Check out the pre-qwerty keyboard. They used a piano keyboard, minus the sharps and flats.10 years ago today, we visited the Vienna Technology Museum.
We took a lovely city tram to the Vienna Technology Museum which was another delightful surprise. Very few visitors were there and every exhibit was clearly marked in English. The scope of the museum was staggering and a pleasure to wander at our own pace, relax and enjoy the discovery.
Perhaps the greatest invention in the last 600 years, the Gutenberg Press!
Matt and I both were excited to see the actual UNIVAC computer which we had studied in our computer classes in school. Plus we could show the kids punch card stacks, magnetic tape drives, and telephone modems. Ok, we were probably more entertained by that than they were.
Wow, the PDP 11/40, is possibly the first modern computer I used. The year was 1983 in Lake Mary Florida. The rebels we were, we used this new software called “Unix”.
The Altair 8800 ran an early version of the CPU that later became the IBM PC. I used one of these at Western Michigan University around 1980. The floppy disk was the size of a small pizza.
This acoustic modem is designed for 300 ‘1’ and ‘0’ per second, the same speed as my first computer and about 1/1,000,000 as fast as my home network speed today.
The movie that prominently features the Enigma machine is “The Imitation Game” (2014). This historical drama is based on the biography of Alan Turing, a British mathematician who played a key role in breaking the Enigma code during World War II. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing and Keira Knightley as his fellow code-breaker Joan Clarke.
Who doesn’t like bikes? OK, shut up!
I probably took 30 pics of bikes here, but look at this one. The gear and chain allow the rider to keep feet closer to the ground, while the larger crank cog than the axel cog, turn the bike wheel faster than your feet turn over. This high wheel was faster than every non-geared high wheel of its day. Think they raced each other back in the day? You Bet!
Here is an early tunneling machine, showing how the tunnel support system is built as the tunnel grows longer.
Here you can see the rail-based drilling machines used to plant the next set of explosives.
Lots of flying machines from way back at this place. The Austrians did not become mechanical aerodynamic geniuses overnight.
Not sure but I think this is siege warfare.
Detail on how the windmill works.
A model of this quality can be used to calculate how much energy and consequently production should be expected from a specific design.
Entering Non-Geek Zone!
Johannes Gutenberg, yea for the printing press, and knowledge for the little people!
Kendrick the Brave, with helmet adorned,
In Viking battles, he never was scorned.
With his horned helmet high,
Under the northern sky,
His foes found their hopes forlorn.
Bernini Twisted Columns perhaps?
The Museum of Natural History Vienna was opened in 1889.
Looking like cheese crapes for dinner!
Looks like Gnocci, a potato-based noodle that looks like pasta.
Perhaps a Benedict of some sort, ham and fries, YUM!
A smothered roast, with the white wine and a couple of sauces on the side.
After geeking out all day, plus this rich food, I would have slept well that night! Tomorrow we head to the winter sports town of Innsbrook.
