Manchester University is holding a competition to get new programmes for the world's oldest computer.

The Baby, or Manchester Mark 1, was the first computer to store programmed data when it was built at the university in 1948.

To celebrate the golden anniversary, a replica of the Baby has been constructed.

The winner of the competition, being run through the Internet, will have the chance to see their programme run on it.

The computer was built with a random access memory of only 32 locations.

This amounts to a total memory capacity of 1,024 bits, meaning programs designed for it must be relatively simple.

But the Baby made up for its small memory with its enormous bulk.

The prototype computer weighed a ton and was 16ft long, 7ft high and 2ft deep.

More details on the competition can be found on the Manchester University site.

The closing date for entries is March 31.
 

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