Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/23/google_backs_turing_bid/
Google boosts Bletchley's Turing papers bid
Hands out $100k wad to save the papers for the nation
Posted in Bootnotes, 23rd November 2010 10:56 GMT
Free whitepaper – Hands on with Hyper-V 3.0 and virtual machine movement
Search and ad giant Google has handed $100,000 to Bletchley Park [1] to back the museum's bid for the Alan Turing papers, which go on sale at Christie's later today.
The auction, which will also see an Enigma machine and an Apple I go under the hammer, starts at 2pm.
Bletchley Park is trying to raise the expected £300,000 to £500,000 ($480,000 to $801,500) required to save the Turing papers for the nation.
The lot includes 15 of his 18 published papers collected by Turing's friend, fellow Bletchley Park decoder Professor Max Newman.
A Google spokesman confirmed the donation to El Reg this morning.
There are details and pictures of the Turing papers here. [2]
Apple 1 - lots of lovely wood
The auction also sees some interesting hardware go under the hammer. An Apple I, one of only 200 made, is expected to sell for between £100,000 and £150,000.
Alternatively, you should be able to pick up an Enigma [3] machine for between £30,000 and £50,000. ®