| ▲ | 112233 4 hours ago | |
Here is a 1746 machine loom that used perforated tape, half a century before Jacquard: https://www.arts-et-metiers.net/musee/metier-tisser-les-etof... Nor is it first such device. Here is the nice image of barrel with pins that controls the 14th century machine organ: https://www.pianola.org/history/history_mechanical.cfm Again, while impact of Jacquard's loom was indisputably huge, ascribing origin of computers to it seems like calling Ford model T the origin of personal transportation. | ||
| ▲ | ajb 3 hours ago | parent [-] | |
Wikipedia suggests that the Jacquard loom introduced Babbage to punched cards, which would be why it, rather than the others, is associated with the origin of computers. | ||