Title :
Replicating the Manchester Baby: motives, methods, and messages from the past
Author :
Burton, Christopher P.
Abstract :
The University of Manchester´s Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), known as the Baby, was rebuilt as a replica to celebrate, in June 1998, the 50th anniversary of the running of the world´s first stored program. This article explains the background of the original Baby, and why and how a replica of it was built. The article concludes with some of the lessons learned from the project.
Keywords :
computers; history; Manchester Baby replication; historical construction; Aerospace engineering; Aircraft propulsion; Cathode ray tubes; Documentation; Electron beams; Focusing; Laboratories; Pediatrics; Radar imaging; Technological innovation; CRT memory; Computer Conservation Society; FC Williams; GC Tootill; Manchester Baby computer; Manchester University; Mark 1 computer; Small-Scale Experimental Machine; T Kilburn; cathode ray tube storage; first stored program; replica computer;
Journal_Title :
Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MAHC.2005.42
