What is the first computer?

From: Sam Ismail <dastar_at_wco.com>
Date: Thu Jun 18 12:05:49 1998

On Thu, 18 Jun 1998, Bob Stek wrote:

> BTW, disgruntled French factory weavers who realized the threat of
> automated Jacquard looms to their skilled jobs were known to throw their
> wooden shoes, sabots, into the mechanical workings in order to express
> their displeasure at being replaced by a machine. Hence the the coining of
> a new word - sabotage.

I think you're mixing-up the terms "luddite" and "sabotage". Although the
anecdote is correct, "sabotage" is thought to have originated in the late
1800's, whereas the Jacquard Loom was invented in the late 1700s and
introduced in the beginning of the 1800s.

The term "luddite" is thought to have been the last name of the worker who
started breaking stuff, and others followed.

Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar_at_siconic.com
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Received on Thu Jun 18 1998 - 12:05:49 BST

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