Thomas (Tommy) Harold Flowers, MBE (22 December 1905 – 28 October 1998) was a British engineer who designed Colossus, the first digital, programmable, electronic computer. Flowers was born in London. After an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering, he earned a degree in electrical engineering at the University of London. In 1926, he joined the telecommunications branch of the General Post Office (GPO), moving to work at the research station at Dollis Hill on the northwest side of London in 1930. From 1935 onward, he explored the use of electronics for telephone exchanges. By 1939, he was convinced that an all-electronic system was possible. This background in switching electronics would prove crucial for his computer design in World War II.

In 1942, Flowers was posted to Bletchley Park, 50 miles (80 km) northwest of London, to join the code breaking efforts there. He worked on breaking a teletype-based cipher called "Geheimschreiber" (secret writer) by the Germans and "Fish" by the English decoding team that was much more complex than the German's Enigma system. The decoding procedure involved trying so many possibilities that it was impractical to do by hand. In February 1943, Flowers proposed an electronic system (Colossus) using 1500 valves (vacuum tubes). Because the most complicated previous electronic device had used about 150 valves, some were skeptical that such a device would be reliable. Flowers countered that the British telephone system used thousands of valves and was reliable because the electronics were operated in a stable environment that included having the circuitry on all the time. Years later, Flowers described the design and construction of these computers. With the highest priority for acquisition of parts, his extremely dedicated team built the first Colossus computer in 11 months. It operated 5 times faster and was more flexible than the previous system, code-named Heath Robinson, that used electro-mechanical switches. Anticipating the need for additional computers, a redesign utilizing 2400 valves was begun before the first computer was finished. The Mark 2 operated 5 times faster than the first Colossus. Flowers estimated that they could be manufactured at a rate of about one per month.

Ten Colossus machines were completed and used during World War II in British decoding efforts, and an eleventh computer was ready for commissioning at the end of the war. All but two of the Colossus computers were dismantled at the end of the war. "The remaining two were moved to British secret service headquarters, where they may have played a significant part in the codebreaking operations of the Cold War" (Nova, 1999). The final two were decommissioned in 1959 and 1960.

More on [ Tommy Flowers ]

eWeek - RSS Feeds

Gartner Revises Server Share Numbers
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:43:24 -0400
Gartner revised its first quarter numbers and found that IBM actually beat out Hewlett-Packard in server revenue....
Who Is Running The Most Secure Browser?
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:03:13 -0400
Many users are undoubtedly not updating their browsers as quickly as they should, but you can't conclude any specifics about that from the recent study of Google logs....
DOJ Sued Over Cell Phone Tracking Practices
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:08:34 -0400
Civil liberties groups claim the Justice Department is bypassing warrants to obtain real-time tracking information on U.S. citizens....
Microsoft Internet Explorer Security Strikes Back
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:03:53 -0400
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 security builds on the Phishing Filter of IE 7 and thwarts cross-site scripting....
IBM Helps Link POS to the Back Office
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:50:30 -0400
IBM and Epicor jointly release an offering that centrally manages and supports POS....

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology

Pack the plastic; Alaska Airlines goes cashless
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:17:17 -0700
Alaska Airlines will no longer accept cash for in-flight purchases.
Pocket Armrest seeks to become the next neck pillow
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:09:44 -0700
Serial entrepreneur Matt Mostad, of Kenmore, comes up with an idea for traveler's aide while sitting in a cramped airplane seat.
Chevrolet may introduce a mini to U.S.
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:12:00 -0700
General Motors is considering a new Chevrolet minicar for the U.S. as it reworks its product lineup to cope with a dramatic shift from trucks to cars that is linked to high gas prices, a spokesman said Thursday.

