Submitted via IRC for BoyceMagooglyMonkey
The UK National Museum of Computing will open its new Bombe gallery this weekend at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes after a successful crowdfunding campaign to put the WWII code-breaking machines on display.
"We even hope to have a Colossus operator veteran present so that they can exchange notes – something they could never do during the war!" said the museum in a statement.
The Bombe was developed as part of Britain's efforts to break Nazi Germany's military ciphers and intercept war plans. Cryptologists used the electro-mechanical machines to speed up their deciphering of Germany's Enigma messages.
"Visitors will be able to see the world-famous Bombe reconstruction in action and learn how it broke Enigma messages – and compare it to the acclaimed working Colossus reconstruction and discover how it was the key to breaking Lorenz messages," the museum added.
[...] Saturday, 23 June, the day that the Bombe gallery opens to the public, is also Alan Turing's 106th birthday. Wartime re-enactors "will bring the history alive and give a sense of the wartime atmosphere" on the day, while families are encouraged to enjoy a cream tea and some retro computer games.
Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/06/19/tnmoc_bombe_gallery_opening/
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GCHQ has released never before seen images of Colossus, the UK's secret code-breaking computer credited with helping the Allies win World War Two:
The intelligence agency is publishing them to mark the 80th anniversary of the device's invention.
It says they "shed new light" on the "genesis and workings of Colossus", which is considered by many to be the first digital computer.
Its existence was kept largely secret until the early 2000s.
[...] The first Colossus began operating from Bletchley Park, the home of the UK's codebreakers, in early 1944. By the end of the war there were 10 computers helping to decipher the Nazi messages.
Fitted with 2,500 valves and standing at more than 2 metres tall, Colossus required a team of skilled operators and technicians to run and maintain it.
[...] Blueprints of its inner workings have also been made public for the first time, along with a letter referring to "rather alarming German instructions" intercepted by Colossus, as well as an audio clip of the machine at work.
Originally spotted on Herbert Bruderer's blog.
Related: Cryptography is the Bombe: Britain's Enigma-Cracker on Display in New Home
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Thursday June 21 2018, @04:21AM
Last time I want round Bletchley Park, there was a replica Bombe on display. It was shown operating.
I think that all that has happened is that they moved the replica Bombe to a new location. BFD.
The Bombe can be seen on display in this picture:
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/bombe/img/bombe_replica_small.jpg [cryptomuseum.com]
More info:
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/bombe/ [cryptomuseum.com]
(Score: 0, Troll) by aristarchus on Thursday June 21 2018, @04:38AM (2 children)
British pooftas cracking Nazi codes at the same time the Janrinock is suppressing news of how alt-right propaganda is spreading to the shores of Old Blighty! Coincidence? Or an effort by the Deep British State to support Nazi Germany, cause, you know, racist Limeys.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 22 2018, @08:09AM (1 child)
And then there was the deep penetration of British Intelligence, by the poffta Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby. So after the murder of Alan Turing, I have no idea how the Brits could hold their head up when it comes to intelligence or code-breaking. As someone said, James Bond is just a fantasy compensation for the downfall of the British Empire.
(althought, I do rather like the expression in "trainspotting", where a Scot says, "We are ruled over by a nation of wankers!!" But then, there is the rather good movie about stealing the stone. The queen was born in Kenya!)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 23 2018, @02:56AM
"Deep penetration" Heh, heh, heh! He said, "Deep Penetration".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 21 2018, @05:58AM (4 children)
>...while families are encouraged to enjoy a cream tea...
I'd go for the cream tea. If you aren't from England and haven't done this I recommend it at least once. The time I did it was part of a small group bicycle ride, we stopped in a very nice formal garden and were served outdoors, very special and memorable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_tea [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday June 21 2018, @06:45AM (3 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Thursday June 21 2018, @10:36AM (2 children)
Jam on top or cream on top?
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday June 21 2018, @01:14PM (1 child)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday June 21 2018, @03:56PM
One doesn't put whipped cream on a scone at a "cream tea." One puts clotted cream, sometimes known as Devonshire cream (though you'll occasionally see Devonshire cream marketed commercially as a slightly lower fat version of clotted cream).
Clotted cream is fairly solid, with roughly double the fat content of whipping cream, and something like the texture of butter (cool butter, not cold in the fridge). It can stand up well to putting jam on top, though I agree (with the Queen) that it's best to lay down the jam on the scone first and finish with the clotted cream on top. (Mostly because it's less messy that way. But to each his own.)