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Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

(www.bbc.com)
496 points danso | 5 comments | 01 Apr 25 12:55 UTC | HN request time: 0.639s | source
1. tocs3 ◴[01 Apr 25 15:07 UTC] No.43547697[source]▶
From wikipedia:

some tasks performed include registering messages on little cards, which Webb believes totaled 10,000 a day in the whole park, and organizing the cards into shoeboxes according to a strict order so they could be retrieved efficiently when called for.

I suppose times have changed.

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2. dylan604 ◴[01 Apr 25 18:24 UTC] No.43549932[source]▶
they called them computers for a reason
3. hermitShell ◴[01 Apr 25 18:55 UTC] No.43550210[source]▶
Technology has changed for sure. Is our usage of human capital any better as a whole? Probably not. So many BS jobs out there.
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4. eitland ◴[02 Apr 25 08:44 UTC] No.43554758[source]▶
More interestingly IMO:

> In Block F, she worked on intercepted Japanese messages, something she excelled at so much that she was later sent to Washington to support the American war effort.[6]

5. cguess ◴[02 Apr 25 14:50 UTC] No.43557347[source]▶
tech has changed, but it's fundamentally doing the exact same job. GCHQ/NSA is still using the techniques pioneered at Bletchley.