The Reader, created by art collective MidConversation, uses silk squares to "echo" the movement of Jacquard looms and chimes to represent binary code. The looms were controlled by binary punch cards ...

The world’s leading expert on mechanical computers wasn’t [Charles Babbage]; sure, he could design stuff, but eventually you need to actually build something. We are now graced with the expertise of ...

Before IBM, before punch-card computers, before Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, one of the very first machines that could run something like what we now call a "program" was used to make fabric.

1752: Joseph Marie Jacquard is born in Lyon, France. The weaver and inventor would create the first programmable power loom, revolutionize the weaving industry and lay the foundation for modern data ...

If you mention punch cards to most people, they’ll think of voting. If you mention it to most older computer people, they’ll think of punching programs for big computers on cards. But punched cards ...

Since you might not have heard of the device before, here's a quick rundown. The device attached to a weaving loom and used printed punch cards to "program" patterns into the looms woven fabric.

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