Got this link from Slashdot; found it to be a nice read (and I hate reading; lol). For the curious, click here for the steampunk wiki.

http://www.i-programmer.info/babbages-b ... bbage.html

Amazing read thanks Lyle.
Can't imagine where the computer would be now if it had been released even earlier.
Chips are getting smaller and faster every day.

Talk about steam punk though! Computer with gears.

Lyle and Rod. Here is an old 519 card duplicating punch with end print unit machine. I used to work on one of these until early 80's. We could not retire it as an automotive assembly line depended on the 80 column card end printing to accompany each car in the line to show features. The wiring panel in the front was the program unit (normally closed). The wiring would allow duplication , suppression selection and some other functions on a per column basis. The end print unit would print 1/2 " digits (which decoded into automobile features)across the card. And yes there were a lot of belts/pulleys/clutches and gears.
NOT quite STEAM , but it sure felt like it

I literally missed having to deal with card readers by 2 quarters when I was attending AUM (a subsidiary of Auburn University; actually had to go to Auburn to finish my degree). Lucky for me; heard horror stories about folks dropping their cards. lol

I used to be a 'coder'...which means I had to take information from insurance policies and using established lists and rules, turn the info into numbers. Then the keypunch girls took those numbers and made the keypunch cards...which were fed into the room size computers. I never knew how the information was used, stored, or what, lol.

The "computers" used to aim the big guns on WWII battleships where mechanical. Very fast and accurate.

A funny off-topic story -
One day at the Pentagon a small chip went out and the USA defense system went on alert for incoming Russian ICBM's.


This also happened one day when workers ran a simulation of Russian ICBM's launched toward the USA. They mistakenly left the running program in the system and when the next crew came on they also went into REAL alert.

Of course these kinds of things have been looked into and fixed accordingly.
They shouldn't happen again. Shouldn't being the keyword here.

I've been a member of Lockergnome for over a decade now. Anyway, I emailed Chris P. this very article and asked him if he knew anything about the topic. He replied cool and that was it. Now, a few days later, he posted this cool story. Very cool stuff on the subject. Knew he would do a much better job with the research then I could. Matt (I guess one of his writers) wrote this cool article with all kinds of resources including software enhancements and I haven't fully checked the links yet but I will. Just wanted to share this article with you all.

http://www.lockergnome.com/news/2011/12 ... nk-office/