Comments on: Who really invented the computer?
http://www.safe-corp.biz/blog/2010/02/02/who-really-invented-the-computer/
Software IP Blog from SAFE CorporationWed, 03 Feb 2010 23:53:35 -0800http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2hourly1By: zeidman
http://www.safe-corp.biz/blog/2010/02/02/who-really-invented-the-computer/comment-page-1/#comment-192
zeidmanWed, 03 Feb 2010 23:53:35 +0000http://www.safe-corp.biz/blog/?p=111#comment-192Thanks for writing. Obviously there is a lot of passion among people on this topic. However, your facts are wrong. The ABC was up and running, but was dismantled to make space for other equipment in the lab. It was fully electronic, at least as much as ENIAC that required switchboard plugs to program it. Finally, I think that if the things you say were true (and I've heard them all before), wouldn't Sperry have made that case in court? Or Mauchly? Why did Mauchly lie about his contact with Atanasoff until he was presented with his own letters to Atanasoff in court? Anyway, all of this is documented in several books and, most importantly, the trial transcripts. You can find further information, and confirmation, at the University of Pennsylvania archive, http://www.archives.upenn.edu/faids/upd/eniactrial/eniac.html, as well as many other places on the web. You'll also find that there were a lot of people who were pretty upset with Eckert and Mauchly for not giving them credit, including several who sued to get their names on the computer patent.Thanks for writing. Obviously there is a lot of passion among people on this topic. However, your facts are wrong. The ABC was up and running, but was dismantled to make space for other equipment in the lab. It was fully electronic, at least as much as ENIAC that required switchboard plugs to program it. Finally, I think that if the things you say were true (and I’ve heard them all before), wouldn’t Sperry have made that case in court? Or Mauchly? Why did Mauchly lie about his contact with Atanasoff until he was presented with his own letters to Atanasoff in court? Anyway, all of this is documented in several books and, most importantly, the trial transcripts. You can find further information, and confirmation, at the University of Pennsylvania archive, http://www.archives.upenn.edu/faids/upd/eniactrial/eniac.html, as well as many other places on the web. You’ll also find that there were a lot of people who were pretty upset with Eckert and Mauchly for not giving them credit, including several who sued to get their names on the computer patent.
]]>By: G Calcerano
http://www.safe-corp.biz/blog/2010/02/02/who-really-invented-the-computer/comment-page-1/#comment-191
G CalceranoWed, 03 Feb 2010 15:46:17 +0000http://www.safe-corp.biz/blog/?p=111#comment-191Atanasoff supporters always leave out the fact that he never completed his machine; what Mauchly saw was a small piece of it. The ABC was not truly electronic in that it did not utilize electronic speeds, relying on human intervention every step of the way. The ENIAC was a digital machine, not a binary machine like the ABC, and could hardly be said to be any kind of descendent of the ABC. Finally, the ABC was FIRST COMPLETED in the 1970s, when Honeywell paid to have it constructed for the purpose of the trial. Art and Alice Burks seem to carry some kind of grudge against Mauchly and Eckert, possibly stemming from not getting all the credit they sought for their role in construction of the ENIAC. For a better researched look at how ENIAC came to be, read Scott McCartney's book.Atanasoff supporters always leave out the fact that he never completed his machine; what Mauchly saw was a small piece of it. The ABC was not truly electronic in that it did not utilize electronic speeds, relying on human intervention every step of the way. The ENIAC was a digital machine, not a binary machine like the ABC, and could hardly be said to be any kind of descendent of the ABC. Finally, the ABC was FIRST COMPLETED in the 1970s, when Honeywell paid to have it constructed for the purpose of the trial. Art and Alice Burks seem to carry some kind of grudge against Mauchly and Eckert, possibly stemming from not getting all the credit they sought for their role in construction of the ENIAC. For a better researched look at how ENIAC came to be, read Scott McCartney’s book.
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