Babbage builders turn down Kickstarter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20004192

by user24 • 14 years ago

38 22 14 years ago

bbc.co.uk

jgrahamc6• 14 years ago

It's a pity that the BBC focused on that aspect because that wasn't the main point of briefing them (and only came up because they asked): the main point was that the project is actually happening and we need about £250,000 to do the first part.

The first part being... study all the documentation Babbage left behind and build a 3D working simulation of the Analytical Engine. When done that'll be the first time anyone has seen the AE in action, albeit a computer, physical simulation.

And the Kickstarter situation is more complex than just 'costs too much': http://blog.jgc.org/2012/10/why-plan-28-decided-not-to-use.h... And, as I told the BBC, we have discussed using Kickstarter once we come to build the engine itself when it would be more appropriate.

tzs• 14 years ago

Idea for raising some of that £250k: make and sell to the public replicas of a simpler mechanical computer, the Antikythera mechanism.

DanBC• 14 years ago

There are many mechanical computing devices that could be popular. Slide rules, the (popularised by Gibson) Curta pocket calculator, the Pascaline, Schickard's Calculating Clock, etc etc.

(http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/calculators/1/44)

(http://history-computer.com/MechanicalCalculators/18Century....)

EwanToo• 14 years ago

Shame about the angle the BBC took, but the publicity worked at least in part - I've just donated :)

jgrahamc6• 14 years ago

Thank you. It is greatly appreciated.

jklio• 14 years ago

I think I was one of the first to sign the pledge you first released some time ago, good to see it's coming along. Donated.

rwmj• 14 years ago

John, what software are you going to use to do the simulation?

jgrahamc6• 14 years ago

We don't have a definitive answer to that yet. We've talked to various companies and some experts. If you have specific knowledge of that field I would be very interested to talk to you.

The Analytical Engine will have something like 40,000 parts...

keithpeter2• 14 years ago

"You could say it was the first failed government IT project."

That is a wonderful quote and good luck with the simulation.

tezza• 14 years ago

Looks like The Register[1] has picked up your clarifications straight from HN and your blog.

[1] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/22/3d_simulation_babbag...

jgrahamc6• 14 years ago

But introduced their own errors: see spelling of my name.

malsme• 14 years ago

I think I am a bit odd, but whenever I donate, I opt-out of gift aid, so that I don't have to remember the values for the tax return (hate filling in forms). It's often difficult to opt-out of it too. Sometimes you have to select that the donation is from someone else, or you have to select that you aren't from the UK. It's rarely a yes/no question. Like I say, I'm odd. :)

By the way, good luck. I think KS would have given the project more momentum, but JustGiving is fine too.

jgrahamc6• 14 years ago

We think Kickstarter will be great when we get to the 'build the machine' phase because we'll be able to offer all sorts of incentives related to the physical machine.

adaml_623• 14 years ago

I'll definitely donate through kickstarter in the future if I get a cog or something that comes from the main production run.

coob• 14 years ago

You only need to remember the values for the tax return if you're claiming the charitable donations against your taxable income. Feel free to opt-in to gift aid and leave the charity section blank.

I am not an accountant so this could all be bollocks, however!

lmm• 14 years ago

If you're a "normal" UK taxpayer, you shouldn't have to remember anything for any tax return - just tick the box and give them your name and address (so that they can verify you are in fact a UK taxpayer).

If you're not paying UK income tax, you're not supposed to be able to gift aid it, that's kind of the point.

I can imagine it might be awkward if you're self-employed in the UK or something like that; they don't bother streamlining that case.

vibragiel• 14 years ago

So this is the URL to donate to the project: http://www.justgiving.com/plan28

jonathanjaeger• 14 years ago

The title of this article is poor. It's as if Kickstarter was asking them to use the site. No.. Kickstarter is a platform and you can choose to use them or another platform. That's like saying I decided to sell my used car and saying that I turned down eBay because I decided to sell it on Craigslist.

Babbage builders turn down Kickstarter

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