<![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Giz, we demand this flv player of yours to have a "full screen" button. Yes, we do.

arekkusu82

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Aaah. Just in time to work out our artillery bombardments of the Kaiser's armies.

blank

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I love it when rich guys spend their money on cool sh*t like this. It makes me want to be rich too.

Props to Nathan!

Marco

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @mikeness: +1!

FЯeeMan is slowly cЯawling out of the new commenting system

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I think that Difference Engine is busted. No matter what I do it just keeps spitting out the number "42"

mikeness

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> That's good, it should mean the Science Museum can put their old back on display. They had taken over its section to set up the workshop for this newer copy.

Sockatume

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> And how many Megaflops is that?

bms

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> "The Difference Engine" by Sterling and Gibson is a good read, creating a world where the computer age happened prior to the electrical age and the first computers were steam driven cybernetic engines. Much like this one I imagine.

stryder100

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I got love for you if you were born in the 1800s the 1800s

Jesus_Jones

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> astounding, beautiful!

pradster

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Great post. As for the comments, enough. with. the. steampunk.

Satorical

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @--Tito--: They are working on it. The mechanical upgrades are the size of Jupiter, and will take 1000 years to be complete.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> 28 years from Diff 1 to Diff 2, I guess Moore's Law wasn't applicable...

pdok

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I love analogue computers, its interesting how there making a comeback.

MagnoliaBoy

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I've seen these difference engines before. They are truly un-fucking-believable. Babbage doesn't get nearly enough credit for his work.
And yeah it's not an iphone. Considering when this was created it is far beyond that.

BigDogues

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @ParJoe: Simple solution, instead of having some poor shlub cranking this thing you add a steam turbine. Then wear a mohawk and suspenders.

I'm a computer engineer by trade, with a passion for mechanical engineering, and I think this thing just hit my nerd G spot

kaneshadow

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Precision german watch... MMhhhh.... I wonder how more wonderfull would be if they used SWISS watch precision.

DeLarge

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Imagine a world where these things took off instead of electronics. Steampunk and semaphore towers for the win!

Reilaos: Reading Comprehension is your friend!

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Dammit Giz, stop posting these awesome stories, I'm trying to get some work done.

se7a7n7

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> This actually is a solution to the age-old problem of kids bringing calculators into math class and 'cheating'. If they were forced to use mechanical calculators, no teacher in the world would deny a kid who found a way to drag something in like this.

Monty

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @--Tito--: No, but it can play WoW.

mycroft2000

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I want to see it actually do some math, like 2+2 or something.

But hell yeah its mesmerizing, thats fucking awesome.

Log1c

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> It's cool... but it's no iPhone.

nystreetfilms

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> No mention of Steam Punk? This is the quintessential Steam Punk device. (Um...regardless of the fact that there's no steam or punks to speak of).

Still though...it's mesmerizing to see that thing in action.

ParJoe

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> In 150 years there will be a variation on the this where someone makes vista work well. Crowds will be astounded.

Denver_80203

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @valarmorghulis: Darn, I heard it never overheated.

--Tito--

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> That is an incredible piece of machinery.

bung

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> It's too bad in school (at least in my time), they don't teach the history of math to appreciate it more.

ripfire

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> wow

Gann

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @valarmorghulis:
Yeah, by the time you've purchased all the necessary upgrades to make it run at a decent framerate you may as well just buy a new machine.

Rabid Penguin

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Also, thanks for the link. Even this non-math guy thinks the computational breakdown is almost as beautiful.

92BuickLeSabre

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @--Tito--: Yes, load times are approximatly 285 years though, and the 3D is total shit.

valarmorghulis

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> @zenpoet and termitehead: Exactly. Truly awe-inspiring.

92BuickLeSabre

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> Can it play Crisis?

--Tito--

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I have never seen a more beautiful machine in motion

termitehead

]]> <![CDATA[Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational]]> I am surprised that this isn't sitting on the writing desk of W. Gibson.

Tis' a thing of beauty, it is.

zenpoet

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