
computer around that time. It was built before ENIAC and before WW 1.

I saw a few bits of it in the Physics Building before it was
rebuilt/restored by graduate students.

Perhaps someone from ISU could tell us if the ABC is operable today.
Somewhere in my archives I have the announcment that the ABC restoration
was completed.

David, CS Major 1986

David LaRue <huey.dll@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:

> The ABC was dismantled, lost, and later rebuilt. It is currently housed at
> the Durham Center of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The ABC was
> later credited as the first digital computer with all the components of a
> computer around that time. It was built before ENIAC and before WW 1.

nitpick: before WWII, not WW 1

--
^Ï^. Sn!pe, PA, FIBS - Professional Crastinator

My pet rock Gordon just is.

David LaRue <huey.dll@tampabay.rr.com> writes:
>John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote in news:uov69v$1fbc$1@gal.iecc.com:
>
>> Speaking of museums, if you are ever in Bonn Germany or nearby (it's a
>> 20 minute train trip from Cologne) don't miss the Arithmeum, a
>> remarkable collection of mechanical calculators. They let you
>> play with a lot of them.
>>
>> There's also a little more modern computer stuff but the emphasis is
>> on mechanical, both digitial calculators and analog such as the many
>> kinds of slide rules and dividers.
>>
>> https://www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de/en/arithmeum.html
>>
>
>The ABC was dismantled, lost, and later rebuilt. It is currently housed at
>the Durham Center of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The ABC was
>later credited as the first digital computer with all the components of a
>computer around that time. It was built before ENIAC and before WW 1.
>
>I saw a few bits of it in the Physics Building before it was
>rebuilt/restored by graduate students.

Dr. Stewart disassembled it when he was clearing space in
the basement of the physics building for an office when he
was a grad student (Dr. Stewart was CS department chairmen when I was
there). The only remaining piece was the memory drum.

I had the memory drum in my office on-campus for a
couple of months before VIESHA when I was com sci club
president.

>
>Perhaps someone from ISU could tell us if the ABC is operable today.
>Somewhere in my archives I have the announcment that the ABC restoration
>was completed.

The restoration was complete. It was at the computer history
museum last time I visited - I'm not sure where it is today.

I also took Dr. Atanasoff to dinner after he gave a presentation
to the CSC in 1981, IIRC.

>
>David, CS Major 1986

Scott, CS Major 1983

snipeco.2@gmail.com (Sn!pe) writes:
>David LaRue <huey.dll@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> The ABC was dismantled, lost, and later rebuilt. It is currently housed at
>> the Durham Center of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The ABC was
>> later credited as the first digital computer with all the components of a
>> computer around that time. It was built before ENIAC and before WW 1.
>
>nitpick: before WWII, not WW 1
>

There was a lawsuit in the 1970's between sperry and honeywell,
a patent dispute. The judge determined that ABC had priority
over Eckert and Mauchley (whom I also met in 1980 at the ACM
national conference in Nashville).

I still have my copy of:
https://www.amazon.com/Atanasoff-Forgotten-Computer-Clark-Mollenhoff/dp/0813800323

scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote in
news:_2QsN.44617$SyNd.14761@fx33.iad:

> David LaRue <huey.dll@tampabay.rr.com> writes:
>>John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote in
>>news:uov69v$1fbc$1@gal.iecc.com:
>>
>>> Speaking of museums, if you are ever in Bonn Germany or nearby (it's
>>> a 20 minute train trip from Cologne) don't miss the Arithmeum, a
>>> remarkable collection of mechanical calculators. They let you
>>> play with a lot of them.
>>>
>>> There's also a little more modern computer stuff but the emphasis is
>>> on mechanical, both digitial calculators and analog such as the many
>>> kinds of slide rules and dividers.
>>>
>>> https://www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de/en/arithmeum.html
>>>
>>
>>The ABC was dismantled, lost, and later rebuilt. It is currently
>>housed at the Durham Center of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
>>The ABC was later credited as the first digital computer with all the
>>components of a computer around that time. It was built before ENIAC
>>and before WW 1.
>>
>>I saw a few bits of it in the Physics Building before it was
>>rebuilt/restored by graduate students.
>
> Dr. Stewart disassembled it when he was clearing space in
> the basement of the physics building for an office when he
> was a grad student (Dr. Stewart was CS department chairmen when I was
> there). The only remaining piece was the memory drum.
>
> I had the memory drum in my office on-campus for a
> couple of months before VIESHA when I was com sci club
> president.
>
>>
>>Perhaps someone from ISU could tell us if the ABC is operable today.
>>Somewhere in my archives I have the announcment that the ABC
>>restoration was completed.
>
> The restoration was complete. It was at the computer history
> museum last time I visited - I'm not sure where it is today.
>
> I also took Dr. Atanasoff to dinner after he gave a presentation
> to the CSC in 1981, IIRC.
>
>>
>>David, CS Major 1986
>
> Scott, CS Major 1983
>
>

Thank you, Scott. The details are much appreciated.