Winning the war, one byte at a time.

It was early in World War 2.
The problem : break the code that communicates Hitler's strategic plans to his generals. These messages were coded AND encrypted by an unknown machine. This code was so hard it made the usual German Enigma code seem easy as a paper bag.

The Solution: boffins + machines*

The boffins (engineers, code breakers, linguists etc) invent the computer to reverse the encryption. They do it without EVER seeing the original machine (the Lorenz SZ 42).

In the process they invent the electric powered computer in the first dedicated computer facility.
The movie doesn't tell you half of it...

All this is now rebuilt on site at Bletchley Park where the secret allied intelligence work happened.
It has become the national museum of computing. Computers of all eras are there, including the old school retro stuff I've used over 20 years... XT computers Palm pilots, Segas...

My inner nerd, which isnt so inner, had a ball.

*(which we now know is the long standing formula for making nerds)Read more