I shall shift into BeerMode, everyone else seems to be there

Well now, the steam engine originated in the UK in the 1700's

Cotton spinning machines and designs were half inched from the UK by the 
Yankees in the 1800's

More recently, the ARM architecture originated in the UK, the English Fens to 
be specific

Also from the English fens was Microprogramming, thanks to Maurice Wilkes of 
cantab ~1950

Then there is the Manchester Baby and its adjunct the Williams Tube, as copied 
by MIT in the '50s .

But, if you want humour the C5 personal transporter (motorised clog) is another 
offering from the Sinclair stable

Enjoy Fritag abend

Martin

-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Cisin via cctalk [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: 17 October 2025 21:49
To: Van Snyder via cctalk <[email protected]>
Cc: Fred Cisin <[email protected]>
Subject: [cctalk] Re: Waaaay OT: Re: Re: Classic computing - earliest years

On Fri, 17 Oct 2025, Van Snyder via cctalk wrote:
> Has anybody wondered why the English don't build computers?
>
> They haven't figured out how to make them leak oil.

Although how to leak oil remains a problem to solve, they can at least use 
Lucas electrical parts!
Did they ever make a Dark Emitting Diode?
(there are other ways to accomplish things without needing AC capacitors and DC 
wound transformers.)

There used to be some English computers, and some were very interesting.
Such as Amstrad
The Sinclair ZX80? (rebadged as Timex) doorstop wedge was the first computer to 
sell for $100 or less in USA.

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred                 [email protected]

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