Restoration starts on one of oldest computers

Witch could solve algorithms at roughly the same speed as a single human mathematician using a mechanical calculator.

(Credit: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority )

Work began this week on restoring what will be the world's oldest working stored-program electronic computer.

Volunteers at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park--about 50 miles northwest of London--will rebuild the Witch machine--a computer first used in 1951 for atomic research.

Witch, or the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell, was based on telephone exchange relays and 900 Dekatron gas-filled tubes, which could each hold a single digit in memory. Paper tape was used to both input data for and store the output of the machine.

The device is not the oldest electronic calculating device but is regarded as the first modern computer still capable of working.

The machine was built and used by the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire, and went on to be used as a teaching aid at a college in Wolverhampton until 1973.

The machine was developed to automate laborious mathematical calculations at the Harwell facility. Witch, also known as the Harwell computer, could solve algorithms at roughly the same speed as a single human mathematician using a mechanical calculator.

The Witch is regarded as the first modern computer still capable of working.

(Credit: Wolverhampton Express and Star)

The restoration work is expected to take a year, when Witch will then go on display at the National Museum of Computing, which already holds the world's first electronic computer, the Colossus Mark II.

Kevin Murrell, director and trustee of the museum, said its engineers are keen to start restoring the Witch machine.

"For most of them this will be the toughest project yet. It's the computing equivalent of the raising of the Mary Rose and they are up to challenge," he said in a statement.

The museum is asking members of the public and industry to sponsor the restoration of the Harwell computer by purchasing one of 25 shares at 4,500 pounds (about $7,300) each. Insight Software has become the first sponsor of the restoration project.

Nick Heath of Silicon.com reports from London.

[bschmock]

"Witch could solve algorithms at roughly the same speed as a single human mathematician using a mechanical calculator."

So what your saying is I can't use it to play Crysis. Although it would be nice to have to solve the many ridiculous math problems that arise in a day to day life.
Like What is the sum of the coefficients of
( [3x - 3x^2 +1]^744 ) x ( [- 3x + 3x^2 +1]^745 ) bc that comes up all the time.

Useless, and a waste of money to restore.

[jaguar717]

I agree, but it's their money to waste (unless it's actually MY money, in the form of gov't grants).

[methos2000]

If all you're concerned about is if you can use a computer to play games, I'd say you're useless. If you actually read the article, you'd have seen the machine was used for atomic research, so I'd say the complex calculations came up all the time... just as computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis comes up all the time for engineers all over the world and make modern computer indispensable for doing WORK.

The fact that it is obsolete compared to modern machines does not make it less significant. By you're logic, we should probably burn down the Smithsonian since most everything there is old...

[Vegaman_Dan]

@bschmock:

You're right. It's pointless to maintain history so that others can learn. Museums should be torn down, artifacts destroyed. The Mona Lisa? Bah- shred it for recycling. The US Navy USS Missouri? Scrap it. It's completely worthless for mankind to do anything to retain a bit of history to learn from it.

I know that's extreme, but what you are looking at is a bit of history. Why do we even have archeology departments at colleges? Why bother with it? The Egyptian pyramids? No point in keeping those around either, right? Let's bulldoze them to make room for something more useful like Starbucks coffee shops.

I'd be curious to see how people would react if you gave this same opinion at a car show with all those restored classics. To those people, this may not be a pointless endeavor.

[nate0511SrA]

This is history and that is always a good thing to preserve and restore.

[madeinttown]

<quote>
"For most of them this will be the toughest project yet. It's the computing equivalent of the raising of the Mary Rose and they are up to challenge," he said in a statement.
</quote>

Anyone know why this is tougher than the Colossus Mark II?

[RTFM]

Even make a vacuum tube? Or find one now a days? Or even know what one looks like? :-)

[RTFM]

Those that argue the negative worth of restoring Witch I'm sure will quickly change their tune if someone offers them a fully restored '57 Chevy or "The last of the V8 interceptors" (mad max)

"Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it"