Computer dream come true

I know where I'll be heading next time I pass by the 101 highway exit for Mountain View in California, hopefully this year.

This year, the Computer History Museum pays tribute to Charles Babbage and his innovative (at the time) Difference Engine. The Difference Engine is basically a pre-historic computer design that Charles dreamt up in the 19th century and which now has been actually built, a full 150 years later.

I became a Babbage fan thanks to an inspiring professor at the University of Leuven, who invited me to write an essay about Babbage's achievements and inventions (Charles who?!). Still, I am sure that many of us recognize our own expectations towards the advancements of digital technology into what Babbage wanted to achieve. Of course the Difference Engine was conceived to be purely mechanical, so it's debatable whether you can call it digital (to what extent does it really work with true digits anyway).

In the Babbage era, all this remained a pipe dream for the lack of, say, Intel processors (let alone transistors). Today you can make this vision become a reality on a screen near you; just play the CNet movie above. Meanwhile, trendwatchers take notice: whether it's in comic books or in the geeky world of IT, steampunk is totally back.

Hauteville House: Atlanta - kewego
Bande Annonce du tome 4 de la série steampunk de Fred Duval

Sleutelwoorden:beau duval delcourt hauteville house quet

Video van bdfrance5