Spies, prime ministers, and balls: The BBC Domesday project @ 40
The Centre for Computing History gathers the minds behind the project and the ones keeping it alive today..
The Centre for Computing History gathers the minds behind the project and the ones keeping it alive today.
The short version
- One was Mike Tibbetts, an assistant to Peter Armstrong, the BBC producer behind the project.
- The Domesday Project was intended to be a modern version of the Domesday Book, compiled after the 1066 Norman invasion of England.
- The original book surveyed most of England and parts of Wales and was used by the King to assess dues owed to him.
What happened
900 years later, the name was given to a project in which more than a million people participated to provide a snapshot of life in the UK. Participants (many of whom were school children) contributed content, which was linked with maps, photographs, and other data.
Why it matters
It was all compiled onto a pair of LaserDiscs – the Community Disc and the National Disc – and accessed via a BBC Master computer and a Philips VP415 LaserVision player.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at The Register — Networks via the links above and below.