Another piece from BBC concerning the history of computing (emphasis obviously on UK )
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7521868.stm

Interesting that the cake giants Lyons actually funded the Cambridge computer & then used a direct copy of it for practical purposes. Certainly must have been the first commercial organisation to see and use the possibilities...

I'm sure I read somewhere that Oxford was at the fore front of computer technology.

Contrary to popular belief the computer was in fact invented in the UK, but American Dollars made sure we believed differently

Galee wrote:I'm sure I read somewhere that Oxford was at the fore front of computer technology.

Galee I think that might of been Val(trubrit) on the forum, he used the first working one back in 53, and had to wear a surgical gown and facial mask at Oxford it was the first out of all the Uni's to have one....but it seems it was Cambridge instead who pipped Oxfart to the post, as no mention of it in that article.

And see someone else had a Colossus(above linked article) like i had...and the salesman told my Grandad i had the only one...lying slippery s***.

Wtf. The first computer was designed by Charles Babbagge and Ada Lovelace to help her with her gambling. This was in the C19th. The US had nothing to do with it.

Very true Rufus, it was indeed Babbage that invented the 'difference engine' in 1822, but he never quite finished it:

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

The first difference engine was composed of around 25,000 parts, weighed fifteen tons (13,600 kg), and stood 8 ft (2.4 m) high. Although he received ample funding for the project, it was never completed. He later designed an improved version, "Difference Engine No. 2", which was not constructed until 1989-1991, using Babbage's plans and 19th century manufacturing tolerances. It performed its first calculation at the London Science Museum returning results to 31 digits, far more than the average modern pocket calculator.

The very first actual computer (something that we can relate to today as a freely programmable computer), was built in 1936 by Konrad Zuse...

All about Konrad Zuse: http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050298.htm

and the Computer History Timeline: http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050298.htm

beer monkey wrote:

Galee wrote:I'm sure I read somewhere that Oxford was at the fore front of computer technology.

Galee I think that might of been Val(trubrit) on the forum, he used the first working one back in 53, and had to wear a surgical gown and facial mask at Oxford it was the first out of all the Uni's to have one....but it seems it was Cambridge instead who pipped Oxfart to the post, as no mention of it in that article.

And see someone else had a Colossus(above linked article) like i had...and the salesman told my Grandad i had the only one...lying slippery s***.

This was always a bone of contention between Oxford and Cambridge. In truth Cambridge had the first basic computer but the first reprogrammable one, was the one I mentioned at Oxford. The nearest to the modern conception of what a computer is.So it really depends on the individual interpretation. Taken to its extreme , you could say the Chinese invented the computer when they had the abacus.Anyone want to talk about the boat race?

The first one I knew of, or saw, was the BBC Acorn. I believe it grew into a large oak tree!

The first one I owned was a 486 something. It was like discovering/learning about a whole new universe!

As the BBC report was (obviously) UK biased & because of a few of the comments above I decided to do some searching...
My conclusions are..
Rufus you are correct, however Babbage never actually managed to manufacture either of his amazing machines...
Aardvark: you are indeed correct, many internet sites from the USA make zero mention of any German or UK involvement or at being at the forefront of early advances....
After the break through at Cambridge, Manchester University seems to have taken over as the major developer of the concept in the UK, with its "Baby" - This was then produced and sold by Ferranti from 1951 to 1959. This is generally accepted as being the architectural design that even today's computers are based on.
The one thing that is without doubt is that Lyons were the first company to use a computer for commercial reasons, in 1951.
After all the sites I have read on this subject (memo to self: get a life) I think that the fairest and most comprehensive is Wiki....even give a mention to our Aussie cousins...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of ... g_hardware

Didn't Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak invent the computer in a garage in Cupertino, California?

I think the actual discussion would revolve around the definition of "computer". Analog computers were used to plot artillery trajectories during the 2nd world war, while the U.S. atomic bomb teams at Los Alamos used mechanical calculating machines to design the first atomic bombs, and the Enigma cypher machine was also mechanical, though likely digital after a fashion.

Surely the 'Brain' was the first computer.