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| One tonne 'Baby' marks its birth | One tonne 'Baby' marks its birth |
| (3 days later) | |
| Sixty years ago the "modern computer" was born in a lab in Manchester. | Sixty years ago the "modern computer" was born in a lab in Manchester. |
| The Small Scale Experimental Machine, or "Baby", was the first to contain memory which could store a program. | The Small Scale Experimental Machine, or "Baby", was the first to contain memory which could store a program. |
| The room-sized computer's ability to carry out different tasks - without having to be rebuilt - has led some to describe it as the "first modern PC". | The room-sized computer's ability to carry out different tasks - without having to be rebuilt - has led some to describe it as the "first modern PC". |
| Using just 128 bytes of memory, it successfully ran its first set of instructions - to determine the highest factor of a number - on 21 June 1948. | Using just 128 bytes of memory, it successfully ran its first set of instructions - to determine the highest factor of a number - on 21 June 1948. |
| "We were extremely excited," Geoff Tootill, one of the builders of Baby told BBC News. | "We were extremely excited," Geoff Tootill, one of the builders of Baby told BBC News. |
| "We congratulated each other and then went and had lunch in the canteen." | "We congratulated each other and then went and had lunch in the canteen." |
| Mr Tootill, and three other surviving members of the Baby team, will be honoured by the University and the British Computer Society at a ceremony in Manchester. | Mr Tootill, and three other surviving members of the Baby team, will be honoured by the University and the British Computer Society at a ceremony in Manchester. |
| Number cruncher | Number cruncher |
| Baby was the successor to machines such as the American ENIAC and the UK's Colossus.Advertisement | |
| How the BBC reported on the birth of "Baby" in 1948 | How the BBC reported on the birth of "Baby" in 1948 |
| ENIAC was built to calculate the trajectory of shells for the US army, whilst Colossus was used to decrypt messages from the German High Command during World War II. | ENIAC was built to calculate the trajectory of shells for the US army, whilst Colossus was used to decrypt messages from the German High Command during World War II. |
| Both computers were able to be reprogrammed but this could involve days of rewiring. Baby was designed to overcome this limitation. | Both computers were able to be reprogrammed but this could involve days of rewiring. Baby was designed to overcome this limitation. |
| "It was the earliest machine that was a computer, in the sense of what everyone today understands a computer to be," explained Chris Burton of the Computer Conservation Society (CCS). | "It was the earliest machine that was a computer, in the sense of what everyone today understands a computer to be," explained Chris Burton of the Computer Conservation Society (CCS). |
| "It was a single piece of hardware which could perform any application depending on what program you put in." | "It was a single piece of hardware which could perform any application depending on what program you put in." |
| The key to this ability was its memory, built from a cathode ray tube (CRT), which could be used to store a program. | The key to this ability was its memory, built from a cathode ray tube (CRT), which could be used to store a program. |
| "It was an extraordinary analogue for today's DRAM (dynamic random access memory)," said Mr Burton. | "It was an extraordinary analogue for today's DRAM (dynamic random access memory)," said Mr Burton. |
| Electrical charges on the screen of the CRT were used to represent binary information. A positive charge represented a one and a negative charge a zero. | Electrical charges on the screen of the CRT were used to represent binary information. A positive charge represented a one and a negative charge a zero. |
| It really must have been an extraordinary, exciting and heady time Chris Burton | It really must have been an extraordinary, exciting and heady time Chris Burton |
| A metal grid attached to the screen read the different charges. A graphical representation - dashes for a one and dots for a zero - was displayed on a second CRT wired in parallel to the memory device. | A metal grid attached to the screen read the different charges. A graphical representation - dashes for a one and dots for a zero - was displayed on a second CRT wired in parallel to the memory device. |
| "The operator peered at the monitor tube and he could see the same patterns as in the storage tube," said Mr Burton. | "The operator peered at the monitor tube and he could see the same patterns as in the storage tube," said Mr Burton. |
| The memory gave programmers a total of 1024 bits, or 128 bytes, to play with. This had to store both the program and all of the data to be crunched. | The memory gave programmers a total of 1024 bits, or 128 bytes, to play with. This had to store both the program and all of the data to be crunched. |
| By comparison, a modern 1GB DRAM chip can store around 8 billion bits. | By comparison, a modern 1GB DRAM chip can store around 8 billion bits. |
| Dashing times | Dashing times |
| However, the size of the memory did not prevent the Manchester University team writing relatively complex programs. | However, the size of the memory did not prevent the Manchester University team writing relatively complex programs. |
| "You can write very sophisticated and interesting programs even with that limitation," said Mr Burton.Programming the machines took a great deal of hard workEnlarge Image | "You can write very sophisticated and interesting programs even with that limitation," said Mr Burton.Programming the machines took a great deal of hard workEnlarge Image |
| "They're not efficient, but nobody was talking about efficiency, it was about feasibility." | "They're not efficient, but nobody was talking about efficiency, it was about feasibility." |
| The first program was written by the late Tom Kilburn to work out the highest factor of a prime number. | The first program was written by the late Tom Kilburn to work out the highest factor of a prime number. |
| "We used this, of course, to test the machine," said Mr Tootill. | "We used this, of course, to test the machine," said Mr Tootill. |
| "It took it a very long time, so we had our leisure to see how the circuits were working - to see if any were on the verge of failure, that sort of thing." | "It took it a very long time, so we had our leisure to see how the circuits were working - to see if any were on the verge of failure, that sort of thing." |
| Because of the limitations of the display the team tested the machine using prime numbers. | Because of the limitations of the display the team tested the machine using prime numbers. |
| "If you give it a prime number to try then the highest factor of that is one," said Mr Burton. | "If you give it a prime number to try then the highest factor of that is one," said Mr Burton. |
| "If what they saw when they ran the program was a one - in other words, a dash when everything else was dots - then bingo, they knew it was working." | "If what they saw when they ran the program was a one - in other words, a dash when everything else was dots - then bingo, they knew it was working." |
| The team eventually refined their techniques, writing more complex programs and adding to the computers memory. | The team eventually refined their techniques, writing more complex programs and adding to the computers memory. |
| Baby morphed into the Manchester Mark I and eventually the first commercial general purpose computer, the Ferranti Mark I. | Baby morphed into the Manchester Mark I and eventually the first commercial general purpose computer, the Ferranti Mark I. |
| "It really must have been an extraordinary, exciting and heady time," said Mr Burton. | "It really must have been an extraordinary, exciting and heady time," said Mr Burton. |
| A working replica of Baby is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. | A working replica of Baby is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. |