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December 28, 2004 10:26 AM Subscribe
Flash and Java Enigma machines. And, if you're burdened with free time, an excellent text adventure in which Enigma-deciphering plays a crucial role.
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posted by yossarian1 at 12:16 PM on December 28, 2004
posted by yossarian1 at 12:16 PM on December 28, 2004
What is it with this 70yr old technology that has people captivated to-day? Any implementation of PGP will blow the doors off of Enigma. It's not that it isn't historical interesting, but is it worth all the emulators that are out there? The real significance of Enigma was in the breaking of it, not it's use.
posted by DV8 2XL at 12:41 PM on December 28, 2004
posted by DV8 2XL at 12:41 PM on December 28, 2004
Maybe these emulators are a testament to the genius of the Germans in devising it, but even more, to the Polish mathematicians who broke it without a single computer before WWII even began. It's not history, it's architecture!
posted by nj_subgenius at 1:02 PM on December 28, 2004
posted by nj_subgenius at 1:02 PM on December 28, 2004
My encounter with the baby Enigma in Jigsaw (the text adventure I've linked) was the first time I truly appreciated what it meant to break this code. It made me sweat, even though it was “just a game.” To me, that's the value of the simulations — when you can play with it yourself, the codebreakers' accomplishment becomes much more concrete.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:11 PM on December 28, 2004
posted by Wolfdog at 1:11 PM on December 28, 2004
What is it with this 70yr old technology that has people captivated to-day? Any implementation of PGP will blow the doors off of Enigma.
Partially its like the lunar landing - amazement at what our genius predecessors were able to do with what they had. Also, it's marketing: 1) Spies and a world at war 2) "Enigma" is so much cooler than "Pretty Good Privacy," you must admit.
posted by vacapinta at 1:42 PM on December 28, 2004
Partially its like the lunar landing - amazement at what our genius predecessors were able to do with what they had. Also, it's marketing: 1) Spies and a world at war 2) "Enigma" is so much cooler than "Pretty Good Privacy," you must admit.
posted by vacapinta at 1:42 PM on December 28, 2004
Just a quick note, the Flash-based site did crash my browser, firefox 1.0 on OSX 10.3.
Great links, though. I'll be trying it again with a different browser.
Maybe you need a newer Flash player plugin.
posted by ae4rv at 7:14 AM on December 29, 2004
Great links, though. I'll be trying it again with a different browser.
Maybe you need a newer Flash player plugin.
posted by ae4rv at 7:14 AM on December 29, 2004
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posted by Wolfdog at 10:32 AM on December 28, 2004