Hindsight Would Be A Great Thing .

[Evans Electric]

I heard a comment the other day about this , I think it follows the great British tradition of Earl Haig in WW1  who said " Tanks will never rival the cavalry"

Or

That A&M guy at Decca Records who said on refusing to sign them up .."The Beatles ..forget 'em , just another pop group"

The shortsightedness of this action is beyond reason ...looking back.....  at Bletchly Park during WW2    , Alan Turing & others built a massive "computer"   to break enemy codes ,as I'm sure many will know,   may have been called "Colossus"  .

I believe a Post Office Telecom engineer assembled it .

At the end of the war  the government ordered it's destruction , :C

A copy has now been built at Bletchly Park for visitors to see.

 

[Blue Duck]

It wasn't just colossus they destroyed it was the whole British computer industry

IBM sold software AKA bits of card with holes in to the nazi's who then used them to do their accounting.

People in charge at the time were just interested in nuclear bombs and jet engines if they were interested in computers we would have been about 10 years ahead of the rest of the world.

headbang

 

[gatow]

Just so.

 

[binky]

Post WW2 we lead the world in jet engines and aircraft, until government decided to stop supporting it and some twit sold patents/ technology to USA and anyone else who cared to buy it.

 

[kerching]

Prof Eric Laithwaite invented Mag Lev for rail transport.

brit Gov said it was as much use as Alan Carr Pratty Man

Jap Govt however.....fastest railway in the world?....or I may have got my facts a bit twisted as the medication kicks in

 

[Evans Electric]

I remember Eric Laithwaite doing an early Christmas Lectures on Mag Lev  , very interesting .  Totally ignored by all ,but interesting .   Actually there was one built at B,ham Airport  but I think its out of use now.

 

[Blue Duck]

It wasn't just colossus they destroyed it was the whole British computer industry

IBM sold software AKA bits of card with holes in to the nazi's who then used them to do their accounting.

People in charge at the time were just interested in nuclear bombs and jet engines rockets if they were interested in computers we would have been about 10 years ahead of the rest of the world.

headbang

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

I remember Eric Laithwaite doing an early Christmas Lectures on Mag Lev  , very interesting .  Totally ignored by all ,but interesting .   Actually there was one built at B,ham Airport  but I think its out of use now.

Yes..

another worlds first for Birmingham!!!

The world's first commercial automated maglev system was a low-speed maglev shuttle that ran from the airport terminal of Birmingham International Airport to the nearby Birmingham International railway station between 1984 and 1995.[

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev

Alas.. due to reliability problems in 1995 twas decommissioned..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asVQzbOftqE

Now uses a cable-pulled system!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirRail_Link

Stuff the magnets get out a ruddy big rope...

Now thats progress for you!!

:slap

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

............. at Bletchly Park during WW2    , Alan Turing & others built a massive "computer"   to break enemy codes ,as I'm sure many will know,   may have been called "Colossus"  .

I believe a Post Office Telecom engineer assembled it .

That would be "Tommy Flowers"

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MEQeHCrZJm0?feature=oembed

 

[Evans Electric]

Nice one  Dick 1X :Salute

I was wrong in thinking that they were all destroyed then ...  two were removed to GCHQ  Cheltenham ......so we're totally barmy then .

Pity the old GPO  couldn't any future in them though ....Oh well the GPO was itself disbanded . 

 

[ProDave]

The UK does like to abandon things it's good at.

Don't get me started on how we used to be pioneers in nuclear energy, built some of the first reactors, designed and built many of our own nuclear power stations, had some really innovative designs at test reactor stage etc.

We closed the whole lot down. All gone bar some more decommissioning. The thousands that used to work in the industry pensioned off or put out to grass.  If we want a new nuclear power station now we have to buy one from the French, or the Yanks.