Birth Of The Computer

Historian George Dyson tells stories from the birth of the modern computer -- from its 17th-century origins to the hilarious notebooks of some early computer engineers. -TED

This video is actually a quick historical look at a single early computer project by John von Neumann. The letter written to von Neuman about the amount of sugar consumed by the engineers (in their tea) was particularly funny. Jolt hadn't been invented yet.

During his research, George Dysan spent time reviewing the lab books from these early developers. In the video he shows a lab book entry that we would consider "defect characterization". There are also references to the common tester's complaint of a lack of documentation and specifications.