Retro technology

[marcus]

Fascinating site for all those interested in Rare and Unusual vehicles and machines, (some vaguely micro):

http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/museum.htm

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

My favourite bit of retro-tech has to be the Curta calculator

http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm

I still can't begin to comprehend how someone could figure out how to design it so that it might work, and then go on to build the thing in such a way that it's both robust and practical.

Who needs computers!

There's a video here of the calculator in action (with a slightly annoying narrator)

http://youtu.be/HYsOi6L_Pw4

[Jonathan Poll]

My favourite bit of retro-tech has to be the Curta calculator

http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm

I still can't begin to comprehend how someone could figure out how to design it so that it might work, and then go on to build the thing in such a way that it's both robust and practical.

Who needs computers!

There's a video here of the calculator in action (with a slightly annoying narrator)

http://youtu.be/HYsOi6L_Pw4

Who needs computers? Hehe

I make my money with computers, so do many other people

I use a graphing calculator at school (we need it), and its very usefull, especially when you're bored, I made a couple of games on it!

That is a cool calculator though!

[marcus]

I reckon the curta calculator will have been designed with a lot of awareness of Babbage's Difference Engine.

[Bob Purton]

I was recently commissioned to section a Curta for a company so they could show the works in action, I said you must be joking! Firstly everyone I know to have dismantled one has never got it back together right and working and secondly why ruin a fantastic instrument!
Curta's have an amazing history, developed in a Nazi concentration camp! After the war made in Liechtenstein I believe?

[Bob Purton]

I reckon the curta calculator will have been designed with a lot of awareness of Babbage's Difference Engine.

I doubt that as Babbages machine was not built until recently and I doubt Herzstark would have had access to Babbages notes, I may be wrong! For a fact he was infuenced by Leibniz and Frenchman Thomas de Colmar. His arithmometers still turn up in the trade.

[Big Al]

What an interesting website. Loads to do and look at from there.

Seem to recall Uncle Cliff, the adding/NCR till machine entrepreneur having a Curta. Very clever engineering in all those sorts of things.

[Jonathan Poll]

To me, THIS is retro Technology...


The good old Atari 2600! Old consoles are better than the new ones to me... Same sort of goes with computers, I love the really old crappy computers, but you cant really do miuch with them