2,100-Year-Old Antikythera Device Recreated In Working Form

coondoggie writes "A new working model of the mysterious 2,100-year-old astronomical calculator, dubbed the Antikythera Device, has been unveiled, incorporating the most recent discoveries announced two years ago by an international team of researchers. The new model was demonstrated by its creator, former museum curator Michael Wright, who had created an earlier model based on decades of study."

Poor guy should have asked around

[Skyshadow]

I feel bad now, I could have saved him years of work -- I still have an original Antikythera 01 on my desk here at work.

I keep asking my boss for a new machine, but apparently the quad-core boxes are reserved for managers with important work to do like using Powerpoint and surfing for softcore pornography.

,100-Year-Old Antikythera Device Recreated in Work

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm prokythera, you insensitive clod.

i am afraid

[sleepy_sanchez]

and so starts the story of Sylar, the villain watchmaker.

Antikythera

[EdZ]

Thank goodness we're prepared for when the sinister Kythera device is unearthed.

Failed Order

[Beardo the Bearded]

There's a good chance that it was a custom job made for Hipparchus, either for his lab or to impress the king.

"Hi, this is Hipparchus. I placed a custom order for an Antikythera about 8 months ago."

"Oh, we shipped that out. It looks like there was a problem with the delivery... Ah, here we go. The boat sank."

"What? I've got to present that next week!"

"I'm sorry, did you buy shipping insurance? It doesn't show here on the invoice that you paid for insurance."

The new model was demonstrated by its creator?

[unassimilatible]

The new model was demonstrated by its creator

Wow, a 2,100 guy demonstrating it? I'd pay to see that!

Re:Antikythera

[Amazing Quantum Man]

Best. Antikythera. Post. Ever.

That's crazy talk!

[Anonymous Coward]

I keep asking my boss for a new machine

That's crazy talk. [dilbert.com] If you keep that up you'll soon be in charge of legacy systems [dilbert.com]. No, this is not a troll! [dilbert.com]

Re:Failed Order

[hotdiggitydawg]

I see you are a Dell customer...

Re:Why so down?

[Lobster Quadrille]

Don't worry, there'll be a quake or duke nukem port soon enough.

Re:Poor guy should have asked around

[empesey]

You're wasting your time. I picked mine up at the Antik Road Show.

Re:Judging by the above coments...

[jollyreaper]

Yes, especially as it was those religious beliefs that allowed this device to be created in the first place, or did you miss the part about the Babylonian priests? Good God, can't you people get off your Anti-Religion Flaming Horse for one thread a day?

Tell me more about the horse. That sounds awesome.

No wireless. Less space than a nomad.

[drinkypoo]

Lame.

Re:Antikythera

[Jarjarthejedi]

A Shrubbery?

Re:Why so down?

[devotedlhasa]

...but enough about COBOL...

Re:Poor guy should have asked around

[The_Rook]

have you installed linux on it yet?

Re:Is it on ThinkGeek yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

...and usually memorizes anyone who happens to see it.

cool - my screensaver keeps forgetting all the people who see it.

Re:Antikythera

[WoodenTable]

Oh, I don't know. Some of the old Forum posts about it were pretty freaking hilarious.

Re:Why so down?

[Anonymous Coward]

Like the Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen says, the philosophers of south-east Asia were asking questions the western world has only recently begun to ask itself while Europe was still in the dark ages.

Unfortunately for them, they were unable to come up with any answers, letting Europe catch up.

As for the Americas, they were largely stuck in the Stone Age.

Re:Why so down?

[kandela]

First uttered by the Librarian of Alexandra 1000 years ago, "I'll back it up tomorrow."

Re:It's sad, not amazing

[AmberBlackCat]

Maybe some ancient lawmakers managed to extend copyrights and patents to 1000 years...

Re:Poor guy should have asked around

[MillionthMonkey]

Linux can run on any device that has a C compiler. It wouldn't surprise me if a machine designed by the ancient Greeks could compile C, because it's one of the ancient languages.

Re:Poor guy should have asked around

[bursch-X]

The Greek actually used the programming language Gamma which was the predecessor of "C".

Re:In that case....

[ideonode]

Beowulf imagined a cluster of one of these!

Re:Not so amazing inventions.

[tehcyder]

But apart from the steam engine, parabolic mirrors, architecture and building technology, road layout, sewerage, military tactics, field medicine and firefighting technology what have the Romans and Greeks ever done for us?

Re:Poor guy should have asked around

[Tablizer]

I picked mine up at the Antik Road Show.

All right, enough of these silly antiks.