Christie's auction and other computer history events

[Tom Jennings]

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005, William Donzelli wrote:

>> Without radar there would have been no electronic computers.
>
> I don't know about that. Certainly digital electronics got a huge boost
> from radar technology (all those 6SN7GTs...), but I think someone would
> have tried to get rid of relays at some point (probably the telco folks),
> and computers would have followed.

Well, it's all conjecture of course, but it was really massive
experience with pulse techniques that made computers go.  Sure,
someone would have done something electronic, but who knows how
long it would have taken or how it would have turned out. It could
even have been better.