

Let's build Babbage's ultimate mechanical computer - auxbuss
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827915.500-lets-build-babbages-ultimate-mechanical-computer.html

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eftpotrm
Not that I wish the author anything but the best, but he's not alone in this.

Tim Robinson, of Meccano/Erector Difference Engine fame, has been working on
building the Analytical Engine in Meccano for some time. His website
(<http://meccano.us/analytical_engine/index.html>) shows a working control
barrel from three years ago; I believe from memory (I'm on a mailing list with
him) that the design and construction has progressed since then, though I
don't have the details to hand.

I wish them both luck, I'd love to see both designs up and working at the
first possible opportunity. Tim's Difference Engine was a thing of beauty to
watch (there certainly were videos online) and had a fantastic sound in
operation.

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jgrahamc
I have talked to Tim about this so he is aware. And recently Doron Swade (who
built the Difference Engine No. 2) has joined the project:
<http://plan28.org/> for details.

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eftpotrm
Cool, glad to hear it :-) Best wishes to you all. Been very impressed with
what I've seen of Tim's work, hope you can all learn from each other.

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jonovos
I want to know - WHAT di Babbage's analytical engine SOUND LIKE? Wouldn't this
make an awesome sound effect for modern computers?

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iwwr
Can we say that Babbage's projects failed because he was unable to create a
team to help him complete it? He was also not very driven toward one
particular design, stopping half-way and starting a yet more complex project.

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RobertB
Well, Babbage never wanted to build the Analytical Engine, he said so
explicitly. He just wanted to design it, and let someone else build it. The
reason was his experience with the Difference Engine. Because the D.E. would
be useful for accurate, error-free charts for the British Navy, he felt that
the Government should pay for it. And he did get an agreement with the Gov,
but getting the money out of them was like getting water out of a stone. He
was so disgusted by the whole process, that he resolved neither to finish the
D.E. nor to even start the A.E. Other than that, I think there is no question
that the Analytical Engine could have been built in the 19th century.

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Sandman
It would be interesting to build this, then run Ada Lovelace's program on it.
Imagine that - running software that was written in Victorian times on a
computer that should have been built in Victorian times.

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Avshalom
If I had the money I would absolutely commission some watchmakers to make an
analytical engine with modern, tiny ass clock work.

