Nickodell
Donation Time
Taking it out of context would imply an intention to deceive, which I don't appreciate.
In virtually every reference to ENIAC, it is either called "the world's first computer" - which is ludicrous, as mechanical ones existed more than a century earlier - or "the world's first electronic computer," which is how ENIAC is generally described, what the U. Penn student recruiting blurb sheet called it, and what I was taking aim at.
Usually the only time one runs across the modifier "general purpose" is when someone is making a technically comprehensive description to an expert or publication, or if the claim of "world's first electronic computer" is challenged.
ENIAC was much faster, could be reprogrammed to different tasks, and was superior to Colossus in several other ways. However, it should be remembered that it was only announced in 1946, while Colossus had been providing invaluable decription service on the successor to Enigma for three years.
In virtually every reference to ENIAC, it is either called "the world's first computer" - which is ludicrous, as mechanical ones existed more than a century earlier - or "the world's first electronic computer," which is how ENIAC is generally described, what the U. Penn student recruiting blurb sheet called it, and what I was taking aim at.
Usually the only time one runs across the modifier "general purpose" is when someone is making a technically comprehensive description to an expert or publication, or if the claim of "world's first electronic computer" is challenged.
ENIAC was much faster, could be reprogrammed to different tasks, and was superior to Colossus in several other ways. However, it should be remembered that it was only announced in 1946, while Colossus had been providing invaluable decription service on the successor to Enigma for three years.