DBWI: Babbage fails?

What if for some reason or another Charles Babbage fails in his work to design and create the Difference and Analytical Engines (the first programable computers) in the 19th century? How does this effect the 20th century and the economies and societies of the world without these major steps in computing technology?
 
Be amazed if we'd landed on the moon by now if we were stucking with the old fashioned way. Not my area of expertise though.
 
Wow, a real mind-scrambler. I guess Britain wouldn't have gained the industrial lead to dominate the 19th century as totally as it did. But then, the industrial potential was still there even if the logistical power was significantly reduced. Perhaps the Empire would have stayed powerful into the 20th century, but would have slowly disintegrated. Perhaps the Germans would have replaced Britain as pre-eminent power what with their computer know how. But ultimately no matter the political change we would be decades or even centuries behind our current state. And I'll bet Beedoks right and the Extraterrestrial British Colonies wouldn't exist.
 
It really depends on who does end up inventing the computer- and it will be invented eventually, though perhaps not until well into the 20th century. Whoever it is becomes Britains number one rival. What would be really interresting is if it's first invented in an ideological nation, such as the United Ststes or even South China (if it's not butterflied away), in which case we would see it could be seen as "proof" that their ideology granted greater insight, and their worldview dominating the Internet and early virtual worlds, possibly leading to some of their ideology's ideas being adopted in "neutral" discourse throughout the world.
 
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