Ed VanderPloeg wrote:
>  there's a contest to come up with the best software
>  for a replica of the Ferranti Mark 1.
>
> Check out: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/prog98/

I tried, but this address seems a dud.

I've got cooler things to program than ancient hardware
that can beaten by todays technology.

Might I suggest a competition to program ancient hardware
that actually beats today's technology?

The British built a computer to crack the messages encrypted
by the German Enigma machine. I heard that this can be done
by a Pentium PC of today, but nowhere near as fast as the
electro-mechanical original machine.

This demonstrates that custom hardware can beat generic
problem solvers. The I thought, what about building an
equivalent to the original in electronic logic?
If it were implemented in programmable logic chips,
would this be potentially faster?

BTW, is there any truth in the rumour that while the
government were sending spies to find out about
the Enigma machine, they could have done so far more
safely by asking the London patent office?
machine