Hardware

Photos: World's earliest computers restored to their prime

By · June 16, 2016, 8:21 AM PST · nickjheath

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  • Want to see pioneering computers that ushered in the information age restored to their prime?

    While images of early machines exist, they’re typically decades-old black and white shots or color images of the battered relics they are today.

    Now the original designs of computing's electronic ancestors, from one of the world’s first supercomputers to the Pilot Ace -- a machine inspired by father of computing Alan Turing -- have been brought into sharp focus.

    The Guide to Computing captures these landmark machines in a series of photographs, taken in the present day and digitally altered to restore the original look of the vintage computers.

    The project is a joint effort between UK photographer James Ball and London-based production company INK.

    Harwell Dekatron

    The Harwell Dekatron, seen above, was also known as the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell (WITCH).

    Created in the 1950s, the WITCH was an early British, relay-based computer that weighed just over 2.5 tons. Able to store a program in memory, it aided engineers building the UK's first nuclear reactor.

    A working WITCH is on display at The National Museum of Computing in the UK, and in 2013 it was recognised as the world's oldest working digital computer.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​Pilot ACE

    One of the first computers built in the UK, the Pilot ACE was created at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the early 1950s.

    The Pilot Ace was one of several early stored program computers to be built in the post-war era, alongside other UK designs like the Manchester Mark 1 and EDSAC.

    It was based on a design by World War II codebreaker and computing pioneer Alan Turing, although he left NPL before it was completed.

    The Pilot ACE used 800 vacuum tubes to perform floating point arithmetic necessary for scientific calculations.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​EAI Pace (TR 48)

    The EAI Pace is a "desktop computer" in every sense of the word.

    Manufactured in the early 1960’s, the analog machine came with its own custom-made desk. Despite being described as ‘compact in size’ in its operator’s manual, the machine stands just over two feet high and four feet wide.

    The TR48 was even used as part of the US Apollo moon program during testing of flight systems.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​HDR 75

    The HDR75 is a small analog -digital hybrid computer that was developed in the former East Germany at the Technical University of Dresden, now known as The Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing.

    “It is often supposed that computing design – as in their physical aesthetic design – was of minimal consideration until the emergence of the modern Apple iMac. To look at these early computers in their purest form is to realise that this is not the case,” said Ball in a brief explaining what he learned from the project.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​IBM 1401

    Produced in 1959, the IBM 1401 was aimed at replacing tabulation machines that processed data stored on punched cards.

    More than 12,000 units of the decimal computer were produced, with some countries using them into the 1980s.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​IBM 729

    The towering IBM 729 Magnetic Tape Unit stored data on up to 2,400ft of magnetic tape.

    Part of the IBM 7 track family of tape units, it was used as a mass storage system from the late 1950s until the mid-1960s.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​ICL 7500

    Developed by the now defunct UK computing company ICL during the 1970s, the 7500 series were a range of terminals and workstations.

    Intended for an office environment, they were about the size of a tower PC, with the processor and peripheral units housed in a steel-framed and wood-veneered cabinet.

    By the 1980s, specialised versions of these machines could run the latest games, such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​Control Data 6600

    For five years in the 1960s, the CDC 6600 held the title of the world’s fastest computer.

    Manufactured by Control Data Corporation, the mainframe supercomputer could perform up to three  million floating point operations per second.

    Developed and created by supercomputing pioneer Seymour Cray, the 6600 prompted then IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson, Jr to write a memo to his employees bemoaning IBM having “lost our industry leadership position” to a company with relatively modest resources.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​Endim 2000

    Developed in the former East Germany, the ENDIM 2000 was an analog computer that used a tube-based design.

    About 20 machines were made and the surviving machine is held at the Technische Sammlungen Dresden.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

  • ​Meda 42TA

    Built in the former Czechoslovakia, the Meda 42TA dates from the early 1970s and found widespread use in the many countries behind the then Iron Curtain.

    It is a hybrid machine, using a mix of digital and analog computing to solve problems.

    Image: Docubyte / INK

Want to see pioneering computers that ushered in the information age restored to their prime?

While images of early machines exist, they’re typically decades-old black and white shots or color images of the battered relics they are today.

Now the original designs of computing's electronic ancestors, from one of the world’s first supercomputers to the Pilot Ace -- a machine inspired by father of computing Alan Turing -- have been brought into sharp focus.

The Guide to Computing captures these landmark machines in a series of photographs, taken in the present day and digitally altered to restore the original look of the vintage computers.

The project is a joint effort between UK photographer James Ball and London-based production company INK.

Harwell Dekatron

The Harwell Dekatron, seen above, was also known as the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell (WITCH).

Created in the 1950s, the WITCH was an early British, relay-based computer that weighed just over 2.5 tons. Able to store a program in memory, it aided engineers building the UK's first nuclear reactor.

A working WITCH is on display at The National Museum of Computing in the UK, and in 2013 it was recognised as the world's oldest working digital computer.

Image: Docubyte / INK

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By Nick Heath

Nick Heath is chief reporter for TechRepublic. He writes about the technology that IT decision makers need to know about, and the latest happenings in the European tech scene.

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