ENIAC
by Scott McCartney · first published 1999
70% recommend20% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Narrative history of the ENIAC project, covering Eckert and Mauchly's work to make the first general-purpose electronic computer useful, plus the Atanasoff dispute. Suits readers curious about early computing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
John Mauchly and Presper Eckert designed and built the first digital, electronic computer. The story of their three-year race to create the legendary ENIAC and their three-decade struggle to gain credit for it has never been told and is a compelling tale of brilliance and misfortune. Mauchly and Eckert met by chance in 1941 at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Engineering. They soon developed a revolutionary vision: to use electricity as a means of computing - in other words, to make electricity "think." Ignored by their colleagues, in early 1943 they were fortuitously discover
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2022–2026ENIAC in action
Thomas Haigh, Mark Priestley, Crispin Rope, William Aspray
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
2013–2026Turings Cathedral Vintage
George Dyson
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 108 recommend · 10 mention8 recommend · 108 recommend
2008–2024Prisoner's dilemma
William Poundstone
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 117 recommend · 11 mention7 recommend · 117 recommend
2012–2026Turing's cathedral
George Dyson
Recommended by 42 · mentioned by 5842 recommend · 58 mention42 recommend · 5842 recommend
2014–2026The Innovators
Walter Isaacson, Francisco José Ramos Mena, Marcos Pérez Sánchez, Inga Pellisa Díaz
Recommended by 55 · mentioned by 7355 recommend · 73 mention55 recommend · 7355 recommend
As We May Think
Vannevar Bush
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 8523 recommend · 85 mention23 recommend · 8523 recommend
2008–2026A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 11923 recommend · 119 mention23 recommend · 11923 recommend
2007–2026Hackers
Steven Levy
Recommended by 130 · mentioned by 188130 recommend · 188 mention130 recommend · 188130 recommend
…Well, he actually described an already existing design by Eckert and Mauchly under his name and this paper was illegally disclosed. For the ones interested in this and other fascinating stories about ENIAC, here is a good book: https://www.amazon.com/Eniac-Triumphs-Tragedies-Worlds-Compu... worth reading is also the review by Jean Bartik (here https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3K2DSB6UE1X7H/re...)…
on “The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)” ↗Whenever the von Neumann EDVAC paper is mentioned, I feel it is rightful to point people to the book that gives proper backround to what we incorrectly call von Neumann architecture: https://www.amazon.com/Eniac-Triumphs-Tragedies-Worlds-Compu...
on “The Mothers of the Mother of All Demos” ↗For more on this, I recommend "Eniac: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer" by Scott McCartney. I read it a few years ago and found it fascinating. I don't remember how much it gets into Zuse, but it has a lot about the…
on “Konrad Zuse: Nearly the German Turing” ↗Yes! It’s a pretty big controversy so far as computing goes and a very interesting read. ENIAC (ISBN 978-0802713483) is a good account that includes it. I have to wonder what else gets washed away in all the myth-making about these guys.
on “The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann” ↗I guess you already have seen this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computing Here some other interesting books and articles: https://www.amazon.com/Eniac-Triumphs-Tragedies-Worlds-Compu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Zuse https://computerhistory.org/timelines/
on “Ask HN: What are some great posts or articles about history of computing?” ↗I found the book Eniac: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer by Scott McCartney a pretty good read: * https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/720730
on “ENIAC Simulator” ↗For the other side of this, read "ENIAC: The Triumphs & Tragedies of the World's First Computer" by Scott McCartney. The work Eckert and Mauchly put in to get the first electronic, general purpose computer in a state that it was useful to others…
on “The Man Who Invented the Computer” ↗Eniac was indeed impressive and an important milestone. I recommend the 1999 book "ENIAC - The triumphs and tragedies of the world's first computer" by Scott McCartney which is both interesting to read and…
on “Eniac, the First General-Purpose Digital Computer, Turns 80” ↗Somewhat related, I enjoyed reading the (1999) book ENIAC, the triumphs and tragedies of the world's first computer by Scott McCartney on that system.
on “Colossus, the first large-scale electronic computer” ↗I was was frustrated with that book, because I felt it did not emphasize the work by Eckert and Mauchly enough with the ENIAC. I attribute this bias due to George Dyson's proximity to the project as a child - his father, Freeman Dyson, has a position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and George Dyson was with…
ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer, by Scott McCartney presents a slightly different view of the court case. It says that though the courts were on shaky legal ground throwing…
on “ MIT accuses company of denying its researcher credit for anti-cancer device” ↗"John von Neumann invented the digital computer" Mauchly and Eckert did but Neumann came and stole the fame. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mauchly#EDVAC Eniac: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer, Scott McCartney http://www.2think.org/eniac.shtml
on “The legend of John von Neumann (1973)” ↗