NYT > Technology

Bits: Google Puts Privacy Link on Main Page
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:08:11 -0000
The move brings Google into clear compliance with a California law that requires many Internet sites to have a link to their privacy policy on their home page.
Google Told to Turn Over User Data of YouTube
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:30:23 -0000
The order raised concerns that the online video viewing habits of tens of millions of people could be exposed.
Bits: What Is Facebook Worth? (Part 37)
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:43:10 -0000
A document in the settled Facebook ConnectU litigation reveals that Facebook’s common shares are worth a quarter of the value of the stock Microsoft purchased when it invested in the social network.

CNN.com - Technology

Stealing ideas from nature
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:01:21 -0400
When self-confessed "nature nerd" Janine Benyus coined the term "biomimicry" in a book she published a decade ago, little did she know it would make her a household name, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars.
Faked tiger photo sparks Web furor
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:23:49 -0400
Read full story for latest details.
Tunguska blast still a mystery 100 years on
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:17:51 -0400
It produced a blast hundreds of times stronger than the Hiroshima bomb, was seen hundreds of miles away and narrowly missed obliterating an entire city -- but 100 years to the week after the mysterious explosion in Siberia, no one is any closer to understanding what caused it.

NPR Topics: Technology

We Know What You've Been Watching on YouTube
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:13:00 -0400
A court has ordered Google to turn over a database that links users to every video they've watched on the popular Web site YouTube. Jennifer Urban, director of the University of Southern California Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, says the ruling has big implications for online privacy.
Twitter, What Are You Doing? Co-Founder Tells All
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:51:00 -0400
Twitter.com has so many new users that the Web site keeps crashing. Meanwhile, Twitter engineers are taking popular features away for retooling. It's a painful process, but co-founder Biz Stone has a plan.
Free Speech In China? Text Me
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:21:00 -0400
Hundreds of millions of people in China have cell phones, and with no voice mail, many turn to text messaging to make sure their messages get conveyed. Texting remains one of the few outlets for free speech in a country notorious for its censorship practices.

BBC News | Technology | UK Edition

Google 'faces Street View block'
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:56:34 -0000
Google's plans to launch a mapping tool in the UK could be referred to the Information Commissioner.
Warning letters to 'file-sharers'
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:41:04 -0000
The music industry says thousands of UK broadband users who share tracks illegally will be warned about it in letters.
Google must divulge YouTube log
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:19:53 -0000
Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched avideo on YouTube, says a US court.

Reuters Video: Technology

Japan asks: anybody out there?
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:02:00 -0400
Jul. 4 - Japan's biggest astronomical observatories are teaming up for a fresh quest to find out if there is life in outer space.
Reuters Technology Week
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:52:38 -0400
Jul. 3 - The robo-bartender, virtual haute couture, and global leaders ride hydrogen style.
Robo barman pulls first pint
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:03:25 -0400
Jul. 3 - Billed as the world's first robot barman, Mr Asahi pulls the crowds at London's Selfridges department store.

AP Top Technology News At 6:44 p.m. EDT

Court orders YouTube to give Viacom video logs
By ANICK JESDANUN Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:52:13 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dismissing privacy concerns, a federal judge overseeing a $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit against YouTube has ordered the popular online video-sharing service to disclose who watches which video clips and when....
2 teens attacked in town mocked in YouTube videos
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:44:12 -0000
DOVER, N.Y. (AP) -- Two teenagers who drove to Oniontown after a series of YouTube videos portrayed the hamlet as a run-down, backwoods dump were pelted with rocks by an angry group of young residents, authorities said....
Internet addressing agency loses its own addresses
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:57:41 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- This doesn't sound good: The nonprofit agency in charge of the Internet's addresses recently lost track of its own....

CNET News.com

Ask.com closes Dictionary.com deal
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:52:00 -0700
Fourth-ranked search engine completes its acquisition of the parent company of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com.
1 euro eBay baby goes home
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:37:00 -0700
Parents had put their baby boy up for sale on eBay--apparently as a joke--but German authorities didn't find it particularly amusing.
VeriSign names interim CEO
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:02:00 -0700
Company's founder takes the place of the CEO and president, who resigned abruptly earlier this week.

Subscribe to Computers RSS feed