Hello,

I've recently finished watching a brilliant five-part documentary online called "The Machine That Changed The World" : a documentary on the history of the computer. It was made in 1992 and was first aired on PBS. It was also aired in Australia (where I live) in the 1990s. I only managed to catch the last two episodes at that time - so I was over the moon when I found links to all the episodes a few days ago.

It's a little dated, but still extremely interesting and educational (especially for the young 'uns) nevertheless. It was never aired again unfortunately. However, some enterprising chaps tracked down some old copies, digitised them and made them available online. From the difference engine to the birth of the internet - it's got it all.

Here are the links to each of the five episodes:

http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_...ged_the_world/

http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_...ng_the_future/

http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_...back_computer/

http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_...nking_machine/

http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_...ur_fingertips/

The episodes are also available for download via BitTorrent. Links to torrents are available from the above URLs.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
JD

I remember the James Burke "connections" series and how he traced our telecommunications from the invention of the stirrup - I remember him on top of a hill with a long-sword and a side of beef illustrating that it was more like a hammer than a sword - it opened a whole new world of unintended consequences.

Great find - thanks!

A really useful machines...