Re: That's good, but...
"Then there's computing. Colossus was years ahead of everyone else, and yet where is the British computer industry today?"
Arguably one of the most important light bulb moments leading to modern computing was down to Lyons and their extensive chain of tea shops.
They realized that computers could not only work on straight maths problems, but could also be used to assist with solving business problems, like how do you bake and distribute fresh cakes and scones nationally, on a daily basis, with minimum wastage and lost orders.
The Leo series of computers they designed and built to work on this and Lyon's other general business processes (payroll, accounting, etc) were quite innovative for their time and it's unfortunate that the initial lead this gave the UK in commercial computing was never followed up with adequate government encouragement.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
