UK最古のコンピュータが復活予定

geekwithlaptop:UK’s oldest computer to be restored to working order
Written by vlad

英国の最古のコンピュータは,数値計算をするためだけにデザインされた,巨大なものだ.
現在は,正しく動作するようレストアするためにBletchleyの国立博物館にある.
この巨大は機械は2.4m x 5mで,
現在メジャーな薄く,軽く,携帯しやすい子孫とは,全く異なるものだ.

Britain’s oldest computer, which was designed to perform mathematical calculations – to be, more or less, a gigantic calculator – is headed for the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley, where it will be restored to working order.
The gigantic device measures 2.4 by 5 meters and bears no resemblance whatsoever to its ultra thin, ultra light, ultra portable descendants we are so familiar with today.

Harwellは約60年前に稼働開始し,1973年に停止した.
その頃はOxfordshireの原子力エネルギー研究センターで使われていた.

Harwell was booted up for the first time almost 60 years ago and finally was booted out of action in 1973. During the first part of its life it was used by the Atomic Energy Research Centre in Harwell, Oxfordshire.

オリジナルHarwellの開発に携わったDick BarnesはBBCのニュースに答え,
「Harwellは原子力理論の立証に使われ,文民の地位向上を支えたんだ」
「もちろん,原子力エネルギー研究所は,核兵器開発にも携わった」

Dick Barnes, who helped to build the original Harwell, told BBC news “officially it was to help with general background atomic theory and to assist in the development of civilian power.”

“Of course, [the Atomic Energy Research Establishment] had connections to the nuclear weapons programme,” he told the BBC.

その数年後,Harwellは教育向けの設定がされ,情報教育に使われた.

During the latter few years of its service, Harwell spent its time in educational settings helping students with their computer studies.

Harwellは英国最初のコンピュータではなく,
当時すでにAce(一部はロンドン科学博物館で見れる),EDSAC(既に廃棄された),Manchester Babyなどがあった.

Harwell was not the first computer built in the UK as there were others already in action, such as the Ace, parts of which you can view at the London Science Museum; the EDSAC, which was dismantled; and the Manchester Baby.

一方Harwellは長い間使用され,ついに英国最古のコンピュータとなった.
これは化石の標本ではなく,現代的な作りをしていると言える.
一つのメモリに全てのデータとプログラムをストアするからだ.

Harwell, however, can boast to having had the longest useful life, making it the oldest working computer in Britain. It was also more “modern” than the other “ancient” specimens in some respects, as it used a single memory to store all its data and its programs.

振り返ると,Harwellは最大10人が使用することができたが,
誰もこの技術の重要さに気がついていなかった.

Back then, Harwell was able to do the work of up to 10 people but no one really understood the real significance of the technology.

「我々は,それが最先端であるとは当時思わなかった」とBarnesはBBCに語った.
「Manchester BabyとケンブリッジのEDSACが稼働していたのは知っていたけど,
どちらも大きな組織を持っていて,結びつきがなかった」
「振り返ると,コンピュータ学者はほとんどいなかったのに,
ストアドコンピュータを扱っていたなんて,驚きだよ」

“We didn’t think we were doing anything pioneering at the time,” Barnes told the BBC.

“We knew the Manchester Baby and Cambridge’s EDSAC were already up and running. Both these projects had large teams and we felt like a poor relation.

“Looking back, hardly any of us were computer literate and it’s astonishing that we managed stored computing at all,” he said.

BarnesはHarwellの40年に敬意を込め,「とても楽しかった」と述べた.
「まだどうやってスペアパーツを集めるかは分からないけど,
また稼働するいいチャンスがあると思っている」

Barnes said the prospect of Harwell being restored to its former glory after nearly four decades was “very exciting.”

“I still don’t know how they managed to find so many spare parts, but I think they have a very good chance of getting it going again,” he said.

レストア作業には数年かかると予想されている.

The restoration is expected to take around a year to complete.

ヒストリックカーをレストアするようなものですかね.
私だったら,筐体だけ残して中にOpteron入れますけど...

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