The Mark Computing Trailblazer Unraveling the Era of Analog Machines

The Mark I was a massive machine that received its instruction sequences and data through punched paper tape readers. Numbers were transferred from one register to another through electrical signals. This machine was slow (taking 3 to 5 seconds per calculation) and inflexible (the sequence of calculations couldn't be changed). The internal wiring of the Mark I had a length of over 800 kilometers, with more than three million connections. When the machine was in operation, the noise it produced was akin to a room full of people typing in synchronized fashion.