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2000 year old computer re-created

Can they really call that a computer?

What is the definition of a "computer"? Anything that computes something?

Is a (mechanical) clock a "computer"? lol
 
Originally posted by: Eli
Can they really call that a computer?

What is the definition of a "computer"? Anything that computes something?

Is a (mechanical) clock a "computer"? lol

By that definition, an abacus is a computer.
It's certainly not a "modern" computer. If it could be programmed and perform calculations on its own, that would certainly be amazing.
 
Originally posted by: Eli
Can they really call that a computer?

What is the definition of a "computer"? Anything that computes something?

Is a (mechanical) clock a "computer"? lol

Yes. The word was originally coined to describepeople who computed things.
 
"The fundamental difference between calculators and computers is that computers can be programmed to perform different tasks while calculators are pre-designed with specific functions built in, for example addition, multiplication, logarithms, etc." - Wikipedia

So this is really just a really old school calculator?
 
Originally posted by: Crono
"The fundamental difference between calculators and computers is that computers can be programmed to perform different tasks while calculators are pre-designed with specific functions built in, for example addition, multiplication, logarithms, etc." - Wikipedia

So this is really just a really old school calculator?

^^ That is a terrible piece of opinion there in wikipedia.

Calculators can be programmed, as all modern calculators use microprocessors and memory for their incredibly basic input/output interfaces. It's just that they are function-built, and cannot be easily modified to perform other functions.

 
Saw someone that had made a mechanical calculator in Little Big Planet on Youtube. Can't access it at work.
 
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