Absurdism corner

Why?


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Unless that automaton has a convenient way to change the way it interprets / processes the data on the character wheel, it isn't really a computer.

Still a bloody marvellous piece of engineering though :)
Nobody said it WAS a computer, but It IS still programmed though - via the cogs and wheels. A pianola (self playing piano) isn't a computer, but is programmed to play music via perforated paper.
 
I would say that programming is all about determining the way in which a machine processes input data.

Pianolas, orchestrons and fairground organs have a almost direct linkage between input and output, so are not really programmed or  programmable

The writer could be programmed by changing the big stack of cams in his chest.

...and here's a nice video of an orchestron imitating strings using pipes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enZJZq-xrw0
 
Pianolas, orchestrons and fairground organs have a almost direct linkage between input and output, so are not really programmed or programmable
I disagree. A program is simply a list of instructions, which when "run" operates in a determined fashion - EVERY program is a direct linkage between input and output, doesn't mean that it isn't programmed or programmable. The instructions/program in the case of the pianola are on the paper/metal roll, the program for the automaton are on the cogs/cams/wheels (as seen running in the vid).

Therefore each machine IS programmed. It took someone to input the data that we see or hear in each device.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano

But you didn't answer the question... :p
 
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