The difference engine was the first machine that is now considered as a computer. The British mathematician Charles Babbage conceived the difference engine in 1822. The difference engine was only partially built when Babbage conceived the idea of...

A difference engine is a special-purpose mechanical computer and calculator, designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Since logarithmic and trigonometric functions can be approximated by polynomials, such a machine is more general than it appears at...

THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE Charles Babbage and the Quest To Build the First Computer By Doron Swade Viking. 342 pp. $24.95 Charles Babbage was an odd, eccentric Englishman -- scarcely the first to fit that description -- who in eight...

In response to an editorial I wrote recently about declining enrollment in engineering, I received dozens of letters from design engineers who are discouraged and disillusioned by their career choice. Many of you say you feel unappreciated and undervalued, noting that your technical...

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is set to launch its highly publicized new server chip Monday, delivering the biggest jolt to its product lineup in four years.The company's redesigned Opteron processor is the first from AMD to feature four computing engines on a single chip instead...

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. launched its highly publicized new server chip Monday, delivering the biggest jolt to its product lineup in four years.The company's redesigned Opteron processor is the first from AMD to feature four computing engines on a single chip instead of just one...